Moletsane nominated for Best Actress at uMngungundlovu Film Festival

  • Film fest recognises women and youth in filmmaking
  • Is the only Motswana nominated alongside Mitchell Ndebele

GOSEGO MOTSUMI

Motswana actress Bonolo Moletsane’s stellar performance in “Test Your Love, Too” has earned her nominations for Best Actress at this year’s uMngungundlovu Film Festival, the film fest that focuses on women and youth in filmmaking, which is slated for 25 to 28 November 2021 at Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

“This recognition means a lot to me because our film through which I was nominated is the first-ever film that I acted in,” Moletsane said in an interview. “The film is also the reason my name is now on iMDB. I consider the nomination a breakthrough as I only started acting in film very recently; in 2020, to be more specific.”

In the film, Moletsane plays the role of Masego, the fiancée to Broadway actor Donald Molosi who plays the role of Kago. They are a young couple in love that gets challenged by an HIV diagnosis. The movie was released in 2020.

The actress says the storyline is close to her heart because it reflects the day-to-day societal issues which show family and relationship dynamics in an authentic Botswana setting. “Receiving news of the nomination was a humbling and emotional experience,” she told Time Out. “It was unexpected, yet exciting because I got to appreciate in the moment that our work is out there and more importantly that Botswana filmmaking is in a league to compete internationally.”

The talented actress is the only Motswana nominated alongside Mitchell Ndebele, Londiwe Shange and Anika Boyle. The website on which details about the film festival are published states that the winner will receive a trophy in each of the UFF categories and that prize money will be determined by the jury.

“Test Your Love, Too” won Best Emerging Filmmaker at The African Film Festival this year, was nominated for Best Actor and won Best Short Drama at the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (2021). It was selected for screening at the Kwanzaa Film Festival (2021), the Long Story Shorts Film Festival (2021) and the Maracay International Film and Video Festival.

“The global reach it has had so far for me is outstanding as I believe it means the world will appreciate Botswana as a country and give local talent exposure to international markets,” she added.

Before starring in “Test Your Love, Too,” Moletsane was acting in commercials for reputable corporate companies as a lead face for some and for others as a feature actor. The companies include Botswana Life, Bank Gaborone, Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS), Letaj Hair Salon and KFC Botswana. Other roles she acted in were for print advertisements featured in local newspapers and digital adverts on company websites, social media and billboards for Bank Gaborone, Stanbic Bank and Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC).

“Broadcast media is my passion and I look forward to doing more work in acting and television production management so I can grow and develop my skill to enable me the ability to do skills transfers with other talents and effectively raise our flag high,” she said. “The next film to look out for in which I star as the lead character is another local production called Dithunya Tsa Rona.”