The film will screen at the 39th Seattle International Film Festival on Wednesday, June 5, at 9 p.m., at Cinema Uptown Theater (511 Queen Anne Ave. N.). The director will be on hand for a question-and-answer session after the screening.
It has previously played at the 2013 Florida Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival and Ashland Film Festival; at the latter, it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature.
The protagonist of the story, Atang (Zenzo Ngqobe), lives in the city, aimlessly wandering around the streets. Upon the death of his estranged father, Atang receives the instructions for his burial, which requires Atang to take the body back to Lesotho, the place where he was born.
In Lesotho, Atang falls in love with his childhood friend, Dineo (Nozipho Nkelemba), whose sister is dying from AIDS. Dineo’s father (Jerry Mofokeng) is ashamed of his daughter’s condition, so he decides to take both daughters away from the village.
Atang embarks on a journey to find his beloved Dineo, together with an orphaned boy (Lebohang Ntsane), who becomes his spiritual guide to the mystical ways of Basotho people that Atang had long forgotten. Along the way, they meet people who reconnect Atang with his beautiful and mysterious homeland.
An evolving journey
Mudge was inspired to write the script for this film after he visited Lesotho. He was fascinated by the people and their traditions, and he wanted to tell the world about this country that most people have not even heard of. The script was written in English but translated into Sesotho language and read by the locals to ensure the authenticity of the kingdom’s culture.
“The Forgotten Kingdom” is the first-ever film that was shot in Lesotho, according to Mudge. The film does not just introduce audiences to this unknown and mysterious land; it also shows the beauty of both the landscape and the people. Its cinematography is exceptional as it captures the main character’s journey of rediscovery in a graceful motion through stunning landscapes and the individuals people he meets.
The pace of the film is intentionally slow and precise to allow the audience to fully understand and invest deeper in this young man’s journey. With every new step Atang takes on his journey, the film takes its time to evolve and explore his character through the lens of unexpected events.
The quality of acting in the film was a pleasant surprise for me; they enabled the characters to come to life on the screen. Zenzo Ngqobe, who plays Atang, is able to truthfully portray an angry, young man who struggles to understand his father, whom he thinks abandoned him at a young age. He goes through the motions of living in the big city of Johannesburg until he is thrust back into the world of his ancestors.
The chemistry between Ngqobe and Ntsane, who plays the little boy, is magical as they complement each other’s acting and characters that go beyond the spoken word and transcend into their moments of silence.
Ntsane was chosen among schoolchildren from throughout the entire country as he was exactly what Mudge was looking for.
“Whenever he wasn’t speaking, his eyes were on the person, and he wasn’t waiting for his next line, which is a typical mistake of an amateur actor,” Mudge said. “There is a quote by a famous actor that [says], ‘The best acting is in listening.’ [Ntsane] was completely absorbed in the scene, without looking at me or anyone else, and he just had it.”
We just might see Ntsane become a future African child star.
A beautiful introduction
Through Atang’s journey, depicted through the country’s picturesque landscape and the help of the actors who felt connected to the story being told, the director achieved his goal. He introduced audiences to this little country, Lesotho, fully surrounded by South Africa, and made people curious enough to want to discover the world.
“The film is shining a light in the corner of the world that no one has experienced before,” Mudge said. “It’s the first of its kind, and it’s exciting to show people this country. The film is meant for someone to experience Africa — not in a touristy way but through something more artful.”
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