Look out for the name 'Whanie Lewis'

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - One of Mossel Bay's latest exports is filmmaker Whanie Lewis.

The Mossel Bay Advertiser interviewed the extremely modest 33-year-old Lewis about his work, following a glowing review of his latest short film, She Said No!, which deals with gender-based violence. Lewis has been a resident of Gqeberha since 2013.

Foolproof Entertainment is his media and film production company, which he established in 2006.

• Tell us a little more about your Mossel Bay roots?

I was born and raised in Mossel Bay. I went to Diaz Primary and attended Hillcrest Secondary, where I matriculated in 2007.

I had an ordinary life, but was always different from other children. While they were playing I was working on business ideas or writing music. I never received anything on a silver platter, but I worked hard. Mossel Bay will always be home to me.

• Where did your path lead after school?

I did a few courses in filmmaking, cinematography and sound design at AFDA in Cape Town. I took every filmmaking course I could. I always equal filmmaking to sports. The Springboks know they can play rugby, but still practise everyday. I practise everyday, whether its a paid job or not.

• What sparked your interest in film?

As a child, watching a film was a luxury. My parents had to rent a video machine at Mr Video for us to watch movies. My favorite actor at the time was Jean-Claude van Damme. Special effects fascinated me.

On public television our visuals were sometimes so bad you couldn't make head or tail of the story, but still we would sit watching - glued to the set.

Over the years, as technology advanced and the visuals got better, the stories were weak with too much scifi and other fiction.

I wanted to start telling our people's stories - real stories we can relate to and not just some unrealistic made-up version of events. I want to bring our people's real stories to life because they are filled with life lessons. We have to teach society through our experiences and what better way than to express that in motion pictures?

• What genres do you enjoy? And your own style?

I enjoy real life drama stories, because I want to send out a message to society and educate them through my productions. I love creating and exploring new things since I want to be known for my unique contribution to the industry. Our productions are written, produced, directed and cast by myself and Laurissa Savage. I like to be hands on with everything and don't restrict myself to cinematography only. I expand my horizons by being part of the whole production. .

• Where can your work be seen?

We broadcast on our YouTube Channel - Foolproof TV, but the goal is to be on the big screens.

• Tell us about your film, She Said No! How does it fit into the debate on gender-based violence in SA?

She Said No! is our second short film that forms part of the Regret media franchise, which is a series of drama short films that focus on gender-based violence and abuse victims.

The franchise was inspired by the real-life stories and experiences of the people we interviewed on Foolproof's Relationship Status talk show. The Regret franchise is created and produced by me and Laurissa Savage and exclusively distributed by Foolproof Entertainment.

We started telling these stories to explain brutality in our society. We will premiere them throughout the 16 Days of Activism. Our main goal is to create awareness and educate society by showing them the reality of what happens behind closed doors, the consequence of silence and tolerance, also the aftermath and that victims should speak out and know their worth.

• Where is Whanie Lewis heading as a filmmaker?

Each time I pick up my camera, I learn something new. I believe in quality over quantity, that practice makes perfect and that consistency is key.

The big dream is to have my own film studio and run a media empire.

Whanie Lewis