'A higher purpose': Tebogo Malope's 6 nuggets of wisdom for aspiring filmmakers

JOHANNESBURG - Whenever we think of revered creatives, the overarching narrative they share is more often than not about their successes, and seldom their failures.

If they assert their hardships, it’s often a momentary acknowledgement that it wasn’t easy, "but we made it". 

Multi-award-winning film director, writer and producer, Tebogo Malope, seeks to rewrite his story differently, not only for himself but for any aspiring and upcoming filmmakers and creatives.

The Soweto-born and raised Malope is one of the country’s prolific directors and filmmakers. His 19-year career boasts some of the country’s beloved series, movies, numerous commercials, iconic music videos and documentaries, including Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story, Outlaws, For Love and Broken Bones, and Queen Sono.

Following his iconic sweep of 11 awards at this year’s 18th South African Film and Television Awards, Malope invited filmmakers to join him on 9 November for a deep dive into the toughest moments of his filmmaking journey.

Lessons From Bombing! – a play on words in light of his filmmaking journey starting at Bomb Productions – was a six-lesson reflective masterclass (although he argues he doesn’t like the term because he’s still a student of the game) on the projects that missed the mark, ideas that fell flat, and the lessons that came from the ashes. 

Lessons ranged from teachings from his mentors and other renowned filmmakers he’s worked with along his journey to personal nuggets of laboured wisdom.

• Think more, because thinking is writing – don’t write fast without thinking. Spend more time thinking about what you want to put on a piece of paper. But don’t think for too long. 

• Kill the ego before it kills you – don’t execute ideas from your ego, because the final product won’t be as good as it could be if you grounded yourself to achieve the bigger goal. 

• Cross-reference your research. Don’t research to support your idea, research to subdue it – endeavour to find information that opposes your idea to ascertain whether it’s still worth making or parking until a later stage, or abandoning it entirely.

• Comprehension is key, abstraction is indulgence – create comprehensible work, not work that is visually appealing but cannot be understood.

• Direct crew as well as you do [the] cast – no one is more superior to the other. This also encourages collaboration on set.

• Cinema is church and not a strip club – seek long-lasting impact.

Malope spoke to EWN about what he’d like young filmmakers to hold on to, his passion, purpose, and honouring the young dreamer in him. 

It’s incredibly brave of you to share your failures and/or lessons and the stories that accompany them. Why did you think it was important, and why now?

"I think especially because of social media, there’s a lot of sanitised timelines, and a lot of young people look at us filmmakers on socials and they think it’s all glitz and glam... all red carpets and awards. But most of the time, it’s losses and it’s failing. And I guess, for me, it’s about encouraging young people to fall in love with the process of making; so you make the process the reward and not necessarily the outcome. I felt like right now it’s a good time because it’s towards the end of the year, we’re dialling the year down, so that when young people start the New Year with their new pursuits, they can embrace the idea of embracing failure and actually enjoying the process more than the outcome. So that whether you fail or succeed, it doesn’t really matter, because the process is the reward."

But doesn’t the idea of embracing failure and "failing fast" come from a place of the privilege and the gift of hindsight? Especially because it’s difficult to grasp that wisdom in the midst of that hardship/failure. 

"I guess, for me, it’s like you can learn from experience or you can learn from others. You can learn by reading a book, you can learn from a mentor, or you can go through the pain yourself and learn. I never had someone try to at least teach me about embracing failure, so I learned the hard way, I learned through the pain. So this for me was an attempt, I guess, to help - even if it’s just one filmmaker - to embrace it. If it still doesn’t quite land or register, they’re still going to learn the lesson regardless, but it’s going to be painful. So for me, it’s like, 'how do I shorthand your learning process?’ ,and I’m just trying to do that. It’s an attempt, we’ll see in time if it’s successful or not. I hope there was at least one filmmaker who felt ‘I don’t have to go through the same path of pain to learn; that I can learn because Tebza went through that on my behalf’. I hope that works, we’ll see."

How were you able to condense your almost 20 decades worth of experience into six lessons?

"Uh, I don’t know [chuckles]. I think there are way more failures that I’ve gone through and for me, it was just a process of elimination. Just going which 'L [losses] do I feel like are the ones to amplify, to focus on and talk about?’ I guess I just went with my instincts. There’s such a demand, even online, so we’re doing our next one this coming Saturday, and maybe I’ll choose different Ls for that one, I don’t know."

How did you keep true to your dreams and ambitions despite your failures?

"You can’t really do this game if you’re not passionate and if you don’t feel like you’re called for it. It’s so brutal, so hardcore, so hard and so physically demanding. It’s hours and days away from your family and so for me, unless you’re really called for it, you can’t do it. It’s impossible. So I think the resolve comes from this conviction I have that I have to be here, that I have to do it, that it’s bigger than me. It’s like there’s a higher purpose, there’s a higher calling to do it. I think that’s the only thing that’s sustaining me. I think if I didn’t have that sense or feeling, I would have tapped out a long time ago. I think talking about the losses encourages young people - who perhaps wanted to come into it because of the fame - to say: ‘ Hey, it’s hard. It’s a big grind'. So, you have to find something deeper than just the fame, the red carpets; and for me, it feels like a calling a divine mandate to be here. So, if I stop or quit, I’m letting down a lot of people, I’m letting down God Himself, and so that’s what drives and keeps me centred in the process."

With the crazy working hours and the extensive travel, how did you manage to build a family and all-round safety net in the form of your community for yourself?

"I don’t know how I managed to do that [chuckles]. I guess one plus for me is that I grew up with my wife. We’ve been together 23 years and married 10 years. And so we’ve been in a relationship since high school, so it was a bit of a slow burner, but there were moments where it almost fell apart because once my life and my career kicked off - and her being a musician and travelling the world as well - it got a little bit tense. I think because we grew up together, we evolved together to find some kind of balance. I don’t know what I’d do if she had to meet me now [chuckles] and I’m living this life, I’d be so dumbfounded. Another thing I didn’t mention is that we have three children together, so it’s not just us being together 23 years and being married 10 years. I think it’s God’s grace. It’s also that resolve to be together; that no matter what happens, we’re going to grind it out together. But the fact that we’ve been together before the [glitz and glam], since we were poor and we evolved into this life we live is a big part of how we can still manage it, even today."

Almost 20 years later, what still burns that fire inside of you to continue telling/documenting more stories, and how do you know which stories are worth telling?

"I think that desire, I don’t know where it comes from, but I think it comes from God, but I can’t shake it. It’s like it’s tattooed on my soul and my heart. I dream it, it pours out of me, it oozes out of my pores, I can’t shake it. I feel like if more young people hunger for that same level of conviction to say ‘I know that God wants me here and I know God wants me to do this’ - that’s where the formula is for me, just that sense that you’re part of something bigger than you. I guess that’s partly the reason for these talks, to try and activate that in young filmmakers to say, can you find that passion? Can you find that divine calling? And when I say divine calling, it may not necessarily be that. It’s just that extra thing that gives you that extra gear, that extra drive - that’s what I’d like to trigger amongst young people, and hopefully it’s working."

Considering how revered you are here at home and your growing global reach, do you still experience imposter syndrome? Or do you feel like close to 20 years in the game, you can confidently beat your chest and say ‘I got it’, but I still have so much to learn?

"Oh yeah, I think it’s the latter. There’s still a level of imposter syndrome, but there’s [also] still a level of hunger. I always say to young people: ‘Keep your feet firmly on the ground. Even though you still have your vision of the future, enjoy the moment’. I also say if I had to die the best cable basher in the world, that’s it, because in that moment, my feet were firmly on the ground, I was so in love with it, so passionate about it. What that has helped me with is that I can be doing that and it may feel like it’s the last thing I’ll ever do, and I’ll be the happiest person. Yet, at the same time, I know there’s still more. But, I find that a lot of filmmakers, because they’re hungry for more, they forget to enjoy the moment; the now. It’s like ‘okay, right now I’m an assistant, but what I really want to do is make Hollywood movies’ ,and so you look far and you forget that you’re already part of this ecosystem of telling stories – enjoy it, man, be in the moment. And for me, that’s been one of the things that have helped me a lot. Every moment is in isolation; it exists within itself. And because I’m faithful to the moment, the moment rewards me with the film; because I’m faithful to the moment of being a South African storyteller, it rewards me with an African platform; because I’m faithful to that African platform’s storytelling, in the moment it rewards me with the international platform. And so, the moment will always reward your next moment, but unfortunately, a lot of young filmmakers do injustice to the moment and the moment feels neglected and goes 'eish, I can’t really reward you with the next because you’re still stuck here with me.'" 

Do you think you've honoured the little boy who had dreams of becoming a filmmaker, or do you think he's proud and yearning for more? 

"I think I kept him. That's part of the magic when I think of it. I think that young boy is still here, he's actually the passion, the reason I embrace a new day and all it has to offer. I'm not jaded, and I've gone through so much loss and pain and I'm not jaded at all. And I don't know how I managed not to be. I think that young boy is not gone, he's the guy that's winning, that's still winning."

How did you know you were living your purpose?

"I hear from God. God told me. I saw it in a vision and everything that's played out in my life, I saw in a vision and there's still stuff that's still coming. And every step of the way, it happened exactly as I saw it."

Isn't that terrifying though? The burden of responsibility that comes with that vision and feeling like you’re not where you need to be to execute the vision?

"It’s incredibly intimidating. The big challenge with me is that it’s been like that, and it’s intensifying. I’m hearing more, I’m seeing more, and because the more I lean in, the more it opens up. It’s a massive burden. Just in general, as an individual, when God talks to you and you lean in, He says more. It’s a burden because you can’t shake it and it intensifies the more you lean in. It’s God’s gift, and I can’t help it." 

Despite a commendable career and insightful lessons, Malope still has more stories to tell and document – not just here at home, but globally as well.