What motivated you to become a writer?

It was my life as a child from age 6, I recall writing about what was happening around me and in my family. Things made more sense when I would write them down, my father was a polygamist and I wanted to understand why my life was different from the norm and also find a way to embrace it regardless of the challenges that were at times hard to handle.

I jotted things down and unknowingly realised that it was soothing, comforting and liberating as opposed to just lots and lots of thoughts circuling in my head, later learnt how to write poetry and reciting poetry which also became a mountain full of adventures to climb and haven’t looked back since.

Starting on a blank page is not easy- where does your creativity come from?

It comes from the gift of life and experiencing life events and sometimes experiencing it for others when they take me through their journey. Some creativity derives from things that my dreams walk me through, the feelings on their own travel a journey that unfolds with each step. I love listening to stories, reading and sometimes listening with an inner soul that is way bigger than I am. All this was encouraged from a tender age and led me to study Dramatic Arts at the Durban University of Technology and the love for writing grew much profoundly, the universe and it components never cease to amaze me.

Do you write projects knowing that so many other factors need to happen to get it to screen and does that come into your project creation?

Yes, quite funny because at times I find myself saying No,no,no Sissy you are now going overboard! I visualise things into reality, I visualise everything, so you can imagine how far this would make my mind travel. At times one needs to be realistic considering factors at hand and making visuals possible through that. But it’s also a beautiful experience when a script is portrayed and you realise there and then what could convey the message more clearer and also driving the character into a more stronger self and more understood or felt by the audience. The complete sincerity of it all, the honesty comes from those factors

What is your dream for this project and what other ancillary revenue do you think it could generate? Please include script title in reply.

Hopeville is a story of hope and at this stage in time we really need loads of it, it’s about taking a step back and laugh a little not ignoring the challenges that life has brought to all of us but to laugh in spite of them, to laugh and smile while carrying the load, just maybe it won’t be that heavy.  The world needs peace, laughter, lightness to curb depression that most households are now facing and what better way to do this than through comedy performed by the elderly that have transitioned to children.

How has your experience been with screenwriting contests for this project so far?

Extremely wonderful and it opened a whole world of tolerance and understanding the elderly and fully appreciating their wisdom they have gained through the years,it has also made me realise how much they long to feel valuable not to be tossed aside like old furniture, how amazingly creative they are,how healthy their sense of humour is, how much the community appreciates it and the joy it brings, the unity it forms, how much it has embraced diversity and the faces that have beautifully cracked from laughter. Although it hasn’t been performed as a screenplay yet but it has been welcomed warmly and with so much enthusiasm more than I had imagined.

If you could stand in a room full of investor partners looking at many projects what would you like them to know about you and this project?

It speaks volumes ,it has taken me, the cast, crew and its audience into a world that is full of lightness and liberation, we want to take you there with us to fully experience it! This is a ride of your life, have your seatbelts on!

Do you have any website links for your writing, credits, background, etc that you would like to share

I have a poetry book published with Diaspora publishers in London, its on Facebook with the title ” Poetic stones written by Sissy Khumalo”

I also have a personal website www.sissykhumaloselesele.co.za that is currently not running unfortunately due to challenges of covid 19 but it should be up and running again end of next month.