A BAY woman filmmaker who fired two men crew members for making inappropriate remarks to public protector Thuli Madonsela during filming will have her work flighted on SABC1 during Women’s Month.
Nomakhomazi Dyosopu directed two episodes of I Am, We Are!, a four-part documentary focusing on women leaders, like Madonsela, and successful women with disabilities, like Bay-born paraplegic filmmaker and poet Shelley Barry and blind journalist Rhulani Baloyi.
During the shooting of the documentary, Dyosopu had to fire two men crew members because of their inappropriate behaviour.
"They made sexist jokes, like when Madonsela said she was going to the bathroom, the one guy said, ‘okay, I’m coming with you’.
"In another incident, when one of the women took off her top, the guys made comments about her cleavage. When things like that happen, you wish you had a female crew,” she said.
Dyosopu has worked in the film industry in Johannesburg for 12 years, directing commercials, documentaries, shows such as Zola 7, and music videos.
She moved back to the Bay in 2010. There were stories from the Eastern Cape which needed to be told from here, she said.
Dealing with sexist attitudes in the workplace is one of the challenges Dyosopu faces as a woman filmmaker.
"When you empower women, you also need to look at men’s attitudes about female empowerment,” she said.
According to her, one of the greatest challenges is that "there are not enough women directing”.
"Directing requires you to be out there, shooting and telling people what to do. You need to have guts.” Of her career she said: "It has been a difficult journey but the more women persist, the easier it will become for us and our daughters.”
I Am, We Are! airs on SABC1 on Tuesdays from 9pm to 10pm.
