Alfonzo Franke, one of the Springbok Impi warriors who perform before home Tests, has become co-director of Cape Town production house Muti Films, IOL reported.
Franke joins Muti founder Guto Bussab in running the company. He will keep performing as an Impi at Springbok home Tests.
“It’s more than a gig. It’s more than the five minutes of fame,” Franke told IOL. “I’m going out there to war for my country.”
Franke first performed as an Impi in 2017, at a Test against New Zealand. He was told to be fierce towards then All Blacks captain Kieran Read.
“The All Blacks captain said he had never seen anything like this before,” Franke said. “Even the coach said he wished half of his team had that amount of passion.”
The Impi tradition goes back to 1921. That year in Wellington, the Springboks answered the All Blacks haka with an indlamu, a Zulu war dance. Franke is now in his tenth year and is the only member of the first trio still performing.
Franke grew up in Rocklands, Mitchells Plain. He trained in film at AFDA and later started his own production company, Tarblak Films.
In 2023 he won Best Cinematography in the short film category at the kykNET Silwerskerm Festival Awards for Die Blokke. He also worked on Youngsta CPT’s YVR, which won Best Video at the 2019 SA Hip Hop Awards.
He has filmed artists such as Koffee, Wu-Tang Clan, Nasty C and Shane Eagle. His recent work at the Encounters Film Festival includes Amigo the Griot.
Franke said his upbringing shapes the way he makes films. “In the hood you don’t get resources, you get reality. So you learn to flip it,” he said.
“I know how to turn a stoep, a kitchen, a back alley into a world, because for us, that was the world,” he added.
Franke first joined Muti more than a decade ago as Bussab’s assistant. The two later worked as a directing team. Their work includes the 2016 music video Cupid’s Crooked Bow for Ghanaian rapper M.anifest, shot in Accra.
“It was clear that his input was essential in my own creative process,” Bussab said.
Muti has made adverts and branded content for MTN, British Airways, Coca-Cola, Standard Bank and Absa, among others. It co-produced Ralph Ziman’s film Gangster’s Paradise: Jerusalema, South Africa’s official entry for the 2009 Academy Awards.
Together, Bussab and Franke have more than 50 years of experience. They have produced work in Ghana, Guinea, Uganda and Eswatini.
Franke also plans to start a Little Warriors Foundation. According to IOL, it will support children facing health problems and poverty.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL Entertainment. Image: IOL Entertainment. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Entertainment desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Rirhandzu Baloyi writes about entertainment for Tzaneen Voice. Rirhandzu covers South African music, film, TV, streaming, awards and celebrity news, from amapiano and local soapies to Showmax and Netflix releases. Stories stick to what happened, who was involved and when fans can watch or listen.