Hotel on the Koppies (2021)

Two storylines involving artists in lockdown intersect in this South African drama about creativity, mindfulness and wellbeing. Jabu is an ambitious auteur plagued by demons, who accepts a place on the jury at a film festival in Johannesburg so he can be closer to his young son. He has been clean for months now, and is working on the side as part of the scriptwriting team for the most popular soap in South Africa. All with the aim of becoming the father he previously failed to be. Roxanne is a filmmaker on the verge of her international breakthrough, struggling with an unwanted pregnancy – which in South Africa cannot legally be terminated.
The coronavirus pandemic means both these creatives suddenly find themselves stuck, right at a critical point in their lives. Director, screenwriter and actor Charlie Vundla, who grew up in Johannesburg, expands this modest drama into a reflection on this time of relative stagnation, going in search of the most authentic expressions of the deepest feelings and uncertainties.