Shoes

"Shoes" gives a peek into the life of up and coming fashion designer Sikelela Kwatsha, who lives in Vrygrond, a township in Cape Town, South Africa.

Discovering Sikelela's story with only a few days to spare, director Chris Pruett, set into a flurry of run-n-gun filming with minimal gear to capture the designer's heart behind his fashion and the struggles of living in a South African township.

In total, this film was captured in only 8 hours of filming over two days with no team, no budget, no fancy camera and a lot of luck.

  • Chris Pruett
    Director
  • Chris Pruett
    Producer
  • Sikelela Kwatsha
    Key Cast
    "Shoes"
  • Pumsa Kwatsha
    Key Cast
    "Pumsa Kwatsha"
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Fashion
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 13 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 8, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    South Africa
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    DSLR
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Chris Pruett

Ten years in various corners of the creative industry have allowed me to bring diverse skills and knowledge to my films. Often working in "low to no" budget environments in the name of "passion project", my films take on a grass roots appeal that may lack cinematic polish but boast in authenticity. I love run-n-gun, I love extreme environments, I love human stories.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I was 5.5 weeks into a 6 week vacation to see my family in Cape Town South Africa when a close friend told me a story about a young fashion designer living in a township on the other side of the city. Twelve hours later I was sitting in a room with Sikelela Kwatsha about to film his story. In those 12 hours I scrambled to rent a decent cinema set up but with no success. Luckily, I had brought a bare bones camera set up with me that did the trick and my focus became more about capturing the magic of the moment and the story in front of me than the gear I had or wished I had. We dodged weather and schedules and in the end only filmed for a total of 8 hours over two days before I had to say farewell and get on a plane back to the US. Overall, I'm very happy with the result given the constraints. Sometimes the most endearing work isn't the most polished.