Long Street

Set in Cape Town, this is an intimately rendered portrait of the fragile relationship between recovering drug addict Sia and her mother, Maria. Sia is thrown out of rehab and has to return to her mother’s home. The two women have long stopped trusting each other, and their relationship has collapsed into a simmering sea of anger and disappointment. At the same time, Sia’s father is suffering from writer’s block and has a deep desire to reconcile with his daughter and estranged wife, but cannot find a way to express himself.

When a Zulu singer named Andiswa enters their lives, her powerful presence and musical genius brings the mother and daughter together again. Andiswa uses the healing power of her voice to allow Sia and Maria to forge their relationship anew and discover things they didn’t know about each other and themselves.

A poetic, powerful, music-driven film about contemporary middle-class ennui in urban South Africa. With its sparse dialogue, the film is an authentic and gently moving film that tells its story with feeling, compassion and elegance.