In the quiet coastal town of Jeffreys Bay, where the waves draw surfers from around the world, filmmaker Vicki Fourie is making a different kind of splash — one that could reshape the landscape of South African cinema.
Fourie, a recent honours graduate from creative arts school Afda in Gqeberha, has just been awarded a grant from the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) to produce a short film titled ThisAbility.
The grant was part of a competitive initiative themed “Not What Society Expects”, which called on filmmakers to explore stories centred on disability in fresh, authentic and compelling ways.
Out of many national applicants, only four filmmakers were selected — and Fourie’s project stood out.
“I want to tell stories that dig deeper, that unearth what we don’t always see,” she said.
“Disability narratives deserve a spotlight, and they deserve to be told with care and truth.”
Her concept, ThisAbility, was praised for its unique perspective and its heartfelt portrayal of living with a hearing impediment.
The film is now in development and will run between five and 10 minutes in length.
While compact in duration, its impact is designed to be anything but small.
The 36-year-old Fourie’s passion for disability storytelling isn’t just professional — it’s personal.
“I had a fever when I was six months old, and it almost cost me my life.
“By the age of two, I wasn’t speaking yet, so my parents took me for hearing tests. It was determined that I had 97% hearing loss.
“Now, with my cochlear implants, I can hear up to 80%.”
She said wearing these cochlear implants had helped shaped her understanding of the complexities and nuances surrounding deafness and disability.
Her films are infused with this lived insight, offering a lens that is rarely seen in mainstream media.
In 2024, she graduated with distinction from Afda with a bachelor of Arts Honours in Motion Picture Medium, specialising in scriptwriting.
Her honours thesis — titled “A Forgotten Audience: Responses of d/Deaf Audiences to Films Depicting d/Deafness” — explored the ways in which the deaf and hard-of-hearing community responds to media representations and what accessibility in cinema truly means.
The Afda short film was based on her concept idea, and she was one of three scriptwriters for the film.
It premièred at Nu Metro Boardwalk to a warm reception — an early indicator of her ability to tell under-represented stories with sensitivity and depth.
As she prepares to shoot ThisAbility, Fourie is also laying the foundations for her own production company, Sacambaya Films.
The name is inspired by the mythical Sacambaya River in Bolivia, rumoured to conceal a treasure hidden for centuries.
“There’s something beautiful in the metaphor,” she said, explaining why her honours team chose the name.
“I then took the name further by registering it as an official private company, and I’m the sole director.
“I believe there’s untapped gold in the stories people carry — especially stories society tends to overlook. With Sacambaya Films, I want to help uncover that treasure.”
Fourie is currently assembling a team of local creatives from Jeffreys Bay to support the project’s production, reflecting her commitment to grassroots collaboration and community upliftment.
The NFVF’s initiative is not just about funding films — it’s about rewriting how stories are told in SA.
According to the foundation, the selected films must inform, educate and entertain, while showcasing diverse and often marginalised perspectives.
Fourie’s ThisAbility promises to check all those boxes.
More than just a filmmaker, Fourie is also a storyteller on a mission to challenge stereotypes, broaden perceptions and make space for voices that have long been ignored.
In doing so, she’s not only telling powerful stories — she’s helping to rewrite the script for what representation in film can truly look like.
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This article appeared in the 06th June 2025 edition of The Herald.
Read the original article HERE.
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