A full-length feature film – God’s Work - which makes its debut at the Durban International Film Festival this year and is inspired by the director spending time at the Denis Hurley Centre with members of the homeless community over lockdown, has a free screening at the DHC on Saturday 26 July at 1pm.
“It makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable…. In all the right ways,” said an emotional audience member after seeing the movie at the SA premiere on Sunday (20 July) night – a packed to capacity auditorium at Suncoast. “Your response has been amazing. Throughout the screening, you could hear a pin drop,” marveled co-producer, Marco Orsini.
Billed as “a portrait of resilience, a meditation on memory, and an unflinching gaze into the unseen lives of those discarded by the world, is a visually arresting South African debut feature by Durban-based award-winning director Michael James, produced by Sithabile Mkhize which has its SA Premiere at this year’s Durban International Film Festival.
Inspired whilst filming a documentary about homeless shelters at the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban during the pandemic, God’s Work doesn’t ask for pity, it demands attention. It confronts the viewer with the brutal poetry of life on the margins—and the stubborn humanity that persists there.
God’s Work was written and directed by Michael James in his first full-length feature film. James was inspired to make it, while volunteering at the Denis Hurley Centre during lockdown. The DHC working with the Municipality and other NGOs and faith communities, organised emergency shelters for 1,500 people across Durban. The centre itself hosted 100 sick and disabled homeless men in its building situated between Emmanuel Cathedral and the Grey Street Mosque.
Over lockdown, James spent time chatting to the homeless men at the DHC, who shared their stories with him. Coming out of these conversations, was the idea to tell their stories on film. To their delight, he worked with them to make a 20-minute video which they conceived and wrote, called No Kings on the Streets. (It can still be seen on the Denis Hurley Centre You Tube channel.)
There will be a free screening of God’s Work this Saturday, 26 July, at 1pm at the Denis Hurley Centre and all are welcome to attend. Audience members will have a chance to celebrate the homeless men who appear as extras in the film, and also hear from the Producer, Sithabile Mkhize as well as the Director. Also present will be the homeless men Zwelithini Ndadane and Lucky Dlungwane who acted as paid consultants during the filming process so they could advise James to ensure that the story was told in an authentic way.
After the screening on Saturday, at which the director and producer will be in attendance, there will be a chance for people to talk in small groups with the homeless people present and hear their voices directly.
The film is set in the heart of Durban, A derelict building offers a fragile sanctuary to a group of homeless men surviving on society’s margins. Blurring the line between reality and fiction, the film follows Simphiwe played by SAFTA award-winning actor Thobani Nzuza (eHostela, Uzalo, DiepCity), and his crew as they navigate addiction, poverty, performative politics, and the lure of fleeting fame. With Simphiwe (Thobani Nzuza) fighting demons only he can see, and moving performances by a strong supporting cast, Mbulelo Radebe, Omega Mncube, Siya Xaba, Zenzo Msomi and Nduduzo Khowa, the film is a raw exploration of survival, brotherhood, and the human desire to be seen before disappearing.
"This is not just a film about homelessness, it’s a story about power, loss, resistance—and what it costs to stay human in a world that’s abandoned its soul,” says Producer Sithabile Mkhize.
“The Film should make audiences feel discomfort,” says Dr Raymond Perrier, Director of the DHC. “And yes, something must be done. Leaders need to speak out, and the politicians and religious leaders need to listen, and respond, and support all of us endeavouring to make a difference,” he said.
Good to Know:
Durban - Denis Hurley Centre 26 July at 1pm (FREE)
Watercrest Sterkinekor Sunday, 27 July at 5pm
Johannesburg - The Bioscope (Johannesburg) on Saturday, August 2 at 12 noon
Cape Town - Labia Theatre (Cape Town) on Sunday, 3 August at 12 noon
For more information follow on social media : Facebook and Instagram: godsworkthefilm or website https://www.godsworkthefilm.com/