For months writer-director Fin Manjoo was most secretive in revealing any details about his second feature film. All we were told is the movie was funded by a South African film commission and it’s a Zulu story about mining.

“Now, that the whole plot has been approved by the (funding) commission, it is safe to admit this is a Marikana film,” said Manjoo. “In fact, I’m still very reluctant to say so, but key members of the script development ‘committee’ kept referring to it as ‘The Marikana film’.”

So, why the reluctance?

“This is not a documentary on Marikana. It’s a true story with my own personal experience.”

So, it’s about somebody filming the event of Marikana?

“No. In essence, this is about the life of one particular miner and his struggle against the industrial machine.”

And, all this leads to the Marikana tragedy?

“It’s a bit early to tell you what’s going to happen in the story,” smiled Manjoo.

With the plot approved by the KZN Film Commission, Fin Manjoo expects the scriptwriting phase to take about another five months, and then he doesn’t want to place a timeline for the principal photography.