Fulu Caught In A Love Triangle

South African actress Fulu Mugovhani sees herself involved in a love triangle in Showmax’ new movie Umakoti Wethu.

Mugovhani stars as Khathu, a woman struggling to conceive, who finds herself in a panic when her husband’s new job takes them back to KwaZulu-Natal.

Isibaya’s Melusi Mbele co-stars as her husband Sizwe, and Isithembiso’s Kwanele Mthethwa delivering an excellent performance as Nobuhle, the woman in the middle of the love triangle.

“Umakoti Wethu is about family matters,” says Fulu, who’s acted in everything from Ayanda to Happiness Is A Four-Letter Word, One Night Kwa Mxolisi to Seriously Single, Ring of Lies to Still Breathing. “It follows a couple who are going through a transformation in their relationship. They want to grow their family in every way but with that comes challenges.”

The actress is excited to be performing in her home language in the film. “I’ve played many Venda characters but not a lead,” she says. “So it’s great to see a minority language represented on a bigger scale.”

Beyond Black Productions executive producer Moeketsi Moeketsi, executive producer says that the film attempts to “pay homage to a beautiful part of the isiZulu culture while in the same breath giving voice to those individuals that may not always be heard within that same culture.”

Talented actress, Kwanele hopes that Umakoti Wethu will educate people about what queer people go through almost every single day of their lives.

Her character Nobuhle is a young woman from a respected family. “A young lady who comes from a well-respected family. She grew up under this immense pressure to do good and be perfect. Nobuhle discovers that she is lesbian but she doesn’t have the courage to act on it. She finds it difficult to come out because of how taboo homosexuality is in her community. ”She says about her character.

Fulufelo adds that the story is relatable to many South Africans. “All of us in one way or another know somebody who is in that position of being unaccepted by the family.”

The star respects her character’s ability to find contingency plans in her life and to be adaptable.

She further adds, “I also appreciate that she had the courage to follow her heart. She allowed love to just be love and break down the confines of what society says love is.”

Kwanele also shares the same sentiments. “I hope that our audience will learn that sometimes you should do what you want because life is too short. You don’t want to regret not doing what you’ve always wanted to do, just because you’re worried about other people’s opinions.”

Umakoti Wethu marks the directorial debut of Nozipho Nkelemba, who starred in The Forgotten Kingdom, directed Gomora and also wrote Emoyeni. Christopher Mashile co-directs and executive produces.