Malusi Bengu, co-writer of the award-winning film, Inxeba, The Wound, says it doesn’t break any secrets about the cultural practice of initiation. Malusi says the sacred seal on initiation was broken by the deaths of young initiates, making headlines.
The movie faces a wave of criticism from protesters and the CRL Rights Commission.
Inxeba, The Wound, has won awards both locally and internationally. It tells the story of a young, gay man who goes to the Eastern Cape to become a traditional surgeon for initiates.
The co-writer is adamant it doesn’t reveal any secrets about the practice.
Malusi Bengu, Co-Writer on Inxeba, The Wound said “Inxeba is not about the secrecy of Xhosa initiation. Mandela already wrote more in his book Long Walk to Freedom and no one has cared to divulge and no one reacted in this manner. Inxeba is also not about having sex, that would be impossible and foolish from us to react with that assumption because you are there for four weeks and your private parts aren’t functional.”