Despite their hectic schedules, two lifelong friends collaborated to create a documentary that celebrates Siphe Mbaza’s culinary journey and Zach Heynes’ fascination with capturing the pursuit of one’s passion.
Cape Town, South Africa (17 September 2024) – From preschool and primary all the way through to high school Zach Heynes and Siphe Mbaza have been lifelong friends from Gqberha, who share a story of the power of friendship, passion, and perseverance.
The friends, who are now third-year students, have remained united by their desire to achieve their dreams and pursue their passions in film and food, respectively.
Both of these career fields are what film student Zach and culinary student Siphe have always wanted to pursue.
This year, they reconnected and combined their passions in a documentary project called Handling the Heat.
Since entering his 20s, Zach has been fascinated with the pursuit of one’s passion in life. This has been spurred on by his creative career path, as he has always engaged in creative endeavours and continues to do so.
Filmmaker and Chef cook something special.
After experimenting with narrative short films and particularly invested in Siphe’s journey at culinary school, Zach wanted to try out documentary-style filmmaking, moving him to reach out to Siphe to create some magic together!
Fortunately, Siphe was super keen to make it happen. Over the total course of nine months, the short film was created and shot entirely on Zach’s iPhone.
A clash in schedules.
The filming process was dependent mainly on Siphe’s availability, as his schedule as a chef was especially demanding. The editing process was more dependent on Zach’s schedule, including university assignments, external creative endeavours, and extramural commitments.
They first met to film in January, but because of the gruelling and demanding lifestyle of a chef, paired with Zach’s university schedule of constant due dates, it was difficult to arrange a time to capture the next crucial part of the project – footage of Chef Siphe in action.
However, when Siphe and two friends launched a pop-up kitchen chef group in Cape Town, ‘Off Day Off’, Zach seized the opportunity and tagged along at their first event in May to get some footage.
One observation Zach made was that, in the interviews, one of the goals Siphe mentioned was shining the spotlight on South African cuisine in his cooking journey.
Appropriately so, their menu in May featured creative delights such as a Malva Koeksister with Custard Ice Cream. In this way, Siphe’s dreams came to fruition during the creation of the documentary.
During this period, some of Zach’s creative goals also came to fruition in the documentary’s creation, as two of his short films were selected for local film festivals. This sentiment of dreams became the focus of the documentary’s story.
Bringing a culinary story to life.
The trickiest part of the filmmaking process after having the footage was defining the story to tell and finding the best way to tell it. It got difficult and confusing; with hours upon hours of footage and interesting content, the refining process was strenuous.
There were countless rearrangements and overhauls. However, once this dominant theme of dreams/passions emerged, so did the framing of the documentary – and from there, the project was pushed to its completion.
Many times when the documentary could have been cancelled or forgotten or indefinitely postponed, it refused to be put away.
During the nine-month process, the two childhood friends continued to achieve the goals they had set for themselves and advance in their respective fields.
Inspiring others to go after their dreams.
“My main wish is for Handling the Heat to be a story that inspires those who watch it. I think it’s so important for people to spend their lives doing something meaningful to them, something that truly matters and gives them purpose in life. I believe this story is a great example of this, and it applies to everybody, not just to people in the culinary industry. There is an undeniable strength in hope.
I also want to highlight the importance of support – support those around you and the dreams they have, and most of all, support & believe in yourself. Don’t be afraid to clap for others, and don’t forget to clap for yourself,” said Zach who inspires us all to go after anything we want in life.
In both its narrative and its creation, the documentary represents what it means to follow our dreams.
Handling the Heat is now available on Zach’s YouTube channel.
Sources: Supplied
Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google.
Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:
Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.
by 