‘To use the power of cinema to build bridges across humanity…’
Durban, South Africa (22 April 2026) – A South African film has walked away from one of the continent’s most respected film festivals with an award so rare it isn’t even handed out every year.
God’s Work, directed by Michael James and produced by Sithabile Mkhize, has been awarded the Radwan El Kashef Prize for Best Film Addressing an African Issue at the Luxor African Film Festival in Egypt.
The prize comes with the Silver Mask of Tutankhamun. The High Committee only grants it when they feel a film has earned it, reserving the honour for works that combine artistic excellence with a deep and honest engagement with African realities.
This time, God’s Work was that film.
The prize is named after Egyptian independent filmmaker Radwan El Kashef, a pioneer who worked from 1952 until his death in 2002, and whose legacy is defined by cinema that lifts marginalised voices with empathy and depth. To win it is to be placed in that tradition.
The award was presented to director Michael James by Dr Hossam El-Mandouh El-Husseini, an Egyptian Member of Parliament.
The film was honoured for what the festival described as its powerful artistic vision and its sincere exploration of African identity and collective struggle.
The film itself is set in a crumbling Durban building that shelters those who have fallen through the cracks of society. God’s Work follows a loose-knit community of homeless friends and survivors navigating addiction, poverty, and the weight of lives lived on the margins.
It merges gritty realism with surrealism to sit inside the interior worlds of men who are so often looked through rather than looked at. It follows their memories, their dreams, their dignity.
“This award is especially important because it acknowledges one of the central intentions of the film, which is to use the power of cinema to build bridges across humanity.” says producer Sithabile Mkhize.
The film stars SAFTA award-winning actor Thobani Nzuza as Simphiwe, supported by Mbulelo Radebe, Omega Mncube, Siya Xaba, Zenzo Msomi, and Nduduzo Khowa.
The film was inspired by real stories gathered from the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban, a shelter and service centre that has long been a lifeline for people living on the streets of the city.
The political conversations around homelessness often tend toward the punitive or the performative, but God’s Work asks you to stay. It insists that the men sheltering in that Durban building have inner lives worth your time. That is both a creative choice and a moral one, the kind of filmmaking that earned this film a rare award.
“Receiving this award on behalf of the film, and all involved is deeply humbling. This award affirms the importance of telling African stories with honesty and empathy, and I hope God’s Work continues to contribute to the ongoing dialogue around affirming the humanity of the homeless community.” says director Michael James.
Watch the trailer here:
Sources: Versfeld & Associates.
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