'Street Smart'
Photo Credit: Street Smart - Screengrab

A unique film tells the story (based on true events) of how a street kid found hope selling Zulu words instead of begging, and it might just make you cry at the power of resilience:

 

Johannesburg, South Africa (19 February 2024) — ‘Street Smart’, A short film equal parts unique and heartwarming is reminding South Africans that sometimes the road of struggle is just one powerful idea away from turning into a gentler journey.

Empathy-evoking in the most heart-tugging way, ‘Street Smart’ tells the story of a street child who came up with a very clever idea to pay his way through the world. Making the visual tale even more impactful is the knowledge that this story is based on real-life events; straight from the streets of Johannesburg.

Created by Cape Town indie film maker Tim Greene (‘Boy Called Twist’, ‘Skeem’, ‘The Fury’), today is the short film’s first day of being showcased, and we think it’s well worth a watch for anyone who needs a reminder that the spark of hope can, in fact come from nothing when you apply enough determined friction.

In the short film, the struggling street child learns the difference between begging and giving, and comes up with a sales idea despite having nothing to sell, until he considers a one-of-a-kind offer: selling Zulu words!

As for the creation of the film, Greene notes that it is also an example of unchartered territory as the film was made entirely without cameras, lights or crew—a movement known as ‘real time film making’ through Unreal Engine.

“Whether its using AI text-to-video prompts, or real time 3D animation, the days of photorealistic film-making are approaching fast. It’s both scary and extremely exciting. There’s no stopping it, so the trick is to make sure that you’re on the right side of history!”

Watch: ‘Street Smart’ the Short Film


Sources: Tim Greene; Supplied 
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About the Author

Ashleigh Nefdt is a writer for Good Things Guy.

Ashleigh's favourite stories have always seen the hidden hero (without the cape) come to the rescue. As a journalist, her labour of love is finding those everyday heroes and spotlighting their spark - especially those empowering women, social upliftment movers, sustainability shakers and creatives with hearts of gold. When she's not working on a story, she's dedicated to her canvas or appreciating Mother Nature.

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