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Filmmakers jubilant as documentary Music is My Life secures SA submission for Academy Awards

Music is My Life – Joseph Shabalala and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a directorial debut documentary feature produced by veteran filmmaker Carolyn Carew and directed by Sowetan-born first time director Mpumi “Supa” Mbele, has been announced as the National Film and Video Foundations’ (NFVF) International Feature Film submission for the 96^th Annual Academy Awards (2024).

 “We are humbled to be selected by the SA and NFVF selection committee to represent SA at the 96th Academy Awards; this is a first for a documentary film to be selected in the International Feature Film section,” says Carolyn Carew, the film’s Lead Producer. “As a team, we worked tirelessly with the band, his family and the Foundation to tell his story. To be in his presence was to be left in awe of his deep commitment to his craft, informed by his love of music, the land, his spirituality, and his dedication to bring his unique and powerful voices of Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s music to the world.”