Linda Mvusi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1955 (age 69–70) |
| Nationality | South African |
| Occupation(s) | Actress and architect |
| Notable work | A World Apart |
| Awards | Best Actress at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival |
Linda Mvusi (c. 1955) is a South African actress and architect. In 1988, Mvusi made her acting debut in the filmA World Apart (1988), for which she won theBest Actress Award at the1988 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first Black woman and the first South African to win the Best Actress award at Cannes. In 2004, Mvusi shared an award for excellence for her architecture on theApartheid Museum.[1]
Linda Mvusi was born in theFree State of South Africa around 1955[2] and brought up inNorthern Rhodesia,Ghana andKenya.[3]
She trained as an architect and was practising her craft inHarare when she met Chris Menges who was trying to find locations for his film,A World Apart, nearBulawayo. Mvusi was initially wary of this film as she suspected it was a film made by outsiders with foreign money for a foreign audience. Mvusi felt that the millions of foreign money was preventing Africans from telling their own story. She said "white film makers [are] suppressing our own growth, our own view of history [and] our own reality". However Menges impressed her when he began to cast locals andANC members into the cast.[4]
The film was based on an autobiographical play byShawn Slovo. The film tells the story of thirteen-year-oldShawn Slovo, the daughter ofJoe Slovo andRuth First. The film explores the relationship between the daughter and her white mother. The mother is committed to the fight against the political oppression in South Africa, but the pressure of the family and politics collide and bring about the families break-up. It is set at the time of theapartheid regime in South Africa. Joe Slovo was then the head of thecommunist party in South Africa. In the film the names of the parents are changed to Gus and Diana Roth and their daughter is renamed Molly.[5]
In real life and in the film they employed a maid to care for their child. This person, Elsie, was played by Mvusi in the film.
Menges said he preferred to work with non-professional actors like Mvusi andJodhi May (she played Molly in the film). This view may have reflected however the poor relationship between Menges andBarbara Hershey, who played the leading role of the mother.[4] Mvusi reported that there were many arguments during the making of the film. Much of the tension was due to not wanting to lose the "black story", but Mvusi felt the arguments were worth it as the film was true to its message. She credits Menges with ensuring that they "are extremely sympathetic, because they are true."[4] The film was dedicated toRuth First who was killed by a parcel bomb sent by theSouth African Police in 1982.[6]
At the1988 Cannes Film Festival, Mvusi shared theBest Actress Award with her co-stars inA World Apart,[7] becoming the first Black woman and the first South African to win the Best Actress award at Cannes.[8]
Her performance was thought creditable byNewsweek magazine.[9] Mvusi returned to her profession as an architect and practices with her own company in South Africa. She has worked on the Apartheid Museum inJohannesburg.[10] where she has been named in an award for excellence by theSouth African Institute of Architects.[1] In 2004, Mvusi was working on an urban village calledFort West inTshwane.[2]
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