Snl24.com | From call centre worker to making Mzansi Magic films, screenwriter Rorisang Tsikwe is still in awe

From as young as five years old, he remembers being an imaginative child who used to take his toys on imaginary adventures.

He would get carried away by these adventures and give them dramatic twists of events.

Being addicted to cartoons laid out a foundation of basic storytelling knowledge and before he knew it, he was making comic books.

From the first time he put pen to paper when he was between seven and 10 years old, Rorisang Tsikwe was exploring writing as a way to escape reality.

He had just moved from Jan Kemp Dorp to stay with his grandmother in Pampierstad, Northern Cape where he did not have any friends to play with.

For this reason, when he grew tired of watching cartoons, he would write up his comic books.

Speaking about his first comic book, he says, “The first one I made was called ‘Super Kids’ like a knock-off version of Power Rangers, which was one of my favourite childhood shows of all time!!! Making those Super Kids comics was really fun, it improved my drawing skills and sort of understanding of how a three-act structure works, without even myself knowing what I am doing till I found out in college.

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“Even in high school I would write more structured screenplays after seeing how it was formatted in English class when doing plays like The Crucible or Romeo and Juliet. The stories I wrote in high school wore more of me discovering my voice and seeing what stories more resonate with me.  I was also watching more mature TV shows at the time, like Grey’s Anatomy, Twilight, The Vampire and Prison Break. I felt pretty good when writing them and some of my classmates liked the stories,” he adds.

During this time, he did not know what screenwriting is or what it entailed. All he knew was that he had developed a love for movies and tv shows and that he wanted to pursue a career along the lines of tv production.

The passion had become so personal that when he went to the Grahamstown Arts Festival in his grade 11 year, “I had a mental break down when seeing the vast [number] of talents out there and feeling as if I would never have a chance in this career field.”

After praying about it though, he tells Drum that he got the courage to continue his pursuit.

“There were people warning me against it or discouraging me, but the problem was that film and TV was all I had known in my life. It’s really hard for me to start a new journey in a new field. So, I stuck to my course and left Northern Cape for Cape Town to study Film and Television.”

From 2015 to 2017, Rorisang studied film directing, film writing, film editing, sound design, stage acting and screen acting at AFDA Cape Town and Johannesburg campuses respectively.

It wasn’t until when he needed to get into the job market did his going get tough.

He had various jobs, from working at Shoprite in 2019 to working as a customer service representative for an American cookware company.

During his studies while in Johannesburg though, four of his film projects were bought with his fifth having aired recently on Mzansi Magic.

He excitedly shares the journey through these projects with Drum.

“So far, I have written five movies for Pula Bakgakga Media. I was approached by the owner Star Kganki Mphahlele right after I left university in 2018, it took some time for my films to get on TV but I never gave up hope, with my first film ‘Pabalelo’ appearing on Mzanzi Magic channel 161 in 2021. After that it was the romantic comedy ‘O Nyala Neng’, about a young couple afraid of getting married to each other but find a way to work over their fears.”

He adds that his third and fourth movies were teen comedies.

“The third movie was ‘Ke Maratong’ featuring Casspers Nyovest’s friend actor DeCapo [and] the fourth one was called Tsotsinkie. The fifth and latest movie is called Papa Youthful. This one I found very relatable as it’s a story about a man working in a supermarket, like did too, and longing for his youth days when he used to be a DJ, so he decides to pursue his career.”

Faced with the dilemma of having to choose which one to have as a side job between film writing and continue working for the cookware company, Rorisang recently resigned from the cookware company, packed up and went back home in Hartswater, the Northern Cape, to focus on his dream.

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“It was a job that took me a long time to get as right after college, it was pretty hard to get any film jobs. After working for the call centre for two years, I felt that I had wasted time not focusing on my field. The job was exhausting and abusing, and I felt that it was a place I would not get any life development. So around 14th of May I just quit my job and decided to give 100% of my time to my film career.”

Even though this came as a shock to his family and friends, they all had been privy of his passion and so supported his decision.

“I love being in Joburg and the city is lively but at the cost of working at a job that does not feed my soul felt like I was doing my future an injustice. So, I decided to leave my job and focus on finishing off the fifth movie, submitted it and it recently played on Mzanzi Magic on the 30th of June. I am recently residing back home with my mother and daughter, and I am committing myself to make sure I make more movies and both for commercial and personal entertainment,” the 27-year-old adds.

Outside of this, the father of one also makes short films and uploads them on his YouTube page called Rori XX.

For him, the growth of his knowledge and him nurturing it is all that’s needed to sustain him in life.

Of all his greatest achievements, he points out his daughter as his greatest.

“My daughter is an achievement I hold dear in my life, and I want her to be able to not be afraid to reach for her goals whatever they are. It would be nice if she also followed in films, but I see she gravitates more to music because it makes her happy and I am happy. That’s pretty much what I want for her; to be happy and confident with her journey through life.”

Rorisang tells Drum that his daughter loves watching him passionately write up his films on his laptop.

Acknowledging that the turn-around time for his productions is currently slow, he also says that patience is the name of his game.

He also notes that it is a good thing that he is from the countryside where life isn’t too expensive, so he is able to save for his daughter’s future while chasing his own.

While he’s now focused on telling relatable stories of ordinary people which one could hear as they sit at a street corner by a tuckshop, he wants to challenge himself by exploring writing about history or more sensitive topics like relationships, trauma or religion.

One day, he wishes to open his own film studio and bring the sci-fi as well as action movie genres to township contexts.

“I also want to leave a lasting legacy for my family,” he shares with Drum.

No matter how much he fights it, he says he can’t help the crippling urge to tell stories that he is able to express himself through.

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