Using never-before-heard recordings, rare archival footage and her best-known songs, addressing the missing chapters of her impact in Portugal, Canada Holland and the UK, URBAN ZULU is structured as a three-part triumphal tragedy of an African woman in a hostile world. Diminutive in stature, big in voice, fighting cancer, daring to lead, her persistence, her determination and her breakthrough is of an initiate into the mysteries of Zulu Cosmology.
Hailing from Zululand, the first act opens with her early musical inspirations and a hopeful start. From a young age her hope is to be a starlight of the emerging golden era of South African Jazz and theatre.
The second act deals with her exile and trials abroad, through the transitions of South Africa Mozambique, Portugal, Canada and the UK before arriving in Holland. Through collaborations with Osibisa, Jabula and the West African Ifang Bondi marabouts, through guidance from Letta Mbulu and Princess Magogo she finds her unique musical identity.
The third act describes her return to the New South Africa and great musical achievements of European tours, the Female Factory with Leoni Jansen and the breakthrough Urban Zulu album. This is offset by illness, developing breast cancer. A grand goodbye concert was organized in Johannesburg. Finally, she passed away without the recognition she deserves. Triumphantly her legacy is resurrected and lives on.
The combination of Busi’s explosive stage presence, the colourful costume in black, orange and red, her beads, the pacing covering the entire stage, the rhythmical trance the sangoma music meditation is true to the explosive-immersive experience of her fans in her concerts.
The film is shot in South Africa and the Netherlands and seamlessly blends observational and interview-based storytelling and captivating live performance sequences. Brilliant black and white images of the music archives, together with a rich aesthetic of sub-tropical, lush green of Durban throw unforgettable images to the viewer.
“Going to a Busi concert was like being branded. It was like a ring of fire that was placed on your forehead or your butt or wherever. But you came away burnt. You were branded. You'd seen that concert. You'd been in that moment.” Giselle Turner
Producers and Directors
The film is directed by Oscar nominee and award winning South African film maker Rehad Desai. With his history of activism, he emphasises the defiant attitude of the protagonist. He sees her as the Urban Zulu, transforming traditionalism into futurism. The Dutch segment is directed by prolific author and film maker Ton Van der Lee. His Spirits of Africa series is about traditional healers in South Africa. Producer and Writer Struan Douglas is a Durban born musician and author of “To the Peace on Earth,” the music of the post-apartheid era and the healing of the sound shamans of Musical Energy Loud Truth Beyond 2000 (MELT2000), Busi’s record label.
The risk to make this film is low as evidenced by the successful completion of the development phase financed by the South African National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF). Further support is available at Durban Film Office, Kwazulu Natal Film and Tourism Fund and Department of Trade Industry (IDFA Fund). The intended budget for the film is €250.000 with a step budget in place. Intended release: 2027. The impact is high as her legacy reinforces the most of basic of freedoms not yet realised in South Africa – that the doors to learning and culture shall be opened.
To further develop the project, we are looking to team up with foreign producers, preferably from the Netherlands, and other partners. Connect with us at the Movies that Matter, Sheffield Doc Fest and Durban Film Mart in 2025. For more information struan@sausagefilms.co.za 0729568134
