The Arch, the epic true story of the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu, launches on SABC2 on Sunday night, and will run until the end of October. The Arch’s birthday is on 7 October, making this month an apt time to honour his legacy.
The documentary series features in-depth interviews with family members such as daughter Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe and son, Trevor Tutu, as well as fellow activists and colleagues, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, Dr Brigalia Bam, Dr Allan Boesak, Ms Cheryl Carolus, Mr Mathata Tsedu, Ms Yasmin Sooka, Professor Charles Villa-Vicencio, Dr Barney Pityana and many other prominent veterans of the struggle against the then South African apartheid regime.
The documentary series – a biography of courage, activism, freedom and justice – was produced by production company Attuned You, in collaboration with the SABC and Arena Holdings. It was written and directed by Clarence Hamilton, who wrote and directed the first South Africa/Canada Treaty coproduction, Molo Fish, produced by Eddie Mbalo, a veteran of the South African film and television industry, and executive produced by Naniwe Maqetuka and Ryland Fisher.
Depth of storytelling
“The Arch is the first television documentary Attuned You has produced to mark its entry into the South African film universe, and we did it with a signature quality and depth of storytelling that we intend to bring into all our work,” said executive producer, Naniwe Maqetuka. “This documentary is the first of many which will tell the stories of great people from our country and our continent.”
Executive producer, Ryland Fisher, added, “The journey to making this powerful exploration of the man who became The Arch took three long years of weekly meetings to find all the essential elements that brought together a team that, despite tremendous odds and bureaucratic hurdles, produced a documentary series that would have made Archbishop Tutu very proud.”
Speaking on behalf of Arena Holdings, the managing director of TV & Entertainment, Thabo Mahloele, said the company was honoured to be part of a project paying tribute to a great South African, African and internationalist. “The values and wisdom of Archbishop Tutu is sorely missed in the world today where divisive people have become more emboldened. The Arch captures the influences that made Archbishop Tutu the great man he became.”
Emotive series
This emotive series, driven by rare archive footage, charts Archbishop Tutu’s journey from activist chaplain at Fort Hare University in 1968 to leading the interdenominational inauguration of Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s first black president in May 1994.
The Arch tells the story of a pious man who comes to political activism late in adulthood and takes on a conservative and racist opposition against his rise to leadership within the Anglican church, as well as the brutal repression of the apartheid state. It’s a tale of fearlessness and sacrifice that also brims with laughter and Archbishop Tutu’s exuberant sense of humour.
It retrieves the narrative of Archbishop Tutu from the rainbow nation-ism that could so easily have overshadowed the radicalism that characterised most of his spiritual and activist life. It is a life that ends in sadness at the deferment of the dream of freedom and justice at the hands of former activists, corrupt politicians and their supporters.
@ Attuned You (Pty) Ltd focuses on broadcasting, publishing, events and other areas of communication. It is owned by media veteran Ryland Fisher and marketing and communication expert, Naniwe Maqetuka.
