One Take Grace

Directed by Lindiwe Matshikiza

“I want to talk to you,” says a female voice, over a close-up of the speaker’s resolute face. And so begins the story of 58-year-old Mothiba Grace Bapela, a Black South African woman who, like many others, has had a tough life. Early on in One Take Grace we see Bapela cleaning a toilet in somebody’s house. It’s a significant scene, because she’s always worked in the service of other people. She rarely saw her own children, who were raised by her mother. When she was able to, she pursued a career as an actor.