NYADIFF 2024 Review: Death of a Whistleblower

Another film which we were excited to see was Death of a Whistleblower, a thriller where a journalist starts to investigate privatization of the country's prison and corruption. Director Ian Gabriel based this story on real life assassinations of South African journalists. The story goes as follows investigative reporter Luyanda Masinda feels that the paper she works for isn't doing enough to uncover governmental corruption and struggles to find a story that will appease her editor. One night she reconnects with her colleague, Stanley who have a great story on biological warfare and the government's involvement. After a romantic night with him which leads to them going out to eat in the morning, Stanley is killed in a mysterious hit and run and she is left unharmed. From there she gets involved in a high stakes race to find out the source of the government's involvement and expose the truth before a bill in government gets passed. Noxolo Dlamini who plays Luyanda in the film is fantastic as a no nonsense reporter who always want the exclusive but is protective of those close to her. There are scenes that are so emotional that you think she is Luyanda and you can see her heart is on her sleeve as she walks around the city trying to uncover the dark secrets of the government and protect those who help her like her friend Astha (Kathleen Stevens) a computer whiz who is Luyanda's best friend and confidant.

The inspiration of journalists risking their lives to uncover corruption is the main theme in Death of a Whistleblower but it is not the only theme. Yes there is racism, government involvement in underhand deals but a prominent theme is the law and the emphasis Luyanda have in it to put the powers that be in court. A great concept to touch on what the law can and can not provided to the working class especially those who knows they're in danger for exposing the truth. Hence the name of the movie even though the actual whistleblower dies, it's how it gets there where the script gets intense and gripping due to the twists and turns. The action scenes (yes there is fighting in there) are great, nothing overdramatic just scenes that compliment the plot and characters. We give a major nod to the script because tackling these topics is touchy and emotional and the writing did not overkill the messages. The scenery and cinematography also gives the film a mysterious look as the city gets dark to light even though the characters are in the shadows in plain sight. Gabriel did a wonderful job with this political thriller and it was a great way to open this year's ADIFF. We look forward to seeing this film in more festivals and eventually get a theatre run that it truly deserve.

Death of a Whistleblower is directed by Ian Gabriel and written by Gabriel, Philip Roberts and Kelly-Eve Koopman. Produced by ETV, Known Associates Entertainment, Department of Trade & Industry of South Africa and Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa.