Intsika is a new 26-part drama series produced by Ochre Moving Pictures, that first aired on Tuesday 12 April 2011 at 20:30 on SABC1 Mzansi Fo Sho.
Set in the small fictional village of Zithuthe in the Eastern Cape, a community once tight-knit, but where now the people – traditional by nature and deeply immersed in Xhosa culture – struggle to adapt to the challenges brought by a modern, westernised world. This is the village we met in the much talked-about mini-series, Umthunzi We Ntaba, only it’s nine years later. There are still huts, chickens in the streets and donkey carts, but the village has grown. There are now more brick houses than huts, more television aerials, more cars, more people.
Many of the people have turned away from planting crops because they had factory jobs, which no longer exist. Some people have found ways to organically adapt to a mix of the traditional and modern life, but for many, traditional beliefs clash with modernity in an uneasy mix that often leaves them disempowered. There is still a great deal of respect for traditional leaders and those in positions of authority, and loyalties are often confusingly divided between local councils and royalty or chiefs.
The intention of this series is to offer compelling viewing that is extremely relevant, not only by exploring issues that deeply affect South African society today, but by using telenovella methodology to actually change the mindsets of people and through this, influence a change in behaviours. Its primary intention is to explore the theme of manhood, and what it means to truly be a man in modern South Africa, the values of manhood take us into the realms of leadership, honour and community. One has to honour oneself and one’s own aspirations – but never at the expense of others, and there are times when a situation calls for a leader to sacrifice his own personal desires for a greater good.
