The romantic drama Smart Casuals, set in Johannesburg, features two couples travelling different paths in their search for love. As one couple moves towards love and a life together, the other realises that love is not what they imagined it to be.
Taki, a photographer in his mid-thirties, has sworn off serious relationships for the time being. He is happily playing the field, enjoying the thrills of casual relationships until he meets Tumi who unexpectedly rocks his world, leading to a change of heart.
Conversely, Mahlatsi and Bheka have been in a long relationship of 12 years, but have postponed getting married twice. The couple is introduced during their third attempt at tying the knot. While Mahlatsi has always wanted to marry, a part of her feels that there is a reason why the wedding has never happened. She fears that it might be too late for her to leave, and start over.
Smart Casuals is written and produced by Zwo Farisani’s (Make-Up and Cigarettes) together with Ndamu Farisani of Farisani Creations. The movie marks Farisani’s feature film directorial debut.
Director Zwo Farisani says: “I have always preferred films that lean towards an authentic experience, over those that are fairytales. With Smart Casuals, we have attempted to create an authentic experience by finding a sense of transparency and vulnerability within ourselves, which we hope has been infused into the film’s DNA.”
The film stars Anga Makubalo (Jiva!, Broken Vows), Angela Sithole (Savage Beauty, The Queen), Terrence Ngwila (The Wife, Generations: The Legacy), Mandisa Constable, Nyaniso Dzedze (Black is King, Hear Me Move), Nomsa Twala (Savage Beauty) and Hip-Hop dance pioneer, Kudzai Mureriwa.
it is one of six micro budget projects supported through a joint film-fund by Netflix and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport Arts and Culture of South Africa. The fund aims to alleviate the pressure filmmakers face to raise additional funding, and boost recovery of the creative industry from the pandemic, while creating jobs.
The movie is now streaming on Netflix.