IT WAS only at the ANC's January 8 Statement this year in Mbombela that Lesego Mphake got to know of Ruth Mompati.

The 89-year-old struggle veteran was being honoured with the Isithwalandwe/Seaparankwe, the highest honour the political party bestows on individuals, and the filmmaker's interest was piqued.

"I was intrigued by her and her story. It showed me that there are many more people who fought for the freedoms we enjoy today and can easily be forgotten."

Mphake had already been nursing an idea of a film festival in his home province of North West and, after researching Mompati, he knew it would be fitting to name the festival in her honour. Eight month's later Mphake sits as creative and festival director for the Ruth Mompati Film Festival billed for the sleepy town of Vryburg, Mompati's birthplace.

With the support of Disco Segapo, municipal manager at Naledi local municipality in Vryburg, Mphake plans a glamorous opening night and will take the film "to the people".

He says the festival - from November 8-12 - will kick off at the Naledi Municipal Theatre with the screening of Miners Shot Down, a film tracing the developments of the Marikana massacre.

He says screenings will be staged at schools around the municipality and they will also conduct workshops on film production, including scriptwriting, for youngsters interested in filmmaking.

"We're dealing with previously disadvantaged communities, where film is a luxury and travelling would be unfair, so we'll take the films to the people."

Mompati is a former teacher who also worked as a typist for Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo at their law practice in Johannesburg. She was elected to the ANC Women's League national executive in 1954 and two years later was one of the leaders of the iconic Women's March to the Union Buildings.

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