Lloyd Ross found his story accidentally. He was looking for a particular sound while working on a music project a few years ago. The sound was from a banjo, and the best banjo player in the country is Kaatjie Davids.
Davids is a Cape Malay choir master and a painter with buckets full of attitude.
The moment Ross met him he knew he had a story.
"'I like to boast', he told me. He is a larger-than-life character, a creator of his own universe," Ross said.
Ross spent the next two years filming two competing choirs prepare for The Silver Fez, a prize for Cape Town's Cape Malay choirs, and what has been described as the Holy Grail of Cape Town's Islamic subculture. He follows Davids and Bucks, a wealthy entrepreneur, as they assemble their troops and prepare for the tough musical battle. The drama that unfolds contains all the elements of a great story. There is betrayal, revenge and the hope of glory.
The music of the Cape Malay choirs is the Nederlands liedere and is a unique blend of Christian and Islamic sounds. It is an ancient music that arrived in the Cape on slave ships and is considered sacred in this part of the world. The leads sing eastern quarter tone melodies while the backing chorus sings western harmonies. The lyrics, which haven't been changed in 200 years, are sung in ancient Dutch.
Ross remembers some of the sounds from his youth. It is the sound of the Cape Flats and a sound of a Cape Town sub-culture that you may recognise, but know very little about.
The Silver Fez has won three documentary awards - at the Dubai International Film Festival, and at the Durban International Film Festival.
Last weekend Ross won best cinematographer and best director at the Saftas. He is currently negotiating a deal with a British distribution company for this award-winning movie, which is yet to find an interested TV broadcaster locally.
The Silver Fez is currently showing at the Labia in Cape Town, and will be shown at the Cape Winelands Film Festival next month.
