Before South African audiences have the opportunity to see God’s Work on the big screen, the film has already attracted international acclaim for doing something few films attempt: turning the camera back on itself.
Earlier this year, God’s Work won the Radwan El-Kashef Prize for Best Film Addressing an African Issue at the 15th Luxor African Film Festival in Egypt, where it celebrated its Middle East and North Africa premiere.
Named after the acclaimed Egyptian filmmaker Radwan El-Kashef, the award recognises films that engage deeply with African realities through cinematic excellence and artistic vision.
Yet the film’s greatest achievement may not lie in what it shows, but in what it asks.
Set among Durban’s unhoused communities, God’s Work begins as what appears to be a documentary. As the story unfolds, however, the filmmaker himself enters the frame, exposing the uncomfortable power dynamics between those who are seen and those who control the act of seeing. Rather than claiming to speak for marginalised communities, the film interrogates whether that claim is ever truly possible.
Writer and director Michael James says the project emerged from recognising the limits of observation itself.
“The camera did not grant access – it revealed distance. I realised I wasn’t simply documenting reality; I was constructing it through my own perspective. Rather than hide that tension, I wanted the film to confront it directly.”
That bold approach drew particular praise from internationally respected South African filmmaker Ntshavheni Wa-Luruli, who served on the Luxor jury.
“What I appreciate about this film is its fearless commitment to a unique storytelling vision. It does not seek permission from established conventions, nor does it defer to the technical formalism that has too long defined and constrained South African filmmaking.”
Wa-Luruli went on to praise the film’s pursuit of “an authentic cinematic voice rooted in its own cultural soil” and described it as part of a new generation of South African filmmakers “willing to experiment, to dismantle inherited structures, and to build something new in their place in pursuit of a genuine South African film identity that has long been overdue.”
Producer Sithabile Mkhize believes the film’s greatest achievement lies in its willingness to examine the act of representation itself. “God’s Work doesn’t claim to speak on behalf of anyone. Instead, it asks audiences to consider how stories are told, whose perspectives shape them, and what responsibilities come with representing lives marked by inequality. Rather than offering easy conclusions, the film invites viewers into a conversation about visibility, empathy and the ethics of looking.”
The film features Thobani Nzuza, Mbulelo Radebe, Omega Mncube, Siya Xaba, Zenzo Msomi and Nduduzo Khowa with cinematography by Jared Hinde and score by award-winning composer, West-African born George Acogny.
The Luxor award forms part of an expanding international festival journey that includes selections at the Joburg Film Festival, the Durban International Film Festival, and the Zanzibar International Film Festival.
Now, after travelling internationally, God’s Work returns home for its first commercial theatrical engagement.
South African audiences will have just seven days, from 10 -16 July, to experience one of the country’s most internationally acclaimed independent films at Ster-Kinekor Cinema Nouveau Rosebank.
