5Q4 > An Adventist Documentary Director

Kagiso Booysen is a young Adventist documentary maker from Botswana. She studied media at La Trobe University for five years and recently returned to Melbourne for the launch of her first documentary, Vision Tracks, with fellow doco-maker Sinka Matengu.

1 Where did you get the idea for the documentary? > I first heard about the story when I was eight years old. A lady who was a janitor at the church office in Botswana told me the story of how her brother travelled 300 kilometres in search of a religious home, and that’s how he became an Adventist. I kept that story in my heart for so long that when I finished my studies, I went back to the story and did all the research, getting the facts right. The entire production took us three years and filming itself took us five months.

2 What's the reception to the film been like? >We've had a good response from Preston and Nunawading churches, where the film was launched in Australia, as well as students at Nunawading school. They were so thrilled and had a beautiful time. We've been on national television in Botswana about it—interviews, press conferences and so on. We also took it to Zambia, where we’d been invited to take part in a show called Hot Issues—a current affairs program.

3 What were the easiest and hardest parts? > It was my first time producing such a thing but the team I worked with, I don't know how to thank them! I have to thank God for leading them. They were so good to work with. The guy who was editing for us is a Catholic priest and he did it for free. This was the easiest part. The hardest was the lack of equipment and finance. Because we had nothing—absolutely zero—we just had the ideas. But it was a good start at least! It was really hard. We did get some sponsorship but not much. The challenges helped me grow, though.

4 Do you think being a pastor's child has influenced you? > I'd say yes and no. Yes, because some people look at it as me doing it because I'm a pastor's daughter but my career really played a role in it. My father died in 1991 and had been the pastor and field president of Botswana. It was such a great loss. It can be difficult being a pastor’s child—they expect you to be an angel!

5 Would you encourage other Adventist young people to get their work into the media? > Yes, definitely in the media but not just that— in every industry. We live in a global village and a really fast world, and Adventists are blessed to have brains! Whatever you do, the church can use it somehow and improve the system. We don't want to be left behind when it comes to technology. There are so many "hidden treasures" in the church that haven’t been documented yet.