Alex Yarde’s interview with the director of the inspiring documentary “i am Thalente”—Natalie Johns.
—
I wrote about this remarkable film “i am Thalente“—read it and view the trailer here. I recently had the opportunity to speak in depth with Director Natalie Johns and star Thalente Biyela. i am Thalente is the story about Thalente Biyela (pronounced “tal-uhnt” and means “talent” in Zulu), a young, homeless South African skateboarding prodigy who wants to change his situation and become a Professional Skateboarder. His raw talent and compelling personal journey attracts the notice of professional skateboarding legends Tony Hawk and Kenny Anderson.
I’ll be publishing my interview with Thalente in an up coming All Things Geek!
Alex Yarde (AY): Thank you for speaking with me today Natalie!
Natalie Johns (NJ): Thank you Alex. It’s good to speak with you!
AY: Chronicling Thalente’s amazing journey must have been a huge undertaking. I was admittedly overwhelmed by the end of the film, it was such a long, hard but ultimately hopeful journey! He’s no kin of mine but I was so proud of him by the end I had tears of joy!
NJ: Thank you so much! That really makes me smile! I’m so glad you see the hopefulness of Thalente’s story because that’s exactly how I feel. I’m so unbelievably proud of him. And I do feel like he’s my family as much as any of my blood. I love him, and want to see him to do well in the world.
And he will!
AY: Yes! I have no doubt he will! There was a part of the film where you had commented that his goodness was infectious, that people wanted to help him. It was remarkable to see all these professional skateboarders comment after meeting and working with Thalente, regardless of their backgrounds, that they could all see a part of themselves in him, the shared passion and love of skateboarding but also the falling and getting back up metaphor and the respect they shared resonated in the way they spoke about him.
I’ve told folks about the film being “The Rocky of Skateboarding films”—is that a fair analogy?
NJ: Ha, yes I’m so glad all that came through in the film. His personality and positivity through difficulties were infectious.
AY: What was the process? How long did it take to complete the project?
NJ: From concept to where we are now it’s been four years. Two years shooting pretty intensely, post production then “getting it up and out the door” about four years. I was lucky enough to get some footage that had been shot of Thalente a few years before so it seems I’ve covered his life a lot longer than I did. He was somebody that was definitely drawing attention in South Africa.
The process was hard because the reason I did the film in the first place was to figure out how to help him. He wanted to get off the streets, he wanted to find a way to make a place for himself in this world and I wanted to find a way to help him do that. Film was a tool for me, it was a way to explore and use my skill to get people around him and to document it.
But at times it seemed he needed a friend more than a camera person around him. It was trying to balance my perspectives because he lived with me, so it was like “should I film this?” This may be great from a filmmaking perspective but does he need more of a friend or supporter? Or does he need to speak candidly? So it was challenging from that perspective. As challenging as it was for me, he was always more important to me than the film. Making sure he wasn’t taken advantage of. l always put Thalente’s needs first and what worked for the film second. For two years it was challenging but very rewarding.
AY: You were the documentarian, you got the shots you needed to drive the narrative forward and tell the story you wanted to tell, but at the same time, your affection for Thalente and concern for his emotional state were clearly paramount. Your rapport with Thalente struck me vividly in the scene where he was a bit tentative to do a grind and you said “just do it” and he took the camera and gave you the board. And in your narration of that scene, I thought you handled both tough roles as observer and caregiver brilliantly.
NJ: Thank you! Initially, I did not want my voice in the film, and my first edits of the film didn’t have me on screen at all. I screened early cuts for friends and executive producers and everyone had the same questions— “Nat there is a big missing part of the story, how does he get here? Who cares this much to do get him to do this or that?” I could only answer these questions by giving some context being a part of the story. I was orchestrating some of these things, like finding a mentor and tutor. My initial concern about being in the film was like “who cares?” It’s not about me and my involvement it’s about Thalente and his journey. I had to come to terms with putting myself into the story, it was very uncomfortable for me as a filmmaker because I’m always behind the scenes. I make a living by disappearing in the background and filming others experiences. It doesn’t feel as natural to be a participant in the story. It took some finessing to get the balance right so it made narrative sense.
AY: What kept recurring for me as I watched the film was how wise beyond his years Thalente seemed. What qualities stood out for you the most about Thalente as you got to know him?
NJ: He was very wise. What struck me was his understanding of people. Because of what he’s been through he has very little judgement and a lot of acceptance. He doesn’t expect things from people, he also doesn’t ask for things from people. He has this acceptance of people’s “humanness” that is quite mind-blowing. I think it’s something we can all aspire too. It’s really rare for people to accept others for who they really are, and do it without judgement. Really I don’t know another soul in this world who can see people for who they are and accept them the way that he does.
AY: His story has universal appeal. I don’t think anyone can walk away from this film uninspired, the title “i am Thalente” I feel is not accidental, after seeing the film, I felt like “I am, you are, we all are Thalente” because his is a very human story. I recognized him in me and the struggle for meaning and acceptance. It resonates on a very deep level to our shared humanity.
NJ: You hit the nail on the head! That’s exactly it. That’s what I’m trying say, to convey that concept of equanimity. Like “I am you, you are me, we are ultimately all the same”. We all want to be happy, we all have our individual challenges and struggles but if we can see more of ourselves in each other I think we gain more understanding, more compassion, more kindness, more desire to see the other person succeed or overcome whatever they need to overcome. Seeing ourselves in each other is really vitally important. Thalente did that for me and I really wanted to translate that into the film and the fact that you can see it is success! I’m really grateful!
AY: You certainly did Natalie! Thank you! Your film is a remarkable achievement! So what is next? Film festivals?
NJ: Well, we’ve done our film festival run and we’ve done really well, we won the Audience Award at the L.A. Film Festival, it’s played Portland and all over. We’re doing theatrical screenings across the country, the film comes out on iTunes May 13th the pre-orders were really good so please let people know it’s available now. It will be on VOD and eventually on the streaming services.
AY: Good luck with the film, it was great speaking with you! I’ll be letting folks know about it!
NJ: Thank you so much Alex, it was a pleasure. Keep in touch!
i am Thalente is available now on iTunes. I’m not kidding, you don’t need to know or care the first thing about skateboarding to walk away with a valuable new perspective witnessing this young man’s journey. See it today!
all art-seed & spark