- For nearly seven years, Liesl Priem and her husband, Nicki, have been working on a documentary to capture the history and cultural impact of the Luxurama theatre in Cape Town.
- Despite challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, they have conducted 30 interviews and are seeking additional funding to complete the project.
- The documentary aims to preserve the memories and stories associated with Luxurama for future generations.
For going on seven years, capturing the history and impact of the Luxurama on film has been the passion project of Mad Little Badger, who seeks to document the theatre’s historical significance for generations.
For Liesl Priem, who grew up in the theatre while her mother managed it, the project is about more than just preserving history but also sharing it with the world.
“We started working on the documentary in 2017 and by the time Covid-19 hit, we had six interviews and 50% funding for the full documentary as per DTI guidelines and some other soft funding,” she says.
Resuming the project with a mass crowdfunding campaign, they have since completed 30 interviews but are still hoping to add the likes of Madeegah Anders, Jonathan Butler, Paddy Lee Thorpe, Joe Schaffers, Warren Ludski, Terry Smith and Glen Roberts to their list.
“I have a personal connection to the Luxurama – my mother managed the theatre for 25 years and I have a really good relationship with many of the artists. Looking back to 2017 when we started working on the project, we could not find archival material related to the Lux and hardly any footage, so what started as a documentary became a historical and cultural search into our heritage,” she says.
ALSO READ | Luxurama Theatre documentary keeps Cape Town’s history alive
“We are proud to capture the interviews of the people who performed at the Lux and cut their teeth there as well as people who worked there and patrons who attended the shows. We feel that it is an important story to tell in honour of our heritage and the stories we carry in our hearts that were not deemed newsworthy at the time when it occurred.”
Stories
Mad Little Badger is a video and film production company founded by Liesl and her husband, Nicki, operating from Cape Town.
Where they come from and why they need to know their history. The importance of their lives and the impact they left on others. These accounts will be able to clarify stories and carry on to many generations,” she says.
With their crowdfunding campaign nearing its end, they are appealing for locals to share in the historical significance by donating to the cause.
“I would like to appeal to everyone who has ever attended, performed or raised funds at the Luxurama to please donate towards the project.
“I humbly ask you to see past the old dilapidated building that stands in Park Road, Wynberg and to look into your hearts and help us keep the memories alive,” she says.
“I asked everyone to donate something that could help us finish this project so that we can bring it back to the people and share our history, our heritage and our culture for the world to see.
Donations
“It really pains me to hear how wonderfully people speak about the Luxurama, but hardly anyone has been willing to donate. I don’t know why but I would truly appreciate it if you ever experienced the Lux that you please assist in whichever way you can.”
After they complete filming the project, they hope to get Nicki to Australia to film an integral interview with Warren Ludski.
“He worked for the Cape Herald and has a wonderful archive sitting in Australia that we need to capture.
“Many people say that we should just do a Zoom interview but it’s about the actual archive that Warren is sitting with. We want to capture the information in its entirety. Look at the actual newspaper clippings, film Warren holding the photographs and flipping through albums telling his story,” says Liesl.
“The scale of this interview will be shown as where Warren started and where he is today and what he has achieved. Sitting with him face to face, listening to him tell his story and capturing the emotion is what is important. It’s not just a story, it’s someone’s story of their life – this is what we want to capture for future generations.”
They hope to complete the project by the end of this year and bring it to audiences with a theatrical release by next year.
