Vaya Film

Synopsis

Vaya weaves together three separate stories to create a gripping yet compassionate portrait of a range of characters immersed in the intimidating, alluring, and dangerous world of big-city Johannesburg and Soweto. Beginning on a train travelling from the coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal to Johannesburg, Vaya focuses on three passengers and follows each of them into the city. They're strangers to one another, yet bound by interlocking destinies and a shared naïveté. Nkulu is charged with retrieving his father's remains from the capital and bringing them back home for burial. Zanele is chaperoning a young girl who is en route to reunite with her mother, a troubled singer who manages a tavern. Nhlanhla, excited by the prospect of getting rich quick, is caught up in criminal activities the moment he gets off the train. Shifting effortlessly between scenes of intimacy and of bracing violence, Vaya exudes compassion for each of these small-town characters. This authentic and sincere film was long in the making, as celebrated Nigerian-born, South African-based filmmaker Akin Omotoso worked closely with citizens of Johannesburg to bring their real-life stories to screen.