While You Weren't Looking

The changing landscape of post-Apartheid South African politics and lifestyles is portrayed through three central relationships: a successful Black real estate woman in Cape Town is cheating on her white wife, while their bohemian daughter is dating a gender non-confirming woman in the Khayalitsha township. Meanwhile an ageing gay man goes in a search of one of his former lovers, a former uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) operative who is now a political heavyweight.

Curators’ statement:

South Africa presents an interesting location through which we encounter queer lives. The tension of race and transgressive identities are engaged thematically and geographically in the film. While You Weren’t Looking emphasizes a sentiment that gender and sexuality are important to a certain type of person, but also refuses this sentiment by the introduction of a gender non-conforming character whose appearance disrupts the notion that only certain South Africans can be queer. These tensions are explored through the lives of an older generation that reminisces on the civil rights struggles that have led many parts of South Africa to be a safe queer haven.

Akojo Film Collective

An incisive look at different levels of privilege in South Africa’s queer community.

Grethe Kemp, City Press (South Africa)

Through three parallel narratives, a compelling composite of contemporary South African LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) culture emerges, buoyed by immersive cinematography and an open approach to filmmaking.

Kwanele Sosibo, Mail & Guardian (South Africa)

Community Partner

UBC Africa Awareness Initiative