In a country with 11 national languages, not all are equal. South African comedians are fighting back by standing up for their mother tongues — and healing the wounds of apartheid in the process.

Synopsis

IN STITCHES follows three trailblazing South African comedians who are bringing their mother tongues to the stage. More than two decades after the fall of apartheid, 11 official languages thrive in South Africa. Despite this, English continues to dominate the comedy scene. Sixty percent of the population cannot understand a word.

Vernacular comedians NOKO MOSWETE, LUPHELO KODWA, and ZICCO SITHOLE are flipping the script. Addressing the long-ignored South African majority, these artists are decolonizing comedy. Audiences are hooked. Vernac shows buzz with unparalleled energy, somewhere between a rock concert and a sermon. Never before have black South African audiences shared such powerful catharsis, led by magnetic comedians who look and sound like them. If laughter is the best medicine, these artists act as guerilla medics, using humor to tend to the untreated masses. .
This work isn’t easy. Offstage, these comedians face immense obstacles: media disinterest, family conflicts, sexism, and pressures to succeed in the nation’s fastest city.