By Mohalenyane Phakela
MASERU — Popular local comedy group, Lilaphalapha Productions is set to launch Part 3 of their series at Ster Kinekor Cinema one on March 28 at 6pm, the Weekender heard at a press conference on Tuesday.
Lilaphalapha Teropong, the latest in their series, alternates between both the rural and urban settings.
“It was not easy to produce part one and two as we had to fund them from our own pockets. We were hoping to raise funds with Lilaphalapha Two, but due to piracy we suffered a substantial loss,” said the Managing Director of Lilaphalapha Productions, Bofihla Neko.
Neko said they were approached by a South African company which promised to protect the coming DVD with a 64-letter-protection code that will prohibit people from ripping the film.
“It costs a lot of money to produce a quality movie, roughly M250 000, which we anticipated as our budget. It is the kind of money that we could not raise on our own so we had to entice businesses to buy advertising space within the movie.
“We were able to get assistance from companies like Vodacom, WASCO, Alliance Insurance, Prestige Furnitures, Seshoeshoe Production and Thabure Productions.
“With the amazing reception we got from countries like Botswana, we had to make one of the best comedies Africa has ever produced, contending with those from Nigeria and South Africa’s Ekasi: Our Stories, Lokshin Bioskop.
In part one and two, Lilaphalapha, (Bofihla Neko) was troubled by his two notorious sons Shorts (Thuso Dlamini) and Mokitimi (Shoaepane Sehahle) in the rural areas of Lesotho. He then decided to leave them behind and go on a search for his sister in Maseru.
Part three commences as Lilaphalapha lands at a bus-stop in Maseru and marvels at everything before him such as ladies in miniskirts, fleets of vehicles and so many people, each minding their own business.
He manages to find his sister but struggles to adapt to life in the fast lane.
“We have increased the number of people on cast in order to give the movie a different angle and expand it by adding more celebrities.
“We conducted auditions in Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Berea, Maseru, Mafeteng, Quthing and Mohale’s Hoek so as to extract raw talent. There is so much talent beyond Maseru, I urge other film makers to consider that,” said Neko.
The launch is going to be a red-carpet show with up to 60 local celebrities invited to witness the ceremony.
Those attending the launch are expected to be dressed to kill and be on time.
“To instill that confidence in our celebrities, we will be giving awards to legends that have pioneered different sectors in the country, including the media and sports. We hope to make the award ceremony an annual event.”
