Award winning director Julia Jansch's The Academy, now streaming on Disney Plus
A story of empowerment, The Academy hopes to start a conversation about the upliftment of young people coming from challenging backgrounds.
Cape Talk's Sara-Jayne Makwala King speaks with Julia Jansch, director of The Academy.
Holding the honour of being the first South African commission for Disney Plus, The Academy follows protagonist Azile, a young woman from Khayelitsha, as she prepares for, and takes part in, a yacht race around Robben Island.
The project started when Jansch was introduced to Lindali Mchunu, who was aiming to transform the Royal Cape Yacht Club through a sailing academy called The Academy, a programme geared towards encouraging people from previously disadvantaged backgrounds to learn life-lessons and find agency on the sea.
As much as the documentary is about Azile and her journey to overcome socio-economic challenges, as well as her own internal challenges, the narrative sparks larger conversations.
"It’s also the story of the academy, and how the academy is empowering all these young sailors."
- Julia Jansch, director of The Academy.
It touches on, and challenges, perceptions of race, legacy institutions, and women in sport. It's also about reclaiming space and power, and the resetting effect being on, or in, the ocean can have.
“That’s exactly what the water’s doing for these sailors.”
- Julia Jansch, director of The Academy.
There's also a hope that the film, and the work that the Royal Cape Yacht Club is doing through The Academy, will inspire other institutions to be inspired and evolve and transform to enable young people to find empowerment.
"I think it’s a thesis project for transformation, and I hope that institutions of individuals experience it that way."
- Julia Jansch, director of The Academy.
For more discussion on The Academy, listen to the audio above.