While the Gen Z socialites leave Johannesburg’s suburbs to sort through the inner-city piles, the irony of this quest for used, upcycled fashion is more a trend than any real commitment. And new film ‘Vimba!’ is honest and neutral about that fact – it’s simply starting the conversation, with no value judgements. The short follows main character Tamara Moeng as she goes digging in Dunusa, finds the designer coat of her dreams – and then an encounter ensues.

I sat down with director Monde Gumede to get a glimpse behind the camera. Not interested in any overly deep analysis, Monde’s all-black spikey silver aesthetic matches perfectly with the prickly practicality he brings to this film. It’s cool and it works. “⁠We are not heroes, we are these complex characters in Joburg who feel altruistic because of the thrifting and this immersion we do in the city to feel ‘down’,” says Monde in a matter-of-fact tone. “I like the idea of framing someone as a villain and a hero. Fashion and art have this dynamic and when we get that we can just have fun. We all have our hustle and that’s not a bad thing.”

With some styling support from Calvin Klein, but otherwise totally self-financed, the project is also an ode to commercially-focused creatives stepping back into their art. No brief, no constraints, no pressure to send off a “key message”, just a strong film that doesn’t try to take itself too seriously. The magic is in the beautiful shots, the pauses for peeks into the city, and in Moeng herself. Driven more by music than dialogue, she still has the ability to say so much through facial expressions, gestures and the close shots which capture her movements.

The idea that ‘Vimba!’ is meant to be obscure makes Monde laugh. “I don’t believe something is valuable when half the audience can’t understand it. Commercial work does have this way of making sure everyone gets it, so maybe that’s carried over. But I don’t have such a high opinion of myself, nor am I a religious figure convincing anyone. I’m telling a story you can choose to embrace, or not, and that’s cool,” he says, shrugging at the idea.

Capped at less than three minutes long, the film carries the short form, grip you and go nature of film viewing we’re so used to on social media. As a way of creating, it’s allure in its ability to say so much by saying almost nothing at all.

‘Vimba!’ is a SHIBOBO! film with the support of Calvin Klein.