Exactly 8 years ago, I saw a billboard of the Joburg Film Festival. I heard it was prestigious, and I believed it. It seemed you truly needed something special to be part of it. I knew I was special, but I often asked myself what truly set me apart from everyone else.
A year later, I had a heartfelt chat with my mother. I told her I wanted to be great — at least one of the greats. She paused, looked into my eyes, and said, “Neo, you’re in an institution (university), a place you’ve always prayed to be. You are exactly where you wanted to be. Now, do something. You have the strength to pray, the work ethic, and a dream. Use everything you have. Be the hardest worker in every room you enter.”
That moment, I closed my eyes, prayed and made a wish, then walked away. The rest is history. After producing 15 films, today Mayfair, a Pulchritude Pictures original and a Leonardo Neo Mokoena picture, has been selected to be part of the
@joburg_film_festival — the very festival I once only dreamed about.
Mayfair will be screened right here in Johannesburg, in Sandton, Theatre on the Square, on the same ground where I prayed and dreamed that day.
It’s also been chosen for two international film festivals.
@saathjiyofoundation @folklorefestival.za
Mayfair screening Details at the Joburg Film Festival:
📍Venue: Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa (Theatre on the Sqaure)
⏰Time: 11:30
🎫Tickets: R160,00
👁️Date: 07 March 2026
I didn’t start with a big camera, and even now, no matter what challenges life brings — I’ve lost things and people, and I know I will lose more — I refuse to let life make me compromise this dream. My greatest moments didn’t come from my victories but from my greatest defeats, because it was during the hardest times, I found the strength to rise again.
