About The Film

“Dressing the Princess” follows the journey of Denisha and Alex, two young urban conservationists, as they fight to restore a culturally significant wetland in South Africa’s most notorious neighbourhood. 

Background

During Apartheid rule in South Africa, there was an unequal distribution of natural spaces between "white and non-white communities" in urban areas. In Cape Town, over 150,000 people of colour were forcibly removed from their homes along lush natural areas and relocated to informal settlements along the Cape Flats. While most of the natural green space in Cape Town was designated as white-only areas, a small wetland called “Princess Vlei'' was assigned to people of colour in the Cape Flats.

Amidst the trauma from ongoing discrimination, Princess Vlei became a safe haven for the surrounding community who would gather to fish, swim, and carry out traditional ceremonies. At the end of Apartheid era, the Vlei was abandoned by the government and became a dumping ground fraught with crime and gangsterism. Eventually, as conditions in the Vlei worsened, the city attempted to sell the land to build a shopping centre. This was the spark that ignited a once fragmented community to come together to fight back against the development and restore Princess Vlei into a biodiversity hotspot and cultural heritage site. 

The Story

A birds eye view of South Africa’s Cape Flats reveals glaring social and environmental inequality. Miles of informal settlements known as ‘townships’ are tightly packed together inhabited predominantly by people of colour. The townships are characterized by high levels of crime, gang violence and poverty. While the city Cape Town is home to some of the most stunning natural landscapes in South Africa - access to these areas tend to be a privilege for the wealthy minority. Many young people growing up in the townships of the Cape Flats areas are disconnected from the natural world and in turn, their own cultural roots. 

Photo by: J. Miller/Unequal Scenes

However, on the southern edge of the Cape Flats, a new movement of custodianship is taking place at Princess Vlei, a once neglected wasteland that is undergoing a remarkable ecological transformation.

Princess Vlei derives its name from an indigenous Khoi princess who was attacked and killed in the mountains by invading European sailors. Her tears flowed down the mountain to fill up the Vlei. Generations later, the legend of the Princess represents the dignity of all people who were brutally abused and dispossessed of their culture. Today, Denisha Anand and Alex Lansdowne synonymously fight to restore this dignity by helping people from the nearby townships rebuild their connection to the land by restoring Princess Vlei. 

Denisha is an intersectional environmental activist and educator, who has mobilized a small community of young Eco-Guardians from the nearby townships to restore Princess Vlei through the removal of alien species and planting thousands of indigenous fynbos. 

Meanwhile, Alex, a self-taught Terrestial Ecological Restoration & Conservationist, educates youth on the process of ecological restoration at Princess Vlei, while also fighting to restore the biodiversity of dozens of natural sites across the city.

“Dressing the Princess' is a story that reveals how ecological justice cannot be attained without redressing the social injustices that are still pervasive throughout our society. 

Why is this story important?

Cape Town is losing biodiversity faster than any other city on Earth. Conservation efforts are needed across the city in order to help restore biodiversity before it’s too late. However, conservation throughout the city and many regions of the world has been dominated by colonial ways of thinking, involving the separation of humans and nature, where communities are removed from their land and excluded from decision-making. Considering that local and indigenous communities protect 80% of the world’s biodiversity, it is imperative that the new model of conservation is centred around social justice and co-existence between communities and nature.

In Princess Vlei, Denisha and Alex are breaking barriers for community members to enable them to be part of the conservation story. "Dressing the Princess" shares a model of successful community conservation centred around social justice that can be adopted and replicated throughout the world.

Impact

1. This film will be screened at festivals, online and at political climate events such as COP27 in order to help empower and equip climate leaders to support local community driven restoration efforts.
2. "Dressing the Princess" will also be used as a tool to help mobilize more young “citizen scientists” from the Cape Flats to participate in the community restoration of Princess Vlei. 

Creative Approach 

“Dressing the Princess” follows an authentic character-driven stylistic approach with a blend of participatory and cinema verite.

Interviews with members of the community are conducted in a nearby community centre to gather a diverse perspective on the cultural and spiritual value of Princess Vlei. Animation and archival footage is leveraged to demonstrate the history of the area.

Credit

Special thanks to Kelvin Cochrane for starting this valuable restoration work at Princess Vlei. Credit to the name "Dressing the Princess" goes to Kelvin Cochrane.

But wait...there’s more! 

ReWild Africa is launching a multi-part series called "Protectors", which shares the stories of underrepresented conservationists who are on the front lines of protecting and restoring ecosystems throughout Africa. 

"Protectors" creates a space to facilitate collaborative storytelling between filmmakers and underrepresented voices in the environmental movement. 

In collaboration with organisations such as explorer.land, we offer a platform that allows climate champions to submit stories about their local restoration or conservation efforts. 

Our team selects stories with the highest potential impact and pitches them to our partners for funding. Once funding is secured, we collaborate with the climate champions to co-create a powerful short film and release it to a global audience.

What sets us apart?  

Our competitive advantage lies within our model of filmmaking. 

Through bringing the voices of communities into the creative process, we ensure each film creates impact beyond the box office. 

Inclusion Statement

"Dressing the Princess" will feature diverse perspectives from the community surrounding Princess Vlei, especially those whose experiences and voices are often underrepresented. This story follows the journey of two young people of colour, and, in addition, the production team and film crew reflects gender parity and diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Next Steps 

We have already secured funding for the development and production of this film and are seeking your support to raise $12,000 for post-production.

Funds will be used for the following stages of post-production:

Additional funds raised will be used to further develop the "Protectors" series to bring you more stories of community-led restoration efforts across Africa.

Thank you!