Star-studded actors Vuyo Dabula and Ayanda Makayi to highlight mental health among men in upcoming film Nelson

It is a story of love and forgiveness. Shot different parts of the Eastern Cape, the upcoming romantic drama Nelson is an emotional tale of two lovers who face an incredible challenge.

Vuyo Dabula plays a role of Dr. Nawa a wise mature spiritual man whose life revolves solely around love and light.

Xavier Do Couto plays the main role as Oliver a successful marketing manager of an art centre. He is also a photographer. Xavier Do Couto is a British Southern African artist based in London, UK. He is a multi-talented entertainer, who draws on his multi-cultural experiences to tell stories that captivate and entertain audiences. He has featured in British dramas such as Silent Witness, Casualty and international franchises like Star Wars and more.

Vuyiseka Cawe is a lead actress with a role as Buhle, she a business lady that owns a boutique and catering company. She was a former model and local beauty queen.

Ayanda Makayi plays a role as Trevor, who cheats with Buhle.

Oliver, a marketing manager of an arts centre, finds himself at a crossroads. He loves his wife dearly, but he's just discovered that she cheated during their brief separation; and as a result, she's now fallen pregnant.

Lost and ruined, they consult different kinds of therapists (phycologists, traditional elders, couples who’ve been married for decades), without any success - but there's something different about Dr Nawa. There’s an unexplainable purity to him. He consults Oliver alone, at first. He explores his world. his marriage, then consults Buhle alone and the couple together. Oliver narrates his touching story of escaping Zimbabwe, only to starve in South Africa; and then turning it all around to make a success of his life. After a brief separation, Oliver's wife confesses that she's pregnant with another man's child, and she wants to keep the baby. Oliver must decide whether to stay or leave her. After all, she's the reason why he's alive and thriving in South Africa today; and they are still in love with each other.

Funded by the Nelson Mandela Museum, Bathu footwear, and Be Able Foundation, Nolubabalo says this film should open doors for more films from the Eastern Cape. Nelson is directed and produced by Nolubabalo ‘Babsi’ Mcinga and written by Lukhanyo Sikwebu.

“Nelson is an emotional tale of two lovers who face an incredible challenge. It’s a touching tale of love, unity, forgiveness, and reaching out to men going through serious devastating social and mental effects by saying it is fine to cry as a man and get support,” Nolubabalo says.

The film is produced by M&C Business Solutions and Africa Joint Vision Productions (AJVP) owned by Nolubabalo. Passionate about her craft, she dedicates her time and efforts to assist with growing the film and television industry in Africa. Nolubabalo holds to the premise of especially engaging young up and coming talent within the film and television industry and she aims to tell all the untold stories of so many Africans through the production of television and film. She aims to hold to the objective of developing skills to build a workforce for the industry and that will automatically meet the demand of international film makers.

“There is so much untapped talent in Africa and the Eastern Cape and the Eastern Cape’s beauty, and landscape is a highly sought-after commodity for film makers.” Nolubabalo adds.

She is currently shooting two other films this year in June and November, in Nigeria and South Africa.

To further establish Nolubabalo’s makings as a film producer, she has undertaken to network her activities with the best players in the field and also collaborate efforts with like-minded professionals that can help her explore such topics as the growth of exhibition as big business, the mode of production for feature films, as a market strategy, and the changing economics and structure of contemporary entertainment companies. She aims to achieve a unique collection of essays, more comprehensive and current than ever, that reveals true talent, stories written by and of Africans.