Bayview Entertainment Readies The DVD Debut Of Director Zola Maseko's The Whale Caller

Bayview Entertainment has tabbed Mar. 17 for the domestic DVD debut of Swaziland/South African filmmaker Zola Maseko’s 2016 film adaptation of novelist Zakes Mda’s 2005 novel, The Whale Caller.

They come to Hermanus, about 40 miles down the coast from Cape Town in South Africa, by the bus loads to watch whales — specifically Southern Right Whales — during the late winter and early spring.   

The town has an official whale crier, you know, like the town crier of old who gathered people in the square to make announcements   His name is Whale Caller (Sello Maake Ka-Ncube  — Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Hearts & Minds, Bopha!), perhaps he has a real name, but that has been lost to time.   

He has been at this all of his life.   He lives alone on the beach, near Hermanus Cove, and blows a kelp horn to announce the arrival of whale pods during the “season.”   

The tourists are now gone and the Whale Caller has something of a hole is his heart as his favorite whale, one he has named Sharisha, has not returned when expected.   The local town people are more than a little concerned that their Whale Caller is losing it.  He’s a man in his prime and in love with a whale, how can this be?

Saluni (Amrain Ismail-Essop — Boy Called Twist, Forgiveness, Number 37) comes to his defense during the rambunctious town gathering.   While that might seem laudable, she has something of a reputation as being the town drunk … and more.   Depending on the time of day — and the light — Saluni is either a very attractive woman or a hag.

To complete this “love triangle,” Saluni becomes enamored with the Whale Caller, and more or less will not take no for an answer.   He reluctantly, at first, comes around and tries to help her with her drinking problem … but his heart is not totally in it as he worries about Sharisha and why it has taken so long for her to return.

The Whale Caller, a love story like none other, worked the film festival circuit, including local (South African) stops at the Joburg Film Festival in Johannesburg and Durban International Film Festival … and then opened theatrically in South Africa in October of 2017.   It arrives here virtually unseen.   DVD, Mar. 17 from Bayview Entertainment … it is certainly worth a look.