Dream Call

A 22-minute narrative short film by Nhlakanipho Mashinini,

THE FILM

THE DREAM OF A BETTER LIFE. THE COST OF BELONGING.

What happens when the place you came to build a future becomes the place that makes you question whether you belong?

In DREAM CALL, two Ghanaian brothers, Agyeman and Derrick, arrive in Johannesburg with hopes of a better life. But during an ordinary day filled with mounting frustrations and encounters with prejudice, the future they imagined begins to fracture.

Agyeman is determined to complete the final steps required for their permit renewal. Derrick, however, is reaching a different conclusion: perhaps a life built elsewhere is not worth the cost of sacrificing their dignity.

As their day unfolds, the brothers are forced to confront more than the obstacles in front of them. They must also reckon with what they want from the lives they are trying to build, and whether they can continue pursuing the same dream.

Based on true events, DREAM CALL brings the complex realities of xenophobia, migration and belonging into the intimate space between two brothers.

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

For filmmaker Nhlakanipho Mashinini, DREAM CALL began with conversations with his friend and collaborator Dickson Adu Agyei, whose personal experiences helped inspire the story.
Their shared interest in film and architecture became a starting point for exploring Johannesburg: a city of striking contrasts, where people arrive carrying ambitions and the hope of building something better, even as the realities of the city complicate those dreams.
The film places its characters within Johannesburg's built environment, allowing the city to become more than a backdrop. Its architecture and lived spaces reflect the contradictions of a place shaped by different cultures, identities and histories of migration.
Made independently with close friends and colleagues, DREAM CALL was also an exercise in collective belief. For Mashinini, bringing the film to life reaffirmed that independent filmmaking is a shared act of passion, trust, creativity and perseverance.

FROM THE FILMMAKER

Mashinini hopes audiences leave DREAM CALL thinking about the complexities of South Africa and the many identities, cultures and ambitions that shape it. But beneath those complexities, the filmmaker points to something universal: love, particularly the bond between brothers.

The film is also an invitation to reflect on resilience and the pursuit of a dream in the face of prejudice and uncertainty. Its questions are difficult, but its hope remains: that love, courage and perseverance can help us keep moving towards the lives we imagine