Filmmaker Zoe Ramushu’s debut feature film showcased in New York 

The long anticipated comedy, mystery-murder feature “Real Estate Sisters” recently had an exclusive screening in New York. The showcase was done in partnership with the Empire State Building, New York Film Academy and the South African Consulate General in New York. 

Real Estate Sisters is one of six micro budget projects supported through a joint film-fund by Netflix and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) of South Africa, as part of a push to promote diversity, representation, and growth in South African filmmaking.

The debut feature length film is produced, written and directed by multi award winning Reabetswe Moeti-Vogt (Ubettina Wethu (SA’s adaptation of Ugly Betty), Lockdown), it’s co-written and produced by the Student Oscar ®, Student BAFTA nominated Zoe Ramushu (It Takes a Circus, To the Plate). This dynamic black female duo go by; Totem Zea Collective, a new kid on the block with a very promising future ahead.

“Real Estate Sisters” is a wild ride as two broke, feisty and determined real estate agent sisters, down on their luck and high on sass, aspire to go from selling and renting out run down apartments in shoddy parts of town to selling high-end real estate in the wealthy parts of South Africa’s capital city. When an exclusive mansion falls into their hands, it seems like their big break has finally arrived, but life takes an unexpected turn when they stumble upon a dead body! With wit, charm, and a touch of chaos, these sisters will stop at nothing to seal the deal of a lifetime.

The film is set in Pretoria, South Africa’s less known capital city. Yet it is a city that has a special place in the hearts of the dynamic filmmakers, who both feel that the city is under-represented on screen. “Pretoria has a special, suave, vibrant energy with a witty, charm and friendly character of its own,” comment Zoe Ramushu and Rea Moeti-Vogt. “There’s no place in South Africa like “Pitori” there’s certainly nowhere in the world like it.” It also happens to be the director’s hometown.

Real Estate Sisters is a homage to the strong women – cousins, aunts, neighbours, friends, who have coloured the director’s life and inspired her through the years. “These are sassy women with plenty of attitude, style, and confidence,” says Moeti-Vogt. “They may have outlandish hairstyles, gold teeth, and dangerous dance moves, but they too are dreamers with goals and lots of determination. They may have sharp tongues, sometimes loud, other times wise, but they are always real.” 

“We were intentional about our genre,” Ramushu states, “Bringing the suspense and intrigue with the murder mystery, keeping our audience entertained with lots of laughs while driving home hard truths about the realities of being Black and female. But our ultimate goal was to spread the inspirational message: ‘Black girls all over the world, your dreams are valid!’ And we did this on screen and behind the camera with a female led production.” 

This one of a kind female led film features breakout stars and original Pretorians Gina Koffman (Emmy nominated The River) and Leera Mthethwa (Gomora) as leads, and come back stars Karin van der Laag (God is African).

You can watch the trailer here.