British Council Logo UK Films Database
Project Detail

Breathe Umphefumlo

Synopsis

"The striking and brutal realities of the students struggling for food, shelter and medication. Mimi's death from TB - and her illness unnoticed at first even by her closest friends - cannot but send a chilling chord in our modern world." A Cape Town-set reworking of Puccini’s La Bohème, sung in Xhosa (with some English dialogue).
'Breathe Umphefumlo' sees director Mark Dornford-May (U-Carmen eKhayelitsha) reunited with singer Pauline Malefane and the Isango Ensemble.
Berlinale 2015, Berlinale Special - World premiere

Details

Year
2015
Type of project
Features
Running time
90 mins
Director
Mark Dornford-May
Producer
Mark Dornford-May, Vlokkie Gordon
Co-Producer
Christoph Bauer, Felix Blum, Florian Caspar Seibel (aka Richter)
Executive Producer
Mike Downey, Sam Taylor
Editor
Tanja Hagen
Screenwriter
Mark Dornford-May, Pauline Malefane (based on La Bohème Librettos by Luigi Illica, Giuseppe Giacosa))
Director of Photography
Matthys Mocke
Production Designer
Birrie Le Roux
Composer
Mandisi Dyantyis, Pauline Malefane (Based on La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini)
Principal cast
Pauline Malefane, Mhlekazi (Wha Wha) Mosiea, Busisiwe Ngejane, Sifiso Lupuzi, Luvo Rasemeni

Genre

Music Drama Dance

Categories

Fiction

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

South Africa, UK, Germany coproduction

ARTE (DE), Advantage Entertainment (ZA), Film and Music Entertainment (F&ME) (UK), Isango Ensemble (ZA), Propeller Film (DE), Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) (DE)

Film & Music Entertainment Ltd. (F&ME)

Unit 25
Archer Street Studios
10/11 Archer Street
London W1D 7AZ

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

Son of Man Son of Man

Director: Mark Dornford-May

Year: 2006

The story of the Gospels re-told as a tale of corruption and redemption in contemporary Africa. The narrative unveils a portrait of a man of our time whose currency is the politics of compassion. It is a gripping journey of love, deception and betrayal in a conflicted society.

Black Drama
Joe LOCKE & Tom CULLEN Black Church Bay

Director: Rhys Marc Jones

Year: 2026

BLACK CHURCH BAY is a mystery-thriller, following a man whose world unravels after an intimate encounter, exploring the lengths someone will go to in order to hide their true self. Official selection Zurich Film Festival 2026 Official selection Busan International Film Festival 2026

Drama LGBTQIA+ Mystery Thriller
7 Miles Out 7 Miles Out

Director: Carol Morley

Year: 2026

Ann finds herself on unstable ground after the death of her father. Growing up in a boarding house in Stockport with her mum, her obsession with music and her friendship with Hel are everything. But when local band Joy Division’s frontman Ian Curtis kills himself and Hel leaves town, everything collapses. Ann is drawn to alcohol and casual sex, but a magical rekindling of the past and a rediscovered cassette tape opens a door to a new beginning. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2026 - Competition

Drama Woman Director