> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.spacesmagazine.africa/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # WHAT DOES AFRICA’S FUTURE LOOK LIKE? ABONGWE L. BOOI IS IMAGINING IT - URL: https://www.spacesmagazine.africa/what-does-africas-future-look-like-abongwe-l-booi-is-imagining-it/ - Published: 2026-10-16T07:42:16.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-16T07:42:16.000Z - Author: MAN'S NOT YANDHI - Tags: Spotlight, Art > The Last Insurgent, Booi's new dystopian sci-fi short starring Ntobeko > Sishi and Alex Biaya, has been submitted to international film festivals > ahead of its planned international release in Q1 2027 A new voice is emerging in South African film and media, and he is looking towards the future. Writer, director and producer Abongwe L. Booi is building a body of work around a question that has shaped his filmmaking from childhood: Who gets to imagine the future? His answer is increasingly clear: **Africans should.** Booi's upcoming science fiction short film, *The Last Insurgent*, is the latest expression of that philosophy. Set in South Africa in 2042, the film is a tense story of survival and resistance that imagines a dystopian future shaped by the consequences of corruption, exploitation, and failures of leadership. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/85/39/8539220a-facb-4bd9-81c1-fde9c6ed0f13/content/images/2026/10/HEAD-SHOT-4.jpg) Abongwe L. Booi --- **AUTHORING THE FUTURE** Booi's fascination with science fiction began long before he became a filmmaker. As a child, he was captivated by stories about humanity venturing into space, extraterrestrial beings arriving on Earth, and technology transforming society. But he often found himself asking a simple question: where were the people who looked like him? He imagined a future where a child from the townships of South Africa could become a superhero; where Africans could pioneer journeys into space; where an extraterrestrial invasion could begin in Johannesburg. For Booi, the answer was never simply to see more Africans represented within existing science fiction worlds. **It was to author those worlds himself.** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/85/39/8539220a-facb-4bd9-81c1-fde9c6ed0f13/content/images/2026/10/BTS---BLUE-08.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/85/39/8539220a-facb-4bd9-81c1-fde9c6ed0f13/content/images/2026/10/BTS---BLUE-16.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/85/39/8539220a-facb-4bd9-81c1-fde9c6ed0f13/content/images/2026/10/BTS---BLUE-13.jpg) **The Last Insurgent* I believe Africans must be the authors of our own futures,” says Booi. > We have to have the courage to imagine them as brightly or as darkly as we see them, to explore futures born from our deepest fears and our deepest hopes. That philosophy sits at the heart of The Last Insurgent. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/85/39/8539220a-facb-4bd9-81c1-fde9c6ed0f13/content/images/2026/10/BTS---BLUE-20.jpg) **The Last Insurgent* **THE LAST INSURGENT** *It is 2042.* *A young rebel regains consciousness: bloodied, disoriented, and surrounded by the bodies of his friends and comrades.* *In the aftermath of a brutal battle, Lethu is the sole survivor.* *Blood gushes from his leg as he drags himself towards a tree. He is alone but not for long.* *Enemy soldiers sweep the field, scanning for signs of life.* *He is left with a deadly decision:* *Run... or fight.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/85/39/8539220a-facb-4bd9-81c1-fde9c6ed0f13/content/images/2026/10/BTS---BLUE-24.jpg) **The Last Insurgent* --- “The Last Insurgent is a story about resistance,” Booi explains. “Resistance to the idea that we are powerless and hopeless, resistance to the belief that the decisions shaping our future have already been made for us. The film asks a confronting question: **What happens when a generation is pushed to the point where resistance becomes the only option?** **NTOBEKO SISHI LEADS THE RESISTANCE** Taking on the role of Lethu is South African actor Ntobeko Sishi, who brings an established screen presence to Booi's futuristic world. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/85/39/8539220a-facb-4bd9-81c1-fde9c6ed0f13/content/images/2026/10/BTS---BLUE-13-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/85/39/8539220a-facb-4bd9-81c1-fde9c6ed0f13/content/images/2026/10/BTS---BLUE-08-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/85/39/8539220a-facb-4bd9-81c1-fde9c6ed0f13/content/images/2026/10/BTS---BLUE-30.jpg) **The Last Insurgent* Sishi has previously appeared as part of the cast of Mzansi Magic's Gomora, as well as Netflix's Love & Wine and Yoh! Christmas. His screen credits also include GO! and Uhlanjululo (Laundry). Joining Sishi is Alex Biaya, who plays Captain Ilunga. The film's ensemble cast also includes Chioma Antoinette Umeala, Teule Njiri, Tadiwa Zvirahwa, Olwethu Sutu, Aluve Mtandeki, Butsolo Tole, Nokulunga Masia, Nhlanhla Chauke, Jana Swanepoel, Masego Kgopa and Tanatsirwa Gwatikunda as insurgents and soldiers. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/85/39/8539220a-facb-4bd9-81c1-fde9c6ed0f13/content/images/2026/10/BTS---BLUE-03.jpg) **The Last Insurgent* --- **A COLLABORATIVE SOUTH AFRICAN PRODUCTION** The Last Insurgent is written and directed by Booi, who also serves as a producer and editor/sound designer. The film is produced by Calvin Hayward and Abongwe L. Booi, with executive producers Sicelo Joja, Ozyr Vally, Paul Devine, Calvin Hayward and Abongwe L. Booi. Hayward played a key role in bringing the production together, helping to coordinate the various creative and production elements required to realise Booi’s vision for the short film. His producing partnership with Booi has been central to moving The Last Insurgent from concept to a completed production, bringing together the cast, crew and resources behind the project. Behind the camera, the film features a broad team of South African and international production talent, including Tshepo Nthako as Director of Photography, Darryn R. Bennett as 1st Assistant Director, Kerry von Lillienfeld as Production Designer, Max Poolman as Special Effects Supervisor, Danielle Knox as Costume Designer, Caprice Masinga as Stunt Coordinator and Bubele Booi as Composer. Additional key crew includes Greg Alberts on production sound, Kitso Monare as Colourist, Chad Webber as VFX Supervisor and Lorens Persson @ Sterling Sound handling the final mix. For Booi, The Last Insurgent is ultimately about more than a dystopian future. The short film is intended as a climactic moment in a larger story that Booi plans to develop into a feature film. The feature will explore Lethu's descent into political radicalisation and extremism, examining how feelings of powerlessness can evolve into radical conviction. As Abongwe L. Booi steps further into South Africa's film and media landscape, his ambition is becoming increasingly defined: **to tell African stories through genre, to imagine African futures without waiting for permission, and to create worlds in which Africa is not simply finding its place in the future — but authoring it.**