Biopic of the late great sound sensation Busi Mhlongo. Called to music at a young age, she overcomes immeasurable odds to chart a stellar path from rural KZN to the top of the world music charts.

The film combines interviews, never-before-heard recordings, rare archival footage and her best-known songs with mesmerising live performance footage. Hailing from rural KwaZulu-Natal, she is thirteen when attends the showing of King Kong the musical in Durban, starring Miriam Makeba. A life-long fascination with the stage begins. In her 50-year artistic journey her gigantic voice bends every genre it touches — 1960s South African musical theatre and jazz, Black American soul, London's Afro Rock scene, the world music circuit of 1980s Amsterdam. Yet the industry that celebrates her also exploits her. Cancer strikes. She heals and returns home to Durban to rediscover her authentic self through the ancient Zulu music. Mhlongo weaves together music, fashion, styles, generations and time epochs into a unique Urban Zulu art aesthetic. She charts to number one in the world with the Urban Zulu album (1999). Mhlongo overcomes the barriers of a leading lady of the previous millennium to change the playing field. Her journey is of mythological status and an inspiration to the Afro-futuristic youth. She is likened to the goddess uNomkhubulwane. Yet, Mhlongo dies in 2010 from cancer, still short of the recognition she deserves. More than a biographical music documentary, Urban Zulu (2028) is the restoration of a legacy. Now, 17 years after her death, on the eve of what would have been her 80th birthday, colleagues are re-uniting, reviving and re-awakening her legacy forever.

The Busi Mhlongo Story Biographical Documentary Project is originated, written by life-time award winning poet and heritage practitioner Vusi Mchunu and South African music journalist author and performer Struan Douglas. Busi has 4 significant recording careers. The Dutch Years, the Melt2000 years, the Chissa Years and the House of Memory Years. Her intellectual property is managed by the Busi Mhlongo Testimonial Trust with her daughter as the sole beneficiary. Her community legacy in Inanda outside Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa is managed by her sister’s family.

The hybrid feature documentary blends observational and interview-based storytelling with electrifying performance sequences and never-before-seen archives. Busi’s multi-facetted artistic Musical Sangoma appeal is re-awakened.

Connect with the project at Durban Film Mart in 2026 and collaborate in the preservation and promotion of Busi Mhlongo’s legacy, a cultural heritage resource and an internationally recognised music icon.

Founded in 2020, Sausage Films’ mission of iZazi, is to preserve and promote South African cultural heritage, by spreading an authentic African voice of wisdom. https://sausagefilms.co.za/ For more information. Contact struan@sausagefilms.co.za 0729568134