To authentically bring Kitty Phetla’s story of defiance to life, the Director spent countless hours interviewing Kitty and researching her story.

From her childhood in the township of Alex with her disciplinarian mother, to the strict instructor who helped her become the Black Swan.

Ballet is the pursuit of perfection, and the film needed to compliment every part of the story. It was vital that the cinematography achieved a sense of naturalism and intimacy to express Kitty's story in an honest manner without trying to romanticise her struggle with "poverty porn". To do this, the DOP designed a visual motif, that scoped the anamorphic lensing to allow Kitty to move freely in the frame. The location inspired the lighting and way we dealt with the flow of hand held camera movement. We shot Kitty's scenes first and then used her movements to dictate how we shot and treated the car.