ACTING is about bringing as much realism into a character as possible. That is exactly what Mona Monyane does in the drama film Sabbatical heading to theatres from 9 May 2025.

The film releases befittingly just before Mother’s Day, in time for the people who do watch it to take time and reflect on the relationships they have with their mothers and daughters. The film follows Lesego, played by Monyane, a successful banker who returns unannounced to her childhood home. This comes as a surprise to her ‘overbearing’ mother who she hardly visits. A life changing secret has brought Lesego back home and the film navigates how she tries to hide this secret from her mother and explores the complex relationship between the two.

“You have to come from a place of truth and honesty. When I first read the script, what stood out to me was just how much I could relate to being on a sabbatical and confronting and unpacking oneself. More especially when you are used to success and things going right for you and then met with adversity.”

Monyane had to reference personal things that she has gone through and brought those emotions into the moments her character was experiencing.

“This helps to bring more depth and reality and make it an honest portrayal rather than a performance. It was about feeling where she is and all the anxiety and depression and panic.”

The film explores the emotional struggle Lesego goes through in hiding her secret and tries to piece together the relationship she has with her mother. “We were shooting for three weeks so within that time I maintained character, I did not get out of character when we called cut. As I prepared my scenes for the next day I maintained that mentality and the emotions and how they feel on the body. It was very much about drawing from my own personal experiences.”

In her role as Doris, Clementine Mosimane plays that mother. She loves her child, wants the best for her child but that comes at a cost.

“As a thespian, a script plays an important part to see whether you will have a great time or it will require a lot of work to be done. Sabbatical had a brilliant script. It was written and directed so well. I also had to go to my toolbox – emotionally, spiritually, mentally – you prepare. You have to see Doris really working through this journey and experience what she is experiencing.”

For Mosimane, it was about the audience being able to resonate with her character. “I leave myself at home and wear the cap of Mam’ Doris.”

The mother-daughter relationship has always been an intricate and complex one, and this film requires both characters to really dig deep to find that balance.

“At times you are not walking through that journey yourself,” says Mosimane, “But you have intervened in other people’s lives who have travelled the journey, you have observed and seen. That is what you take and apply.”

She reflected on her relationship with Monyane and how they would have their own moments of sharing the dynamics of the mother-daughter relationship.

“For me having heard Mona’s story, I had to be that hand that fits into the glove and it helped me a lot. Whether we are on set or off, Mona sharing that with me, I could see the sincerity of it and the pain of it, it drew me in.”

Monyane agrees with Mosimane, adding that the script related in so many ways to her own life as a first born daughter to a mother who had high expectations for her growing up.

“It comes with its challenges and it affects how you relate to yourself. It was an honour to be able to speak the unspoken and to just also portray the overwhelming pressure we feel from our mothers as children. To stay loving your mother is the challenge because there are so many points where they push us away without seeing it. For me it was about bringing that separation I felt with my own mother and bringing it to the screen.”

She pointed out that while there were things children often dealt with outside of their mothers, there were also things that were so overwhelming they could only be dealt with the help of a mother.

“Acting alongside Mam ’Clementine I also got to heal in my own right through portraying this character because of the different intricacies. She approached the character in ways that I would have wanted my own mother to approach me. I took that and responded to that as an actor. It was beautiful to bring a part of myself and still leave enough room to explore where this character comes from and who she is and her dynamic with her mom.”

As Mosimane chimes in about her upbringing with a strict mother, she says that in parts of her character she could hear her own mother. “We come from those backgrounds where there aren’t any open relationships with your mother.”

The deep level of vulnerability is palpable throughout the film making the viewer wonder just when Lesego will suffer an emotional outburst or breakdown.

“It was a challenge to expose myself to that. It was very uncomfortable. Lesego doesn’t know how to handle her emotions and at this point in her life she has absolutely no control as if her emotions are happening to her as she experiences them.

As an actor, having to suspend myself in pain – that was a lot, I was done by the end of it, it was exhausting. She spirals and is a mess throughout, only towards the end do we find reprieve. Referencing my own pain to make it my present reality was tough. But we do what we must for the craft.”

For Mosimane’s character, the challenge of watching your child go through those emotions and not being able to communicate openly and freely is taxing mentally and emotionally.

“Mothers want to be there for their children even as ‘hardcore’ as they seem. They want to know what is happening in their lives. They want to be included in their daughters’ journeys, and share their pain with them.”

Sitting in a role where the person is so mentally out of it that they can’t even take care of themselves physically is what Monyane portrays.

“As hardcore as Doris is, she didn’t judge Lesego. She stepped in as a mother – covering the mess and mistakes of her child. All she wants to see is her daughter being restored.” She adds that the movie will remind society that it is ok to be human and make mistakes.

“We go through challenges and we are there to pick one another up.”

Monyane hopes people will take away from the film that it is important to give yourself more grace.

“Not only themselves but their mothers. A lot of us have so much to say about our mothers but we don’t always take the time to look at them as people, not just the one who birthed you. Also to allow ourselves to make mistakes without saying it is the end of the world. We can come back from anything if we really have the tenacity to do so. I hope this film will help people be vulnerable with themselves and confront the thing they have swept under the carpet or have ignored and allow it to show them that healing and acceptance is possible. Mistakes are part of the story, they are not everything.”

The film is shot in such a way that the audience will feel the emotional journey Lesego is on. It incorporates humour, real life experiences that many can relate to and tells a tale of life and its challenges.

With an ensemble cast including Seputla Sebogodi, Tsholofelo Maseko, Craig Urbani, Masello Motana, Tinah Mnumzana, Nupi Makhobo, Moditle Pholo, Kedibone Manyaka,the film will make you laugh, cry and think. The creative team includes Director of Photography Motheo Moeng, a beautiful musical score from musician Bokani Dyer, and a production by Diprente that stamps their visual prowess. In her directorial debut Karabo Lediga thrives.

Sabbatical is in theatres from Friday, 9 May 2025. A must watch film that will leave you wanting more.