An award-winning documentary about popular South African stand-up comic Trevor Noah, directed by Los Angeles based David Paul Meyer, will begin broadcasting on pay-TV platform DStv this week, on the Mzansi Magic channel.
You Laugh But It’s True shows how a multiracial comedian (Noah) creates material from his experiences during apartheid as he prepares for the biggest show of his life.
You Laugh But It’s True will be broadcast on Mzansi Magic on Thursday, 6 September at 21h30 and on Saturday, 8 September at 22h00. There will be additional broadcasts to be announced shortly.
The film started out as Meyer’s thesis project to satisfy his graduating requirements for his master’s degree in film at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Says Meyer:
“I set out to make a documentary about a story somewhere in Africa that didn’t just focus on war, poverty, or disease. As I became drawn to the theme of comedy coming from tragedy, I wondered what comedy looked like in say, South Africa for example. I then met a South African studying at a university in Los Angeles so I pitched my idea to him and he referred me to his cousin Rabin Harduth, who is very involved in the comedy scene in South Africa”
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“After a brief conversation, I bought a ticket and three weeks later was flying out to Johannesburg, having never been to South Africa or Africa before. Rabin introduced me to various comics in Johannesburg, and it all progressed from there.
“This was back in 2008 and that’s when I first saw Trevor Noah perform. He had only been doing stand-up for a year or two, but even then, I saw something special.”
You Laugh But It’s True was funded through donations from Meyer’s family, friends, and American actor Anthony Anderson’s foundation.
