Set in 1968 Johannesburg during the heart of South African Apartheid, Laundry showcases Durban-born filmmaker Zamo Mkhwanazi’s flair for style and sharp grasp of capturing time and place – not to mention this violent era of the country’s history. Mkhwanazi has premiered shorts in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and at Toronto, while Laundry was also selected as a work in progress for the Atlas Workshops at the Marrakech International Film Festival last December (see the news). Now, it has just enjoyed its premiere in the Discovery strand of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, which offers a unique position for filmmakers presenting their debut or sophomore features.

While 16-year-old Khuthala (television actor and singer Ntobeko Sishi) – a talented musician who can play five instruments – dreams of nothing but a career in music, his technical-savvy younger sister Ntombenhle (Zekhethelo Zondi) is more interested in studying dryer manuals as part of their father Enoch’s (Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe) pride and joy, his titular industrial cleaning business. Enoch grooms Khuthala to take over the laundry, located in a white-only neighbourhood owing to Enoch’s status as an “exempted native”, a black South African granted special privileges.

With the film’s primarily Zulu-language dialogue, hearing that first bit of English feels like a slap in the face, while the following scenes of brutal racist taunts from Afrikaner bureaucrats towards Enoch will chill viewers to the bone. While the film at times feels like it’s about to float into feel-good territory – if only for a moment – Mkhwanazi rightfully pulls us back to reality for viewers to be reminded, again and again, of the realities for black South Africans during Apartheid.

Khuthala’s mother Magda (Bukamina Cebekhulu) intentionally turns a blind eye to her husband’s affairs with singer Lilian (Tracy September, who also contributes to the film’s music), knowing that he keeps their family afloat financially. The naïve Khuthala begins to beg Lilian for the opportunity to join her band and tour the USA, only somewhat unaware of the complex politics – both personal and racial – at play. This brings us into the world’s stylistic marvels, which Mkhwanazi has crafted with a careful eye. The production design (by Gavin Scates) bursts with bright colour and period detail, from the housing interiors to the costumes by Nompumelelo Sinxoto: we feel instantly transported decades back to Joburg.

Mkhwanazi’s greatest achievement is introducing and integrating historical context without the movie ever feeling expository, although Khuthala’s own coming-of-age story as a battle between family and personal interests begins to fall by the wayside. The film’s first half shines with the writer-director’s attention to creating tense, character-driven scenes, while the second half begins to splinter with the subplots being stretched slightly too thin. Regardless, Laundry’s devastating end never feels undeserved or like a cheap way out, rendering this feature debut unforgettable.

Laundry is a Swiss-South African production by Akka Films and Kude Media.