Fortunately, Sycholt’s time in Munich had given her an understanding of that country’s network of public and private sources for film funding, and Malunde’s budget was raised from Traumwerk, the production subsidiary of Germany’s fast-growing digital effects company, Das Werk; from Munich-based regional broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk; and from pan-European cultural broadcaster Arte. Regional funding bodies FFF Bayern (Munich) and Filmstiftung NRW (Düsseldorf) also contributed, as did the Kuratorium junger deutscher Film, a cultural fund designed to help young film-makers get a start in the industry.

Casting, too, was tricky. Although Sycholt knew from the start that she wanted Roberts for the role of Kobus, casting Wonderboy was much less straightforward. “Initially,” she says, “I wanted to cast a street kid. But, after my experiences in the shelters, I discovered that at least 95% of them are glue addicts and are totally unreliable. Their characters change from one second to the next.”

So she began a long auditioning process, interviewing literally hundreds of pre-teens, “none of whom I thought would be able to carry the film. Then, one day, towards the end of the sessions, Kagiso walked into the first audition he had ever come to. He said his lines and sang a song and I said, ‘Come here for a hug!’ He was Wonderboy: he had it all - the naturalness and the talent to do it.”

Sycholt only rehearsed the two principal actors together on one occasion because she wanted to keep the unfamiliarity that was needed at the beginning of the film. She also wanted Kagiso “to rely on his own emotions and emotional experiences, and to bring this into the story. He had to be authentic in everything he did, so all the tears in the film are real tears.”

With a first-time feature director and one first-time actor, Sycholt took no chances in the camera department, hiring veteran Jürgen Jürges, who has worked both with directors like Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Wim Wenders, and with students at the HFF. He also shot a film called Sin querer in South America under very similar conditions, so Sycholt knew he would be able to adapt to the sometimes improvised shooting situation.

But the story remained paramount. “I want people fundamentally to see, hear and be involved in a story that moves them,” says the director. “Ultimately, I do want to get across a message about the reconciliation of warring groups or different racial groups. But, for me, this can only happen on a personal level. The first step may be the political changes, but everybody also needs to make a personal commitment to letting other people into their lives. Essentially, Malunde is a human film, about giving other people a chance, about giving oneself a chance, about giving friendship a chance, and about the power that is unleashed once that happens.”