I’m not appreciated enough in SA – Refilwe Modiselle

Refilwe Modiselle is making waves overseas with her starring role in the short film White Gold, and says she is often overlooked in SA.

The film, which centres on the struggles of a woman living with albinism, who is assaulted and her body parts sold for muthi, featured at a film festival in the UK earlier this year and has put the star on the map.

However, Refilwe recently told SAFM she feels her acting career may be taken more seriously if she moved overseas.

“I would love to leave the country because the sad part is I feel like I am not appreciated in this country. I feel like when I step out (on the global stage) that is when people appreciate what I do … I have made peace with it.”

She said her grand ambitions were not all about chasing the Hollywood dream.

“There are many aspirations but I don’t really think I want to live the Hollywood dream. Everyone wants to do that. I want to be a global icon.”

She said there was a lot of diversity in Mzansi that was not explored fully by creatives and that more marginalised groups, like those living with albinism, needed to be represented.

This was not the first time Refilwe has taken a swipe at the local film industry for apparently not giving her a chance.

“This country tends to overlook its people and doesn’t give people like me a chance, when abroad they are more open. Popularity over capability out here, sadly,” she previously told a fan on social media.