Piano Love: Bontle and Kwesta star as lovers!

IT took eight days for Black Brain Pictures to film and wrap up their upcoming movie, Piano Love.

The film, which will premiere on Netflix on 6 September, stars Bontle Modiselle, Senzo "Kwesta" Vilakazi, Given Stuurman, Lungile Yende, and Bheki Sibiya.

Piano Love was launched at Nu Metro in Hyde Park, Joburg, on Thursday, 29 August.

It's about crime, love, sexual assault, and music.

Bontle, who plays Lerato, said she initially didn't want to be part of the movie.

"It's a surreal moment to see this happen. To see all of it come full circle and think about the moments and times we spent on set. I'm hoping everyone can somewhat feel what the journey is all about," Bontle said.

"At the beginning, when the proposal landed on our desk, I was like ‘No, this doesn't make sense.' And then I felt I had a role to play and a purposeful life to live. And I think there are many ways and vehicles through which I'm able to show up for that purpose and my role. At the heart of it, the intention is what I really connected with most. I connected with the reason the film needed to exist."

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She said she connected with the storyline and her character, Lerato.

"For me, I had a lot of unfinished emotional business I had to deal with. Unfortunately, there's some personal experience Lerato ha to face, and it's not like I'm drawing from my imagination. I had to revisit certain emotions, and I guess it was important to step out of Bontle's world and tell Lerato's story as honestly and authentically as I could," she said.

Mandla N, the executive producer, said they worked hard to put the movie together.

"This was the longest eight days of my life. We were juggling Senzo and Bontle's schedules and availability. It was crazy, but it all came together," Mandla said.

Mpumelelo Nhlapo, who is also the executive producer, said they paid for the amapiano songs used in the movie.

"We had a concern that this genre, authentically South African, is moving so fast globally, and if we don't do something, other people will tell our stories and not represent them as beautifully as we could. So, we took the little big that we had because this is an independent movie, as much as it's on Netflix.

"Another thing that we did, which I'm proud of, we poured back into the culture. If you listen to the soundtrack, more than half the budget was music licensing only, and so it was important to make those types of moves and show South Africans that you can step up," he said.

The movie will premiere in London in the United Kingdom on Monday, 2 September, and the cast will travel there.