'The Heart Is a Muscle' Director on Moving From 'Trauma' to 'Healing'

Mar 5, 2026 11:29pm PT ‘The Heart Is a Muscle’ Director on Family, Fatherhood and Moving From Generational ‘Trauma’ to ‘Healing’ in South African Oscar Entry By Christopher Vourlias Plus Icon Christopher Vourlias Latest Thessaloniki Agora Head on How ‘Resilience,’ ‘Investment’ in Future Power Documentary Festival’s Industry Arm Through ‘Difficult Times’ 2 days ago Thessaloniki Documentary Festival Head on AI, Separating Fact From Fiction and Why Documentaries Are Needed ‘Now More Than Ever’ 2 days ago South African Film and TV Workers Call on Lawmakers to Rescue Rebate System, Save Industry in Grips of ‘Horrific’ Crisis 2 days ago See All "The Heart Is a Muscle" (Courtesy of Joburg Film Festival) After launching last year in Berlin and being tapped as South Africa’s official entry for the international feature Oscar race, “The Heart Is a Muscle” comes home to South Africa this week, where it screens out of competition at the Joburg Film Festival alongside a nationwide theatrical release on March 6. The film was written and directed by debut director Imran Hamdulay and produced by Hamdulay, Brett Michael Innes, Khosie Dali, Lesley-Ann Brandt and Adam Thal. Starring Keenan Arrison and Melissa De Vries, alongside Loren Loubser, Dean Marais, Ridaa Adams, Danny Ross, Troy Paulse and Lincoln Van Wyk, it’s being repped globally by MMM Film Sales. Related Stories 'Project Hail Mary' First Reactions: Ryan Gosling Is a 'Shining Star' in Christopher Miller and Phil Lord's 'Must-See Space Odyssey' 'Project Hail Mary' Director Says 'There's No Green Screen in the Movie Whatsoever' but Clarifies There's 2,018 VFX Shots: 'Not a Single Green or Blue Screen Was Used' The story begins with a scene that taps into every parent’s worst fear, when a five-year-old child wanders off from a family birthday party. A desperate search for the boy ensues, and when he turns up unharmed several hours later — playfully assuming it was all a game of hide and seek — he’s angrily reproached by his father, Ryan, played by Arrison. The violence of his reaction shocks both Ryan and the other partygoers, setting off a series of events that force him to reckon with his past and make peace with his own buried trauma. Popular on Variety Inspired by a similar event in Hamdulay’s own life, “The Heart Is a Muscle” is a moving exploration of fatherhood, intergenerational trauma and healing. It’s a film that the director said was sparked by his own journey into adulthood. The son of a prominent anti-apartheid activist who’s now considering starting a family of his own, Hamdulay said the movie took shape as he increasingly found himself reflecting on “what my dad passed on to me, and how am I going to live that and live through that as a father.” “Thinking about intergenerational passings, I kept reluctantly coming back to this word trauma. It’s just something that didn’t quite sit inside me in a way that was constructive. It kept feeling like a weight,” Hamdulay told Variety. “I really feel like what I also received from his legacy, and the memories he passed on, was a lot of healing and a lot of strength. I wanted to start talking to myself in ways of generational healing. What does that mean?” “The Heart Is a Muscle” is set in the Cape Flats, on the outskirts of Cape Town, an area largely comprised of Black and Colored communities that were resettled there during the apartheid era. The forced violence of segregation and displacement left behind a painful legacy, with poverty, crime and gang violence widespread, though Hamdulay says he was eager to rewrite that narrative — particularly with the proliferation of gang-related crime dramas about the Cape Flats that have been made in recent years.  “I come from this area. These are people I know. It’s communities I know,” he said. “And there’s always been a deep frustration with the lack of nuance and complexity that is offered to not just the spaces, but the history, the legacy, the colors, the textures, and more importantly, the people.” Since debuting in the Panorama strand at last year’s Berlinale, where it won the Ecumenical Jury Prize, “The Heart Is a Muscle” has had a healthy festival run — most recently playing at Santa Barbara — yet Hamdulay insists that “hands down, the most rewarding and moving thing for me was when we showed the film in the community where it was made.” “I was watching the community see themselves on screen, within the complexities that they allow themselves to see inside of themselves and the people around them,” he said. “It was really rewarding in the most beautiful way.” The director’s next feature, set to begin production later this year, is an adventure story centered around four kids “running around the neighborhood, causing mischief,” he said, offering a Cape Flats spin on films like “Goonies” and “Where the Wild Things Are.” “I’d love for young teenagers to watch a film so they can see themselves on screen and be like, ‘Oh man, you know what? One day I’d like to make films,’” he said. “There’s a power in seeing yourself on screen.” The Joburg Film Festival runs March 3 – 8. Jump to Comments Christina Applegate Now Cringes Over ‘Married With Children’ Audience Lusting for Her, Says Kelly Bundy Role Worsened Her Anorexia: ‘I Had to Be Skinny. I Was Size 0’ Christina Applegate Says ‘Anchorman’ Pay Offer Was ‘Offensive,’ So Will Ferrell and Adam McKay Gave Her More Money From Their Own Salaries: ‘I Know My Worth’ JavaScript is required to load the comments. Loading comments...