SAFTA and international award-winning film company, Penguin Films, has announced that Joe Mafela's son, Juju Mafela, has taken over the late actors's shareholding in the company.
Juju, who will be joining the production team as a creative producer, is looking forward to following in his father’s footsteps. In a statement, Juju said: "Penguin Films is a company that does amazing work and it’s my objective, coming in as a partner, to grow the company internationally by any means necessary. That was the conversation I had with my father, and as the company grows so too does his legacy."
Acclaimed filmmaker, creative producer and founder of Penguin Films, Roberta Durrant, said it's always been Joe's wish that his son would follow in his footsteps. Juju is now a 30% shareholder in the company. "I am delighted to have the succession. I have seen Juju develop over the years," she said, adding that they look forward to his input as creative producer.
During his successful career, Joe received a host of industry Lifetime Achievement Awards, including one from the NFVF, a Comics’ Choice Award, a Duku Duku Black Entertainment Award and a Naledi Theatre Award. The South African film and television industry mourned his untimely death in March 2017.
When news broke of his death, Ma Lillian Dube recounted the last time she saw the late actor. In an interview with eNCA, she said: "I was with Joe and we were at Goldreef City and he was telling me how happy he is because he's taking his wife on a cruise and that the wife is very excited."
She then went on to explain how she found out about his tragic passing on a phone call."This morning when I got a phone call that he has passed on, I said 'no it can't be him' because he's on a cruise, he's on a cruise, it can't be him... A friend of mine then sent me a message to say that Joe was involved in an accident, then I started believing it. it has saddened me so much. He was the happiest on Saturday when we were talking. So for me, I cannot believe it but what I want everyone to know is that he was very happy when I last saw him," she explained.