“A film only comes to life when it is seen by an audience,” said producer Helena Spring at the Durban preview of Jozi and this is echoed by co-producer Robbie Thorpe who shared the reigns with director - Craig Freimond.

“It’s hard to imagine audiences, especially if you’re not trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator,” he says. “It’s stuff we’re interested in – has meaning for ourselves. Why do we allow the negative to outweigh the positive? This is the heart of the movie.”

Let’s quickly move to a synopsis. James (Carl Beukes), a successful comedic scriptwriter, has lost his ability to find anything funny in the environment which surrounds him. In an attempt to find the edge he has turned to drugs, so much so that he has become an addict. Not funny you may think, but just wait a moment. While in rehab at Daspoort he meets (unreformed) addict Martin (magnificently portrayed by Lionel Newton).

Martin’s undisguised joy at living cannot but bubble over to James… and there are some tremendously funny moments. After managing to escape from Daspoort James camps out on the floor of his sister’s house which is devoid of furniture and up for sale, once joined by Martin things go from bad to worse.

Why should ‘bad boy’ Martin have such appeal to an audience? Says Robbie: “We’re envious of those who don’t have a care in the world - those who are not afraid of life.”

In one particular scene, Allison - the girlfriend with whom James is trying to get reunited (Jena Dover), has come to the house (albeit with an ulterior motive which I shall not reveal). James maintains that he is on the level and trying to clean up his act when Martin, who has been cultivating marijuana in the rafters, comes plummeting down followed by tonnes of ‘grass’. Although she was expecting it knowing that the roof had been rigged, Jena got such a fright that she almost toppled over in her heels. “I didn’t realise that so much was coming down,” she says with a giggle.

However, the calm within the storm is Brenda (Lindi Matshikiza) who shows James another side of Jozi – the beauty as opposed to the negativity which surrounds the ‘City of Gold’. When I told her the character comes across as ‘rather sweet’ she was most taken aback. “Sweet is not the word I would have used,” she said.  “She’s extremely genuine and grounded. There’s a warmth about her as she effortlessly wins James over – she’s the relief in all the madness.”

“The film is a testament to the actors,” adds Robbie. “As we work with very small budgets they have to work quicker and be professional – there’s no time for indulgences. You need to be able to create the characters and believe who they are.

“We have learned over time to do the casting ourselves," he continues. "Both Craig and I were in most of the auditions – the only way to find exactly the right person for the role. When it came to Lindi, there were scenes which we rewrote around her – she made the character clear. In fact, we saw the character for the first time through her eyes.”

As you can imagine there were many light-hearted moments and the writer/director – Craig Freimond,  was only too willing to adapt parts if he felt that they enhanced the script. “Some of the funniest lines in the show weren’t written,” adds Robbie. For instance Tobie Cronjé, who takes on the role of a psychiatrist who treats the lyrics of rock ‘n roll songs as pearls of wisdom, at one point states “Does that make sense?”

Lindi loved the ‘freedom’ granted by Craig. “The team gives you that spur,” she says, “the emphasis is not on the line – it didn’t have to be word for word. It was wonderful being given that trust and being part of the creative process.”

As part of the movie focuses on the American sitcom element our discussion moved in that direction. “We’re losing identity,” says Robbie. “We should hold onto ourselves, know where we start and end – only then will we be able to create work with lasting meaning.”

However, don’t go looking for a ‘deeper meaning’ when it comes to 'Jozi'. Take it for what it is, find the positive, don’t look for the negative and you will be laughing over many of the situations for some time to come.