Close to Home

On the streets of Athlone, Cape Town, boys grow up idolizing neighbourhood gangsters standing on street corners and jump at the chance to become one of them – a township celebrity. Grant Porthen was one of those boys. For his mother, Sharon, tough love was the only answer. Eventually she was forced to give up on her son. Grant endured prison, the wrath of the Numbers gang and crystal meth addiction leading to the collapse of his thriving drug empire. Close to Home documents the changing relationship between Grant and Aunty Sharon through the years. Their determination to stay connected through separation and pain explores the deeper meaning of love and family.

Production by Rhea MacDonald, Laura Skippers & Louise Fuller