Thabo Wolfaardt, a 2007 graduate with a master’s degree in film production, lived in South Africa until he was 16 years old, and his firsthand experience with apartheid government continues to influence his work.

His 22-minute UCLA thesis film “Joburg” – the name stems from a popular nickname for Johannesburg – deals with the violence and disease that he witnessed in his homeland. The story follows a man, whose brother is dying of AIDS, as he resorts to carjacking to earn money. The man attempts to steal the car of a woman who just found out her fiance is cheating. They realize their struggles are related in the greater troubles of the nation.

“These two very different people realize that the problems might be different, but what they’re going through is very similar. Except, in her case she has a choice to leave her fiance if she wants to, but he’s still poor and stuck with a brother who’s dying,” Wolfaardt said. “South Africa has very, very violent culture.”

Wolfaardt entered film school knowing that he wanted to tell the stories that impacted his youth. In fact, the need to tell those stories was part of what drew him into the field.

“When we have requirements in the film program, for me, it’s always been pretty easy to decide which films I want to do, because I went to school already with ideas that I wanted to make,” he said. “I can’t imagine my life any differently than the things that have happened to me, so I think is partly these experiences that I feel a need to share.”

Passion for the welfare of South Africa runs in his family. Wolfaardt’s father grew up “basically a white supremacist,” but after education and after meeting Wolfaardt’s mother, his views completely changed.

“(My mother) pretty much told him if he didn’t change she would leave,” Wolfaardt said. “And also ... he got in a fight where it basically ended with the black guy on the ground bleeding and he noticed, ‘This guy’s blood looks exactly like mine; what am I doing?’”

Wolfaardt explained that growing up with parents who were passionate about politics made it hard for him to ignore injustice and problems as well.

“It’s part of my DNA for sure,” he said.

His family moved to the U.S. to work more closely with companies involved in developing Africa. Wolfaardt said that it wasn’t until he moved away that he was able to see his country’s troubles clearly.

“When I came to the USA, I actually learned more about South Africa than when I was there,” he said. “I took an African lit class at NYU with a very famous African writer and it was the first time I read a lot of African literature. The apartheid government censored our curriculum. .... The government tries as hard as (it) can to keep you unaware of everything going on around you.”

And now as a graduate, Wolfaardt is hoping to turn “Joburg” into a feature-length film.

The issues are important enough to him that he wants to share them with a broader audience than just his thesis advisers.

“I do hope that people will see it and at least think about it. I think any filmmaker wants an audience to see (their film), otherwise I’m not sure why we’d be doing it.”