Just Because I’m a Street Kid

This heartrending film introduces us to the young Thabile Gloria Mtshali, aka Shorty the Melville Poet. A talented wordsmith who has grown up on the streets of Johannesburg after leaving her abusive family, Shorty has had two books published. Writing in a brutally honest style that comes straight from the heart, Shorty uses her poetry to convey the hardships of street life as well as the attraction. Just Because I’m a Street Kid asks us to look beyond society’s dismissive attitudes towards the homeless and unhoused, and recognise the common humanity that we all share, regardless of where we sleep at night. It’s a reflection of the surreal nature of our radically unequal world that Shorty’s books are available to buy on Amazon, and also, personally from Shorty, if you’re fortunate enough to encounter her on the streets of Melville, which she continues to call home.