Fans have welcomed with much fanfare news that a Benda Fassie biopic is the works.
Production is expected to kick off next month and will be shot in both Cape Town's Langa township, where the late Afropop singer was born and bred, and Johannesburg, where she lived as an adult.
Social media has been abuzz with reactions from South Africans, many making suggestions for the actor they think should play Fassie –– or MaBrrr, as she was affectionately known.
Fassie's son, Bongani, is the co-executive producer of the film.
In a statement, he said: "It is with great excitement that we have partnered with Showbizbee Film Productions to make the Brenda Fassie movie for box office release. I'm particularly eager to participate in the production [as co-executive producer], so that the real story of my mom comes alive to the people of South Africa and the world."
Speaking to 702, he said auditions will be held for the entire cast of the film, including the role of Brenda.
"We will find someone who'll match. There will be castings, and everyone will have their fair chance. It's not just for Brenda's role, but for [actors to play] the other people in her life as well. The whole cast will be South African," he said.
Asked if he has specific memories of his mother that he wanted to have included in the movie, Bongani said he was glad that his mother's story would finally be told through her son's eyes.
"Until now, I never had the chance to tell the story of Brenda Fassie as I know it," he said.
Actress Brenda Ngxoli's name dominated the timelines of people throwing up suggestions of who should play Brenda:
Fassie, who died in May 2004, was dubbed the African queen of pop and the black Madonna, among other nicknames.