Film by Gaia Studio
Produced by Leah Kay

There are some people in Kommetjie who rarely stop moving. Dom Moriarty of Good Riddance Coffee is one of them – usually head down, hands busy, coffee pouring, conversations flowing.

So when a group of filmmakers approached her to document her story, it required something unusual: stillness.

The film came about organically. Leah Kay – filmmaker and wildlife photographer and a friend of Dom since her Southern Grind days – connected her with an international creative team, the Brazilian duo Gaia Expeditions and French filmmaker Camille Langlois, on a visit to Dom’s new roastery.

Rooikat Roastery, based at Cape Farmhouse on the peninsula, opened last year and marked a new chapter for Dom. After years of buying in coffee beans, Good Riddance would now be roasting its own – just down the road.

They were immediately drawn in.

“They loved the name of the coffee shop,” Dom says. “They were just like, this is a story I really want to tell and document.”

Together they formed Gaia Studio, as a creative collective along with Leah, putting together this film as their first project together.

What followed was a series of conversations just after Christmas. Dom sat down with them and shared how she got here – the long version. A life story far too layered to fit neatly into ten minutes.

“A lot of it’s not actually in the film. There’s way too much. So they kind of had to pick a little narrative and stick to it.”

Within three and a half weeks, they had filmed, interviewed, edited and screened the piece.

“I was amazed at how quick everything took and the quality and the creativity and the flow. It was super, super lekker.”

For Dom, the experience was both affirming and unexpected. It pulled her into a space she doesn’t often occupy.

“It put me into quite a reflective space… I don’t really often stand back and look, you know, I’m kind of just head down, going, going, going. And then when we did this little film, I stopped and was like, oh wow, this is pretty cool.”

Opening up parts of her journey on camera felt vulnerable – exposing the personal layers behind the business – but it also reminded her just how far she has come.

In a village where so many stories unfold quietly – in early mornings, over flat whites, behind counters and inside community spaces – this short film offers a rare pause.

Not just a coffee shop. Not just a roastery. But a story of risk, resilience and community – captured on film, and still brewing.

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Gaia Studio continues to document other Cape Peninsula stories, including a film on Selah Surf. Follow them @gaiastudioco.

Film Credits

Title: Good Riddance – A Short Film About Letting Go
Directed, Shot & Edited: Ricardo Braz & Camille Langlois
Produced by: Leah Kay
Featuring: Dom Moriarty
Production: Gaia Studio