south african directors

To fully understand the legacy of the great South African directors, it is necessary to consider the
socio-political climate that has influenced the evolution of film in our country. The acknowledged
directorial masters: Manie van Rensberg, Jans Rautenbach, Ross Devenish, Katinka Heyns and
Darrell Roodt; were obliged to confront the numerous challenges and obstacles strewn in their
path in order to achieve the fame they enjoy today. Before we examine their careers and works, let
us conduct a brief overview of the history of South African film.
The story of the South African film industry begins some 108 years ago at the conclusion of the
nineteenth century. It was the time of the Anglo-Boer War. American and British film pioneers,
armed with this new technology, were conducting a private campaign consisting of mobile theatres
for viewing in the mining industry and (while the war raged) in the military. Some of the earliest
examples of film in South Africa were newsreels recorded on the front lines.
The first true motion picture created in South Africa was The Great Kimberely Diamond Robbery
of 1910. The film standard from this point out shifted from simple visual chicanery to the dramatic
full-length picture. The first Afrikaans film to follow this motion picture drive was De
Voortrekkers of 1916. Over 1300 movies have been made in this country since that time!
It was in the early 1930s, however, that a major paradigm-shift began to unfold that would have
far-reaching consequences for the burgeoning SA film industry. Afrikaner nationalism was taking
root, affecting the subject matter and imposing stylistic frameworks for decades to come. With the
release of Sarie Marais in 1931, the first SA film created with integral sound, popular public
interest began to take hold and the nationalists took note. Independent nationalist-run industries
such as RARO (Reddingsdaadbond-Amateur-Rolprent-Organisasie) were created in direct
response to the perceived American and British cultural imperialism dominating South African
film. The co-operation of the pro-Nationalist government with the passing of the National
Censorship Act and the Entertainment Act promoted these ideals and assisted Afrikaner
filmmakers in the creation of politicised films.
By the 1960s, Apartheid was entrenched in South Africa and the nationalist system had spread to
include all aspects of the entertainment industries, including film. It is interesting to note that it
was in this era that some of the most controversial (for the time) films were made. 1968 saw the
release of Jans Rautenbach's Die Kandidaat and Katrina which examined the institution of
Apartheid and questioned those established ideals. Rautenbach and his colleague, Emil Nofal, also
collaborated on the film Wild Season, a treatise on the issue of Afrikaner indentity.

The 1980s saw the fragmentation of the film industry and a marked decrease in cinema popularity
due to the rise of television and a growth in anti-Apartheid ideology. Out of this seemingly chaotic
structure came a great deal of independent films, many dealing with socio-political themes
spawned by the national turbulence of that decade. Some of the better known of these films were
Manie van Rensberg's The Fourth Reich, Darrell Roodt's Place of Weeping and Katinka Heyns'
Die Storie van Klara Viljee. Few of these movies are well known to the average South African due
to censorship wrangling and the fact that the major internationally owned distribution companies
(Nu-Metro, Ster-Kinekor, et al) distanced themselves from such unprofitable productions in
favour of American or British blockbusters. As no effective government subsidies or support
structures existed at this time, circulation was relatively low.
With the dawn of the New South Africa in the early 90s and a marked decrease in restriction
imposed from Parliament; South African filmmakers now have the opportunity to begin forging a
new industry. Let us now discuss those directors who have already blazed the trail for us
The Directors:
Manie van Rensberg:
Manie van Rensberg's career in film began in the 1960s as a camera operator
in the motion picture Hoor My Lied. From there, he branched out of cinematography and was able
to direct and finance his first film (Freddy's in Love) at the tender age of 22. He had little over
R100 to work with and was forced to use several sections of black and white film because he
could not afford colour. Equipment was almost non-existent; accept for that which he could
borrow through the auspices of the Johannesburg Civic Theatre.In 1969, Van Rensberg founded
his own production company, Visio Films.
The 1980s saw the upsurge of Van Rensberg' creative genius. As mentioned before, his great
anti-Apartheid piece The Fourth Reich was screened at the famed Cannes Film Festival, although
the version edited for the screening was not to Van Rensberg's liking. He was particularly adept at
political/historical commentary, essentially concerning the Afrikaner outlook. His 1983 movie
Verspeelde Lente dealt with the Afrikaner difficulties with urbanisation; 1985s Heroes was
concerned with the rise of Afrikaner nationalism; and his acclaimed 1991 film Taxi to Soweto
deals with the modern Afrikaner and the struggle for a post-Apartheid mindset.
During the 80s he collaborated with many like-minded individuals through his production

company. His penchant for political reality eventually led him to crisis. In 1987 Van Rensberg
travelled to Dakar, Senegal, with 52 fellow South Africans to attend a conference hosted by the
Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa (Idasa) and the ANC. Upon his return, he
found himself out of work with the SABC.
The following two years saw him completely out of circulation within the film industry. It was
only after the establishment of FAWO that he was welcomed into a more progressively minded
atmosphere.
Manie van Rensberg has received several accolades over the years. He was awarded a New York
International Film Festival award for the series Heroes; and a London Film Festival Merit Award
for his filmed play The Native Who Caused All the Trouble. The Star Newspaper's Tonight
Award was given to him 4 times; he has received an Artes Award twice; and he was chosen Best
Director for the M-Net Vita Awards. Several other honours have been presented to him.
Van Rensberg's work has been without peer within the SA film industry and he is certainly a great
inspiration for young filmmakers today.
Jans Rautenbach:
The stylised thematic films of the period between 1955 and 1980 earned substantially higher
returns than those of the imported varieties. This was especially true of Afrikaans films. However,
there were those films (and filmmakers) that examined the status quo of the period and exposed
internalised South Africans to ideology that did not attempt to vindicate apartheid.
One of those filmmakers was Jans Rautenbach. With his film Jannie Totsiens (1970) Rautenbach
created an "expressionistic psychodrama" that tried to offer new ways of looking at the system in
power. Rautenbach's work showed, quite obviously, that he was not a supporter of the system. The
constant interrogation he subjected Apartheid to in such films as Die Kandidaat and Katrina
(1968) was an example of his pushing for a re-evaluation of the race-policy.
Apart from his one deviation with the film No One Cries Forever (1984), Rautenbach has shown
his determination to voice his concerns and views on all manner of socio-political topics for years
to come.
Ross Devenish:
Ross Devenish is known for three praised films: Boesman and Lena (1973), The Guest (1978) and
Marigolds in August (1980). On these productions, Devenish enjoyed a collaboration with one of

South Africa's most celebrated playwrights, Athol Fugard.
Boesman and Lena was the earliest example of a film that actively portrayed the misery and
humiliation of poverty and forced removals that so marks our society. The plight of a coloured
couple from Cape Town was a moving tale that was marred only by the overly theatrical aspects
of the script. Nonetheless, it received both a gold and silver medal at the 6th Atlanta Film Festival
in the United States.
The Guest was a film, based on a play, which portrayed the last remaining days of one of South
Africa's leading writer - Eugene Marais. The film, which starred Athol Fugard himself alongside
Marius Weyers, displays the character's anguish and his perpetual struggle with a morphine
addiction until Marais' eventual suicide. The Guest won at the Locarno Film Festival and has since
become one of South Africa's most acclaimed motion pictures.
Marigolds in August was another film based on a Fugard creation, starring (once again) the
playwright himself. It won two accolades at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as at the 1980 Film
Festival in Russia. It also won a Rapport Oscar for the best locally produced film of the year.
Devenish struggled to continue making movies in South Africa, before leaving for the United
Kingdom for 23 years. He only returned to South Africa in 2002.
Katinka Heyns:
"Katinka Heyns is die laaste groot Afrikaanse regisseur"
(Crous: LitNet FilmFundi: 2003)
Heyns started out her entertainment career in front of the camera, acting in films like the
acclaimed Rautenbach motion picture Katrina and in the television series Willem. She later
founded Sonneblom Films with her husband, novelist Chris Barnard.
Heyns is perhaps best remembered for her feature film debut: Fiela se Kind (1988). This picture,
based on the novel by Dalene Mathee, is famous for its strong anti-apartheid statements. It is
characterised by its unusual reversal of racial stereotypes. Set in the nineteenth century, the story
centres on a white orphan who is raised in a prosperous coloured community before being forcibly
removed to a destitute white family because the colonial authorities of the period believed that a
white child should be raised by whites, whatever their economic or social position. This placing of
the poor, ignorant white family over that of a loving, successful coloured community highlighted
the absurdity of the racist outlook.

A more recent motion picture success for Heyns was the film Paljas (1998). This movie was the
first South African offering of its kind to be accepted for entry into the American Oscar Awards
category for Best Foreign Film. Paljas centres around the relationship that develops between a
vagabond clown and a young boy of a rural family, and how the clown manages to heal the lives
of that family, despite condemnation by the local community. What is so notable about Paljas is
the fact that this motion picture was created, produced and characterised by local talent alone.
After her success with Paljas, the South African audience eagerly awaits another Heyns creation.
Darrell Roodt:
Darrell Roodt first found wide acclaim with his work on the movie Place of Weeping (1986).
Produced by the ubiquitous Anant Singh, this film made landmark history as the first
anti-apartheid movie to be created solely in South Africa and released to a fully multiracial SA
audience. It was also aired overseas in countries such as the United States.
Then, in 1987, Anant Singh and Roodt collaborated once more on the highly controversial war
movie The Stick. Although it was banned for many years: "this film argued that being at war for
something you do not believe in is madness itself" (Titles, Blackstar:2003)
Roodt is also noted for his direction of the popular motion picture Sarafina!, which chronicled the
story of the 1976 Soweto uprisings. Based on the stage production by Mbongeni Ngema, the films
cast boasted such names as Miriam Makeba, Leleti Khumalo and American star Whoopi
Goldberg.
But, it is for the 1995 remake of Zoltan Korda's Cry, the Beloved Country that Roodt is best
known. Another collaboration with Anant Singh, this moving human rights masterpiece featured
the veteran American actor James Earl Jones.
Conclusion:
While the story of South African filmmaking has been marred by socio-political repression, unrest
and bigotry, the fact remains that this country has created some insightful, caring and extremely
talented directors of whom we should be very proud. If such individuals could produce such
motion pictures during times of oppression, it certainly tells those of us that aspire to a film career,
and live in this newly freed land, that we should be inspired to create even greater motion picture
masterpieces.
Bibliography:

1. Nowell-Smith, G. The Oxford History of World Cinema. Oxford University Press, 1996
2. Botha, M. P. & Adri van Aswegen. Images of South Africa: The Rise of the Alternative Film.
HSRC Publishers, 1992
3. Botha, M. P. Study Guide: FAP100
4. Assorted World Wide Web Sources:
www.kinema.uwaterloo.ca
www.nfvf.co.za
www.dmoz.org
www.ntva.org.za
www.blackstar.co.uk
www.africafilmtv.com