Annalet Steenkamp
South Africa | 2013 | 94 min
Swiss Premiere
Languages : Afrikaans, English, x-ses
Subtitles : English, French
For nine years, the director filmed the daily life of her family of farmers—Afrikaners, also known as Boers, the descendants of the white pioneers in South Africa. At the right distance, the camera captures the life of the farmers, their family links and above all their problematic relationship with a country beset by significant social and political changes. We are directly confronted with the fragile balance and major inequalities of a society that is much more complex than we would believe. The different generations onscreen reflect the tensions, paradoxes and doubts which imply a mentality that is difficult to grasp at times. Managing to film her own family in a context so deeply marked by racism, violence and paranoia is in itself an act of bravery and evidence of open-mindedness. Through this powerful saga, we grasp the complexity of a country undergoing profound change, its wounds, its failings and its fears. An often hard and disturbing mirror but one that is more than vital to successfully question the myth of the rainbow nation.
Jasmin Basic
