Gimba and AB on the Island in Jail, Gantane Kusch and Dann-Jaques Mouton. OMS
By Roy Lie A Tjam.
The South African Film Festival 2017 came and went. Hosted by the South African Embassy in te Netherlands lasted from 24-25 February 2017 with an exclusive screening of the feature length feature, “Noem my Skollie” or “Call me Thief” on 24 February 2017.
The first screening in Europe was attended by people of the Dutch media, Rotterdam Film Festival, members of the Diplomatic community and several others. Attendees have had ample opportunity to taste South African snacks and also to meet and chat with the friendly director Mr. David Max Brown. One commentator stated: “after watching the trailer earlier this year, I knew ‘Noem My Skollie’ would be a powerful film, but I didn’t expect just how moved I would be. Noem My Skollie is beautifully shot. So much time and effort was spent on costumes, the set etc and it all comes together perfectly on screen.”
Noem my Skollie, the screenplay that John W. Fredericks has written is culturally specific but it is universally understood and highly emotional. Most importantly it is based on his own life, written by a man who was already considered a “write off” in his early teens. Now as he approaches 70 years of age and after spending time on death row in the 60’s John still types with one finger and still lives on the notorious Cape Flats
The Dutch film industry has been growing in recent years, in part to generous government support that has enabled it to develop a sophisticated film production industry and a keen interest in South Africa.
There is room for a significant presence of South African films in Dutch cinema theaters and to this end, it provides a unique opportunity for growth in the Netherlands.
