Jans rautenbach biography of williams

By Thespian P. Botha

Fall 2015 Issue strip off KINEMA

THE ANGUISH OF A DREAMER: ABRAHAM (2014) AND THE Motion pictures OF JANS RAUTENBACH

Introduction: Rautenbach's cinema
A few pioneers in the Afrikaner film industry of the decade produced a number of movies that could be labelled "involved films".

The theme of these films was an examination answer the cracks in apartheid principles. They included Emil Nofal-Jans Rautenbach's films like Die Kandidaat (The Candidate, 1968) and Katrina (1968).

Several film historians regard Jans Rautenbach as the pioneer of latest, bold and South African filmmaking in the 1960s and Seventies.

Together with producer Emil Nofal he made ground-breaking films not later than a time when South Human cinema hardly reflected the socio-political realities of the country.

Born hold 1936 in Boksburg, Jansen Delarosa Rautenbach grew up in simple very poor household. His papa worked in the mines. Lighten up started his school years improve on a primary school in Boksburg.

Early influences in his believable were literature, not cinema. Rearguard studying theology at the Origination of Stellenbosch for three geezerhood, Rautenbach decided that it was not his calling, and proceed moved to Bloemfontein. While functional as a clerk in skilful government department he studied criminology at the University of interpretation Orange Free State.

In Jan 1960 he accepted a arrangement as criminologist in the Basic Jail in Pretoria. But relationship 12 February 1963, he gave 24-hour notice to leave post work in the film industry.

He started his film career pass for a production manager for Jamie Uys Films but joined Emil Nofal later in 1963 come to get start a new company, Emil Nofal Films.

Nofal's King Hendrik (1965) is a satire run relationships between Afrikaans and English-speaking white South Africans and to such a degree accord followed in the comedic ritual of Jamie Uys's Hans just die Rooinek (1961) and Lord Oom Piet (1962). The ep included actors and crew comrades who later worked on rectitude set of Rautenbach-directed features: performers Marié du Toit and Joe Stewardson, cinematographer Vincent Cox view editor Peter Henkel.

The crust was made during the former of very strict moral ground political censorship in South Continent (Tomaselli 1989). The result was self-censorship by scriptwriters and care, and two decades of integument escapism. Comedies, musicals, adventure mythic and tales about wildlife dispatch nature dominated local film contracts during the 1960s (Botha & Van Aswegen 1992; Botha 2012).

Nofal was one of the erratic English-language filmmakers of the Sixties who made Afrikaans language flicks.

Born in 1926 in Metropolis to ethnic Lebanese parents, Nofal started his career at rectitude young age of 15 life-span at the Killarney Film Studios. He worked there for 13 years, first as assistant rewriter, then as cinematographer and when all is said as director of features specified as Song of Africa (1951), a musical to present reeky talent including the African Inkspots.

Owing to the fact that significance subsidy scheme provided no malleable money, filmmakers had to appear for funding elsewhere.

Joop Rijfkogel from Irene Film Laboratories became a major funder of Rautenbach's films. Nofal and Rautenbach amassed their unique talents on Wild Season (1967), an acclaimed photoplay about the conflict between calligraphic father and his son, location against the backdrop of straight fishing community along the western coast of South Africa.

Repetitive was based on the aerate "It Was a Very Beneficial Year", which Nofal loved. Leadership film depicts one season play a part the lives of a experiences community by focusing on individual conflicts, love and an initially death.

Dirk Maritz (an impressive assist by Gert Van den Bergh) has been a lonely contemporary embittered man after the intense death of his older prophet at sea.

He is simple top fisherman and a logo of perseverance of Afrikaners admit the violence of nature style well as their own exceptional problems. Maritz does not forbear his younger son, the approving Michael (Antony Thomas). This leads to the dramatic conflict operate the film, which in profuse ways examines Afrikaner patriarchy.

Alternative strong theme is the sever, single season of young passion between Jess (Janis Reinhardt) add-on Michael. The approach to nobleness subject matter is lyrical, archetypal important characteristic of all Rautenbach's films.

Wild Season featured many employees of later Rautenbach films: Joe Stewardson, Marié du Toit, Vincent Cox, Peter Henkel and architect Roy Martin.

Rautenbach built capital professional relationship with a task force of actors and crew helpers who shared his artistic foresight and enabled him in avail the film medium for outoftheway expression as an auteur. Rautenbach developed a central theme joke about the identity of the Afrikaner⁽¹⁾ in all his subsequent flicks, from Die Kandidaat to Broer Matie (1984).

His films change from the previous Afrikaans theatre in the sense that Rautenbach regarded film as an go to wrack and ruin form and thus a income for personal expression.

The next link projects Rautenbach directed became milestones in South African cinema. Appearance his directorial debut, Rautenbach examines various aspects of the metropolitan (white) Afrikaner through the fairytale surrounding the election of spruce up new director for the Adriaan Delport Foundation in the commended melodrama Die Kandidaat (1968).

Owing to the backgrounds of the credible candidates have been thoroughly inhibited the appointment should be natty mere formality.

Instead the meeting degenerates into a bitter dispute sashay which one of the conference members satisfy the requirements detailed genuine Afrikanerdom. Die Kandidaat explores the Afrikaner psyche critically presentday exposes the hypocrisy of those designated as "super" Afrikaners.

Pulling heavily on his own surroundings in psychology, Rautenbach presents birth viewer with various Afrikaner types and in the process dissects the psyche of white Afrikanerdom. Funding came from four Dutch-speaking individuals: Joop Rijfkogel, Boogertman, Ruijter and Klaver.

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The latter connect funders were part of say publicly building industry. Rautenbach received R150,000 for the production and wrote the screenplay before the hill of production. He also conducted intense auditions for actors. Stylishness asked Gert Van den Composer to play a lead role.

Actors were cast based on their ability to portray three-dimensional notation and not on their appearance.

In many ways this was a major departure from preceding Afrikaans cinema. The Adriaan Delport Foundation in the film go over a metaphor for the Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (Academy for Science and Arts), classic Afrikaner organisation at the intention committed to the promotion swallow the interests of the Boer.

In 1965 and 1966 match up groups within Afrikanerdom debated Core Minister Hendrik Verwoerd's apartheid principles. A more enlightened group with Schalk Pienaar, the editor manage the newspaper Beeld, who confidential serious doubts about Verwoerd's homelands-for-blacks policy, especially concerning its utility.

Pienaar questioned Afrikaner traditions take encouraged a more open nearing to race relationships in Southerly Africa (Botha 2006). He semicircular questions about the multicultural realities of South Africa and birth fact that these realities needful to be taken into recollect in the country's future factious direction.

Afrikaner conservatives, however, argued for an exclusive South Somebody state for whites and conspicuously white Afrikaners.

In Die Kandidaat, nobility Delport Foundation is looking keep watch on a new director to put in place of one who had died. Homespun on the recommendations by loftiness chair of the board, Lourens Niemand (Gert Van den Bergh), and a board member, Paula Neethling (Marié du Toit), melody candidate - Dr.

Jan pompous Roux - is proposed. Perform is known for his drain at a centre for significance rehabilitation of boys who esoteric committed offences in society.

The option process, however, turns out contest be a dissection of birth candidate's background, including his tenderness relationships. The major catalyst addition the process is a man of letters of the sixties, Anton shelter Toit (Cobus Rossouw).

The take of contention is that High-quality Roux is engaged to alteration English-speaking girl from a Universal background.

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The be directed at members are representatives of description broader Afrikaner community, for sample, a professor, a Dutch Converted Church parson, a state functionary, a truck driver and dinky woman, who rigidly protects primacy morals of the Afrikaner nation.

Most of the action is tiny to the boardroom where prestige debate about Afrikaner identity denunciation taking place.

It is uncomplicated claustrophobic setting, which has anachronistic brilliantly explored by means elaborate Vincent Cox's camera set-ups obscure movements as well as harangue impressive use of mise-en-scène. Dimension the debate unfolds in honourableness board room, the camera focuses on the artefacts of anterior Afrikaner leaders in the transformation of statues and paintings rework the background.

They seem come together observe the conflict as a-one silent but dominant collective presence.

Jannie Kruger, chief state censor fortify the 1960s, had major be against against the film, especially about conversations about whether the alleged Cape "coloureds" (South Africans fall foul of mixed race who are Taal speaking - see endnote 1) could be considered Afrikaners.

Rautenbach refused to make cuts and in motion a debate about the film's censorship problems in the Taal print media with the overhaul of enlightened media friends much as Schalk Pienaar and Tobie Boshoff.

In a way Solon received negative publicity. Finally Rautenbach and Kruger reached a compose regarding the dialogue, and grandeur film was released to broad acclaim by both the Dutch and English press. It was regarded as a film attain to the literary work manage without a progressive group of Taal writers, which included Etienne Leroux, André P.

Brink, Breyten Breytenbach and Jan Rabie (Botha 2006).

In Die Kandidaat Rautenbach made honesty statement that the white Afrikander is going to create straight madhouse for himself with recoil his ideologies and dogmas. Take from the Afrikaner political right, Rautenbach was accused of humiliating birth Afrikaner. The film introduced ethics major thematic concern in her highness oeuvre, namely who and what is the Afrikaner?

Who could be regarded as a "true" Afrikaner? In the process Rautenbach also examined class and philosophical differences and viewpoints within Afrikanerdom.

Another important departure from previous Dutch cinema has been the clinical, modern and urban setting obvious Die Kandidaat. It is faraway removed from the pastoral landscapes of earlier Afrikaans features.

Grandeur setting symbolised the material method of Afrikaners towards the try of the 1960s due there their privileged position in Verwoerd's apartheid state. The character have possession of Paula Neethling is especially censure significance: She is cold splendid manipulative. Paula is part discount a new elite class, a- new bourgeoisie.

Du Toit's program is simply perfect.

Three other Afrikander types depicted are also important: The writer Anton du Toit (Cobus Rossouw), the woman who protects the morals of primacy nation (Hermien Dommisse) and dignity Dutch Reformed parson (Jacques Loots). Du Toit functions as topping type of mouthpiece for Rautenbach, a liberal voice and rectitude one who pulls off position mask of Afrikaner bias.

Forbidden is symbolic of a additional enlightened generation of Afrikaners. Defence Toit is intellectual and savagely honest. The Dutch Reformed evangelist has a dignified presence on the contrary lacks a strong ability be introduced to lead. Hermien Dommisse's remarkable picture of the volksmoeder (mother relief the nation) displays her firmness and sad ignorance of nobility changing realities and values insert Afrikaner society.

She is flush clinging to an era carry outdated morality. In Jannie Totsiens (1970), this character will produce confined to an asylum.

After influence critical acclaim for Die Kandidaat Rautenbach directed Katrina (1969), round off of the most innovative pictures to come out of goodness apartheid years of the decennium.

Based on a powerful diversion by D. Warner, Try fit in White, this is, for lying time, a shocking expose disbursement the horrors of apartheid challenging the racial classification system. Say publicly film focuses on a "coloured" woman, Katrina, who "tries obey white". She renounces her undercoat and father to make spick better life possible for actually and her son in segregation South Africa.

Her son shambles unaware of his roots weather is dating a white youngster (played by Katinka Heyns). Spick white Anglican priest, Alex Trewellyn, falls in love with Katrina, and their lives are blighted when the secrets are gaping. The film showcases the aptitude of Rautenbach's regular team have a phobia about actors and crew members: Joe Stewardson as the Anglican churchman, Carl Trichardt as the priest of the white girl with Regardt Van den Bergh bit her racist brother.

Cobus Rossouw is brilliant as a "coloured" community leader who displays acidness towards the white community. Powder serves as the catalyst reminisce the story in the argument that he exposes Katrina spreadsheet her son's real identity opposed to tragic consequences. Don Leonard's rendering of Katrina's "coloured" husband recapitulate moving.

Once again the crew tendency cinematographer Vincent Cox, Peter Henkel as editor and composer Roy Martin.

Rautenbach received death threats from the far right surface in South Africa and difficult to battle the censors advise South Africa to make that film. Chief censor Jannie Statesman wanted to cut several scenes (Botha 2006). Rautenbach once on the contrary involved media friends such slightly Schalk Pienaar to create calligraphic debate. Together with journalist Rykie Van Reenen and literary high N.P.

Van Wyk Louw, Pienaar initiated a defence of authority film and freedom of word in the newspaper Beeld. Grandeur debate created an impression ditch a part of the Afrikander nation was against Kruger's restraint demands. Kruger wanted to rest the film or destroy announce by means of extensive cuts. At the end of nobility film Katrina commits suicide.

Rautenbach makes the statement that honesty racial classification system created simple cruel reality that drives Southernmost Africans to suicide.

Katrina continues Rautenbach's theme of cultural identity. Escort this case the impact systematic the apartheid state on interpretation identities of South Africans has been examined, together with milky racism and the biases be a devotee of the white Afrikaner nation.

Stern the production of Katrina, Rautenbach and Nofal decided to close their professional relationship. Rautenbach overfriendly his own production company, Sewentig.

In Jannie Totsiens (1970), his later feature, Rautenbach uses a cooperative institution as an allegory imbursement South African society under isolation.

This was South Africa's cap avant-garde film, which caused uncluttered sensation, especially among the illuminati of the time (Botha 2006).

Again using Afrikaner types Rautenbach examines the Afrikaner psyche. In Katrina and Die Kandidaat Rautenbach drippy the conventions of melodrama make use of reach a larger audience.

Pressure Jannie Totsiens his approach practical avant-garde. There is no model narrative structure to speak hint at. The situation in the pelt represents a microcosm of Southerly Africa in 1970. The discrimination state has been represented by the same token an asylum. The inmates lookout Afrikaner types such as regular political right-winger (Don Leonard), exceptional judge (Jacques Loots), a maestro without arms, a girl interest the mind of a descendant (Katinka Heyns) as well kind an alienated English woman instruction one black person.

The college is a private asylum renounce was created for Magda shelter Plessis (Hermien Dommisse). In Die Kandidaat she played the champion of the nation's morals. Yon she still practises this function by guarding over the irritate patients. With the assistance bring into play her aggressive cats she confirms that nobody behaves in uncluttered manner that is morally unwelcome.

Jannie (Cobus Rossouw) is clean up new patient. He does beg for even speak initially. The direct writer of Die Kandidaat at or in the beginning has no voice in Jannie Totsiens. The character functions gorilla a symbol of the offer of critical voices in depiction arts during the apartheid system.

The brilliance of Jannie Totsiens jar be attributed to Rautenbach's wheel command, the performance of the scrupulous ensemble and the cinematography through David Dunn-Yarber and Koos Roets.

The film has the note of a psychological thriller deed the experimentation with colour, mise-en-scène and sound was unrivalled discern contemporary South African cinema.

The single, however, was an isolated suitcase in South African cinema meanwhile the 1970s. Escapism dominated leadership output of the film production. The images of Afrikanerdom unused Rautenbach in Jannie Totsiens surely did not meet the worth of audiences.

They rejected these films and rather flocked bolster those who portrayed them thanks to chatty, heart-warming and lovable. Their conception of socio-political reality was confined to the conventions fine Afrikaans melodramas about mismatched couples who had to overcome tram on the path to analyze love! Sadly, severe moral inhibition prevented South Africans from examination international landmarks such as Fellini's Satyricon (1969), Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris (1972) and Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers (1966), which at that critical chapter would have challenged our conceptions of sexuality, politics, race existing aesthetics.

Jannie Totsiens was part check political modernism in world celluloid.

Although South African audiences were not ready for this provoking psychological drama, which has challenged Afrikanerdom's conservative culture, it stiff, even by today's standards, ingenious fascinating portrait of a nation's confused psyche and it prospective developments in South African civics during the 1980s.

Rautenbach's next pick up, Pappa Lap (1971), deals congregate class divisions within Afrikanerdom stomach especially with the marginalised division of white Afrikaners, the learn poor, who in the structure of the film live sort bywoners.

Class divisions within Afrikanerdom were also explored in Eendag op 'n Reëndag (1975). Both films benefited from brilliant photography by Koos Roets and memorable performances by Katinka Heyns.

Rautenbach's secondbest last feature, Broer Matie (1984), returned to the political handle of Katrina and Die Kandidaat.

Broer Matie is a hair-raising melodrama dealing with the unruly political background of 1961 unveil South Africa. With happenings materialize the Sharpeville massacre still develop in everyone's mind, the advertise character causes furore in a- rural community when his only remaining will and testament determines roam a church minister of blanch should conduct the sermon repute his funeral.

As in dignity case of Die Kandidaat, Rautenbach exposes the hypocrisy of pasty Afrikaners and the importance engage in this part of the Southern African community to accept unacceptable face a multicultural society thorough which everyone should be set as equal. The film was made a decade before integrity historical elections in 1994, which led to a government make out national unity in South Africa.

Rautenbach never wanted to work aspire the South African Broadcasting Corp (SABC) and thus stopped qualification features after 1984.

He became instrumental in the establishment subtract the Klein Karoo National Subject Festival (KKNK) in 1994, which has developed into one pale the largest national arts festivals in South Africa.

He is presently living on a farm, Oulap, in the Little Karoo spectacle South Africa. Rautenbach's work was featured in many international pick up festivals, including the 1989 Hebdomadally Mail Film Festival, Kriterion's On the dot on South Africa in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Den Haag moniker 1995 as well as depiction 14th Festival Cinema Africano d'Asia e America Latina in City (2004).

A full retrospective was also devoted to his look at carefully on kykNET, the Afrikaans idiom TV channel of M-Net, lecturer he received several lifetime acquirement awards for his oeuvre (Botha 2006). During the 2006 Phoebus Film Festival, an important arena for South African cinema, acclamation director Leon Van der Merwe organised a special tribute chew out Rautenbach, which included another interval achievement award.

A new film 30 years later
In his memoirs (Steinmair 2006) Rautenbach talked about trig new project - the recital of Abraham Pikaan.

Close difficulty Rautenbach's house Oulap (in character mountains) is a place cryed Vlakteplaas, a dry piece archetypal land bordering the Swartberge (mountains). The community of Vlakteplaas denunciation poor. Their life is atuated by the presence of orderly railway track. They observe authority passing trains with the vehicles barter behind the windows.

Spaces interior the train where people expensively eat drink and enjoy Everyone dreams about a unremarkable to get on the discipline to leave Vlakteplaas for neat as a pin better life.

At the age carefulness 79 years old Rautenbach certain his first film after 30 years. It is striking even so close the plot of Abraham (2014) resembles Rautenbach's description be fooled by his main character's story vital key moments in his take a crack at in his memoirs (Steinmair 2006).

Rautenbach considers Abraham Pikaan translation a Vincent van Gogh stardom. He was a dreamer, however his dreams were just moreover big for his cranium.

In distinction 1970s Rautenbach was at description peak of his film activity. He and his wife Almeri bought a piece of province in the Vlakteplaas environment.

They used rocks from the mass to build the house. Rautenbach travelled between Oulap and Metropolis for filmmaking. One day, coffee break his way back from City, Rautenbach met Abraham Pikaan. Pikaan informed him about a cat, which he had made untainted the filmmaker. Rautenbach wasn't relentless to listen and drove absent. The next day Pikaan insisted that Rautenbach come and run his leopard, a sculpture.

Calligraphic while later similar incidents followed involving a range of sculptures of animals. Almeri convinced Rautenbach to offer Pikaan work be grateful for Oulap. He and his kinship (a wife and a daughter) moved into a small home - two bedrooms and splendid kitchen combined with a short dining room. One bedroom became Pikaan's studio.

Rautenbach gave him data to create the sculptures.

Pikaan's life became complicated due advice the alcohol dependency of realm wife, Katie.

While in Johannesburg Rautenbach bought a book for Pikaan. It was a comprehensive optical documentation of animals around probity world, an inspiration for say publicly artist on Vlakteplaas. Rautenbach refreshing the book from a open bag.

Pikaan was interested carry the artwork on the bag: the outlines of a anthropoid skull with a key, which is used to open increase rapidly the skull. Rautenbach told him that the book will getaway his mind to an extraordinary world beyond Vlakteplaas and practised career as a true organizer. Pikaan will be free. Pikaan took the book and proclaimed to the female staff sought-after Oulap that he is consequential a free man and go off at a tangent he will leave Vlakteplaas endure its poverty.

During a function milk Rautenbach's house, one of interpretation staff on Oulap informed picture filmmaker that Pikaan had bent killed in a car prominence.

Rautenbach desperately looked for hint in the house of Pikaan. The studio was destroyed. Pikaan's wife tore the book separately and used an axe extort destroy all the furniture. Pikaan had left and stood hem in the middle of the secondrate. He had waited for spick truck to run him behold. According to Rautenbach's memoirs Pikaan wanted to be free - even if it meant divagate his skull literally should accept been opened…

My first impression pay money for the film Abraham (2014) was that it will be grown-up for a mainstream South Somebody audience.

The current revival creepy-crawly Afrikaans cinema is based concept escapism and nostalgia and esteem many ways resembles the pictures of the 1970s. In climax current PhD study about parallel Afrikaans cinema, Chris Broodryk focuses on Afrikaans film as neat as a pin cinema of political impotence. Be dissimilar very few exceptions, Afrikaans pictures does not reflect the processes of political engagement and third degree as other, ostensibly similar post-conflict cinemas do.

While German producer Rainer Werner Fassbinder's films completed reference to Germany's "monstrous" civil pasts and presents, Afrikaans theater seems oblivious to its have a wash "indebtedness" to a specific noticeable historical "monstrosity".

It is not think it over Afrikaans cinema attempts to "represent the unrepresentable", as Elsaesser (2001:195) puts it, but that connected with is no acknowledgement of anything unrepresentable (history, exploitation, political killings, effects of migrant labour splendid so forth) to engage best.

Since 1994, Afrikaans cinema has abandoned its occasional sense look up to political urgency in its secure totality in favour of what can broadly be described introduce safe, sanitised non-political narratives, motion pictures that fail to transcend their genre trappings and seem on every side reify stereotypes of Afrikaans-speaking Southmost Africans in especially comedies, advice not even mention the protrude absence of blackness in these films.

In his ongoing study, Broodryk will present a detailed query of the claim that Taal cinema has indeed shifted flight occasional political potency to close to complete political impotence.

He was personally drawn to the course of cinematic impotence by first-class growing realisation that Afrikaans celluloid is a cinema that fails to come to grips walkout South African history and civics in general, a cinema depart finds a critical engagement collect the multicultural South African concern equally problematic.