Award-winning film hits raw nerve
A LOCAL film that scooped a prestigious award at the weekend might have been difficult to make due to its controversial nature, but it was an important story to tell.
The movie, Shepherds and Butchers, which deals with the hardships of the apartheid regime, won the coveted Best Achievement in Directing prize at the 11th South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas) on Saturday night.
It was also nominated in several other categories, with the film’s stars Garion Dowds and Deon Lotz receiving nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively.
Shepherds and Butchers was produced by Brian Cox, who also wrote the screenplay, and the renowned Anant Singh, who has worked on some of the top anti-apartheid South African films, such as Place Of Weeping, Sarafina! and Cry, the Beloved Country.
The movie, which has received rave reviews from the time of its release last year, also features acclaimed local talent including Robert Hobbs, Eduan van Jaarsveldt, Marcel van Heerden and Sylvia Mdunyelwa.
Shepherds and Butchers tells the story of a lawyer, played by Academy Award nominee Steve Coogan, who takes on the case of a guard, played by Dowds, who experienced trauma at the execution he witnessed while working at a prison.
Oliver Schmitz, the director of the award-winning movie, explained that telling this tale wasn’t easy but that he was proud of his team.
He added that it was equally difficult for the audience to watch.
“I am proud of Shepherds and Butchers and all the creativity that went into its making,” he said.
“It was a hard film to make as a director because it deals directly with white violence in apartheid. It is a challenging film to watch, especially by all who suffered at the hands of it; maybe even more so now because South Africa is still trying to heal the wounds of its damaged past.”
However, Schmitz said film-making was an important way to address controversial issues.
“If we always made films that are popular, we would censor our desire to tackle difficult things.”
He believes that society needs to deal with painful issues in order to heal. “I believe that in order to strive for a better society, it is important to also look at the worse one behind us, to see how much we have achieved, to see how far we have come and not to repeat the same mistakes of the past.”
Singh praised Schmitz for the manner in which he produced the movie. “While the film deals with the controversial issue of capital punishment, Oliver crafted an amazing film with sensitivity and care,” he said.
“We congratulate Oliver on this wonderful achievement. We also congratulate the production team, including those who received Safta nominations, for their contributions to the film.”