I MESMERISED THEM WITH MY STORIES

John stayed safe in jail by entertaining fellow prisoner with his tales – now his movie is in line for an Oscar

RIGHT: John W Fredericks based Noem My Skollie on his life. ABOVE: His wife, Una, saved his life.

ON HIS desk the golden statuette glimmers, taking pride of place next to his computer. He was given the plastic Oscar replica for his 70th birthday last year. His daughter Janine gave it to him to show him that she had faith in him and believed with all her heart that the movie script he’d spent 14 years labouring over would one day get the recognition it deserved.

And that day has finally come. John W Fredericks’ name has been on the lips of many film buffs after it was announced that his movie, Noem My Skollie, has been chosen as South Africa’s official entry for next year’s Academy Awards. This means that come March next year, he could be replacing his plastic Oscar with the real deal. By PIETER VAN ZYL Pictures: MISHA JORDAAN

Even though it’s still going to be a while before John knows if his movie has made the cut, he’s feeling upbeat about his chances.

“We’re getting our passports ready,” he tells us when we visit him in his writing studio at his home in the Cape Town suburb of Strandfontein. His wife, Una ( 67), nods. She was the one who answered the phone when they heard his movie is in the running for next year’s Oscars. It’s in the category for Best Foreign Language Film – and that language is the language of his heart.

Set in the 1960s, the film tells the story of a young boy named AB growing up on the Cape Flats who forms a gang with three of his friends. Their bond is tested when AB and one of the other members are arrested and sent to prison.

John wrote the screenplay, and the movie – which stars Dann-Jacques Mouton – is based on his life. For two years he told stories to fellow prisoners to keep himself safe. Decades later he’s still doing it.

HE GOT his first tattoo at age 15. The words “Mr Crime” were permanently inked onto him with a thick needle. John grew up in Kewtown in Athlone, Cape Town. His dad, Philip, a garbage truck driver, and mom, Kathleen, who worked at an abattoir, were gone all day and he was left alone with his eight siblings – seven sisters and a brother. His father would bring him discarded books he’d found on the landfill and this inspired his love of reading.

It all started innocently, with him and his friends sitting on the corner of their block around a fire, having a braai and telling stories. “The other guys tried but they didn’t read like I did,” John says.