Katrien (Cherié van der Merwe) is dumped by her boyfriend, high school rugby star Werner (Altus Theart), so he can focus his energy on the sport. To get even, she makes a bet with her friends that she can make a star out of the school's dorkiest boy, 'Wimpie' Koekemoer (Ivan Botha), by pretending to be his girlfriend. The awkward Koekemoer rises to the challenge but Katrien finds herself falling unexpectedly in love with him, until he realizes she is merely using him.
Acting
Ivan Botha's committed dork transformation
Writing
Specifically Afrikaner high school culture jokes
Director
Henk Pretorius
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Bakgat! became a touchstone for Afrikaans teen cinema, launching Ivan Botha into a regional heartthrob career and proving local-language comedies could compete with Hollywood imports in South African theatres.
The rugby scenes were filmed at actual school matches in Pretoria, with real crowds who had no idea they were in a movie until they saw themselves on screen.
US
