François van Heerden, a mid-40s Afrikaans family man, has become devoid of any care or concern for his own measure of happiness, and so convinced of his ill-fated existence, that he is wholly unprepared when a chance encounter unravels his clean, controlled life.
Acting
Deon Lotz's controlled implosion — every micro-expression tells a lifetime of denial.
Direction
Hermanus makes your skin crawl with silence and held shots.
Cinematography
Harsh South African light exposes what shadows hide.
Director
Oliver Hermanus
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Hermanus called this 'the first Afrikaans gay film' — a radical act in a culture where machismo and Calvinism still dominate.
Deon Lotz, a straight actor, spent months with Cape Town's gay community to prepare; the Cannes standing ovation lasted eleven minutes.
ZA
