Calvinia

Rudi van der Merwe – Director’s Introduction

Calvinia is a small town in the Northern Cape in South Africa. A predominantly Afrikaans-speaking farming community, I remember the Calvinia of my childhood as a bastion of conservative political and social values. Desperate to get away, I left as soon as I could, however kept on going back through the years as I also felt a strong sense of belonging there.

With the film I essentially wanted to capture the mood of this far-flung town surrounded by arid Karoo landscapes and what it is like to live there. Using memory as a starting point, I focussed on three themes: the dogs we had when I was growing up, the coloured women who worked for my family and my memories of sexual awakening. These memories allowed me to touch on socio-political issues without directly addressing them, contextualizing them instead in a way that underlines the complexity of South Africa. Note that in South Africa, coloured does not refer to people of colour, but rather to the descendants of the Khoi and the San people as well as mixed-race people.

A key element that emerged during the making of this film is my relationship with my father. Calvinia is where he grew up and where he spent his entire life. I knew that his passing would sever my connection to this world and I wanted to document it before it was too late. The film then also becomes a farewell of sorts.