Moffie

Moffie is a 2019 South African-British biographical war romantic drama film co-written and directed by Oliver Hermanus. The plot revolves around two gay characters Nicholas van der Swart and Dylan Stassen who attempt to come to terms with their homosexuality.[2] The film is based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Andre Carl van der Merwe. The film had its world premiere release at the Venice International Film Festival on 4 September 2019.[3] It also had its special screenings at other film festivals and received several nominations in various categories.[4]

Moffie
Directed byOliver Hermanus
Produced byEric Abraham
Jack Sidey
Screenplay byOliver Hermanus
Jack Sidey
Based onMoffie
by Andre Carl van der Merwe
StarringKai Luke Brummer
Ryan de Villiers
Matthew Vey
Music byBraam du Toit
CinematographyJamie Ramsay
Edited byAlain Dessauvage
George Hanmer
Release date
  • 4 September 2019 (2019-09-04)
Running time
99 minutes
CountrySouth Africa
United Kingdom
LanguageAfrikaans
English[1]

Synopsis

The film is set in 1981 South Africa and presents the story of a gay teenager completing his compulsory military service with the South African Defence Force on the border with Angola.[3]

South Africa's white minority government is embroiled in a conflict at its border with Communist-led Angola. All fit South African white males between 17-60 must complete two years of mandatory military service- Conscription- conducting incursions into Angola followed by annual Commando camps, both training and operational. The Conscription applied to South African nationals but certain groups such as British passport holders (and others with dual nationality) could seek exemption.[5]

Cast
  • Kai Luke Brummer as Nicholas van der Swart
  • Ryan de Villiers as Dylan Stassen
  • Matthew Vey as Michael Sachs
  • Stefan Vermaak as Oscar Fourie
  • Hilton Pelser as Sergeant Brand
  • Wynand Ferreira as Snyman
  • Hendrick Nieuwoudt as Roos
  • Nicholas van Jaarsveldt as Robert Fields

Reception

Moffie holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 29 critic reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's critic consensus reads: "Moffie uses one South African soldier's story to grapple against a series of thorny questions -- with rough yet rewarding results."[6]

The film was nominated for the Best Film category at the London Film Festival 2019. It received two nominations at the 2019 Venice Film Festival, for the Queer Lion Award and Venice Horizons Award.[7]

Adaptations

Moffie was also imagined as a dance work in 2012 by Standard Bank Young Artist Award recipient Bailey Snyman. Snyman's version premiered at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in 2012 to critical and acclaimed reception.[8][9] The dance version was also performed at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg in August 2012 and at the State Theatre in Pretoria in December 2012.[10] The work was revived for performances at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town in January 2015.[11]

References
  1. "'Moffie': First Trailer for Venice Buzz Title About Homosexuality in Apartheid South Africa, 'Ida' Producer Among Team". Deadline Hollywood. 4 September 2019.
  2. Brooks, Xan (2019-09-04). "Moffie review – soldiers on the frontline of homophobia". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  3. Vourlias, Christopher (2019-10-05). "Venice Drama 'Moffie' Explores Homophobia in South Africa". Variety. Variety Media. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  4. https://www.timeslive.co.za/authors/kyle-zeeman. "Eye-opening film 'Moffie' is set to strut its stuff at Venice Film Festival". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  5. Romney, Jonathan (2019-10-05). "'Moffie': Venice Review". Screen Daily. Screen International. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  6. "Moffie (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  7. "Oliver Hermanus' film 'Moffie' nominated for Queer Lion Award at Venice International Film Festival". Channel. 2019-08-07. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  8. Kehe, Jason (2012-08-09). "How 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Ended Up at a South African Arts Festival". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  9. Flockemann, Miki; Cornelius, Jerome; Phillips, Jolyn (2012-07-01). "Grahamstown 2012: theatres of belonging, longing and counting the bullets". South African Theatre Journal. 26 (2): 218–226. doi:10.1080/10137548.2012.838335. ISSN 1013-7548.
  10. "Dance Umbrella on the move". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  11. "Dance play revisits SA's dark recent past at Artscape Theatre". The Next 48hOURS. 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
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