The festive season kicks off early this year when the new Afrikaans comedy-drama, Liewe Kersfeesvader, hits cinema screens this Friday, 17 November.
In this delightfully funny and charming tale, with enough heart and soul for multiple Christmas seasons, audiences get to meet the Blignaut family – Herman, Ma, daughter Nonnie and kleptomaniac son Hugo. This seemingly perfect Karoo family is, however, particularly vulnerable when the silly season hits. Ma’s Christmas gift to the family comes in the form of a set of divorce papers and the ‘good news’ that she is leaving the family to join a travelling circus.
Deserted by their mother and with their father in a funk, Nonnie is left to take care of Hugo and keep some semblance of order in the home. And just as Nonnie wraps her head around her changed circumstances, her father announces that he is Father Christmas…
Written and directed by Etienne Fourie (Dis Koue Kos, Skat) and produced by Stefan Enslin (Nul is Nie Niks Nie) of Faith in Motion Productions, Liewe Kersfeesvader showcases some of the country’s best-loved actors including Morné Visser, Milan Murray, Mila Guy, Dean-John Smith, June van Merch, Melt Sieberhagen, Terence Bridgett, and introduces Eloff Snyman as Hugo. The film also features a new arrangement of Laurika Rauch’s hit single Kyk Hoe Glinster die Maan.
“In many families, Christmas is a somewhat fraught event that seldom delivers on the magic associated with the day and this allowed me enormous leeway when writing Liewe Kersfeesvader,” says Fourie. “I was able to mine my own family experiences as well as giving full reign to a number of imagined scenarios. That said, it was important to me that I approach the characters in an empathetic, understanding and affectionate fashion.”
Liewe Kersfeesvader was shot on location in the scenic hamlet of Prince Albert in the Karoo and is distinguished by outstanding 50s-inspired production design by Christian Joubert. Joubert’s attention to detail perfectly captures the quirky, off-beat spirit and fantasy elements of Fourie’s script, making Liewe Kersfeesvader a visual feast.
Liewe Kersfeesvader is distributed by Times Media Films.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfbBGLx0Ly4&t=29s
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