#ICYMI: A film to celebrate Heritage Month

The National Film and Video Foundation showcased Krotoa at the Mall of Africa’s Ster-Kinekor Imax on 17 September.

The foundation promotes one film per month and Krotoa was chosen as a celebration of Heritage Month as the film is based on South African history.

The film depicts the life of Krotoa and the arrival of the Dutch in South Africa.

Krotoa was a Khoisan woman who was taken by Jan van Riebeeck at the tender age of 11 and later became an interpreter for the Dutch settlers in the Cape Colony.

Krotoa eventually married Danish explorer, Pieter van Meerhof at the age of 21 and had children, making her marriage the first interracial marriage recorded in South Africa. She later died as a prisoner on Robben Island.

Zama Mkosi, the chief executive officer of the foundation, said the film has been released but has not been seen by many people. “As part of the promoters of South African films as well as the funders of this particular film, we used Heritage Month to tell the South African story of the Khoisan that is not often told.

“We hope that this film will raise discussions and interest in what actually happened so many years ago and what contributed to the South Africa we live in now and the rich history we have,” said Mkosi.

“Every story can be told in different ways and each story depends on who is telling it but our job as the foundation is to promote, develop and grow the South African film industry and our own local talent.”

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