Audrey Hepburn takes the spotlight
SAXONWOLD – A memorable morning honouring screen legend Audrey Hepburn was recently held by the Historic Documentary Film Society.
Screen legend Audrey Hepburn says in an interview recorded on the documentary, Audrey: More Than An Icon, that growing up she had been taught not to make a spectacle of herself. Ironically, she said, she found a career doing just this!
As something spectacular, Hepburn indeed made a spectacle of herself, winning hearts with her fragile frame and fine features.
She was honoured at the recent meeting of the Documentary Film Society meeting at the Ditsong National Museum of Military History on Wednesday morning, August 25, where the documentary was screened in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Meeting guests were enthralled by the film, which showed Hepburn as more than just a screen legend, but also as a humanitarian, a dedicated mom and a passionate dancer.
Hepburn fans might not be aware that the star had dreams of being a prima ballerina, or that she lived through trying times during World War II, knowing full well the experience of being famished, vulnerable and afraid. In the documentary, her granddaughter related how Hepburn had told her she had memories of aid workers handing her a chocolate bar during the war. This simple gesture had a profound impact on her, and later in her life, she herself became a relief worker, as an ambassador for Unicef (The United Nation’s Children’s Fund).
The documentary describes Hepburn as a lioness, saying she was an ‘iron fist wearing a velvet glove’.
“She was so incredibly strong and so vulnerable, and made her life into something beautiful, despite all the heartache,” said Grecia Gabriel of the Historic Documentary Film Society, following the screening.
“Hepburn made the little black dress into something iconic,” the society’s Selwyn Klass said. “Something fans will always remember about her, is a scene from Breakfast With Tiffany’s, where she stands in her black dress, with a croissant and cup of takeaway coffee.”
Society members had their own coffee to enjoy after the screening, provided by Bru Coffee Roasters, which also sponsored vouchers and giveaways.
Details:
Historic Documentary Film Society Selwyn Klass on 082 603 3214.
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