WIN: Uitvlucht, now available on DVD

Acclaimed filmmaker Regardt van den Bergh is known for blockbusters such as Faith like Potatoes, Klein Karoo and many more. In his latest movie, Uitvlucht, he again succeeds in touching the hearts of audiences.

It is a spiritual drama about of Anna (Clara Joubert van den Bergh), a teacher who loses everything that matters to her in life through an extramarital affair. In her heartache she finds a job at a farm school called Uitvlucht in the Eastern Cape.

As she is confronted with earlier choices in her life, she slowly starts experiencing healing and restoration and learns to forgive herself. She starts accepting her circumstances and that someone will love her again.

She finds the courage to re-build herself and others around her with the support of the teachers and Dok (Stian Bam), a kind hearted and friendly farmer who visits the school and makes friends with Anna.

Suddenly Anna must also deal with the alcohol abuse of school parents, molestation and ruthless people who have no respect for their own lives. This is a story of hope in a hopeless situation; grace in a desperate situation and of love that concurs all.

Oscar Petersen, Lika Berning, Clyde Berning, Margot Luyt and Carel Trichardt also star in the movie.

The farm school Uitvlucht exists in real life and is situated at the foothills of the Suurberge in the Langkloof, Eastern Cape. As in the case with many farm schools, there are almost no resources available and peopface difficult challenges, like alcohol abuse, child abuse, illiteracy and family violence.

“The grace captured in the name, Uitvlucht, was very striking and we thought it would be interesting to tell the story of an older couple who fall in love. I think we were also inspired by the wonderful children and if you combine that with a journey of love and healing, you cannot help but think of telling stories,” shares director Regardt van den Bergh.

The local community was invaluable and especially the school children proved they were not inferior to professional actors.

Van den Bergh says: “To highlight the authenticity even more, we filmed at the actual Uitvlucht school and with the children who attend school. These learners surprised us all with their natural talent and boldness in front of the cameras.

“There are 48 children who were all part of the filmmaking process. They had an infectious and inspiring liveliness and spontaneity. It was a pleasure to shoot their spontaneity and interactions in a real class situation.

“Because there are many real experiences portrayed in the film, we were inspired by real life. The characters are mostly based on real experiences. Truth is stranger than fiction. The children’s dialogue is almost exactly as Clara experienced it during her five years at the school.”

Well-known singer, lyricist and music producer Vaughan Gardiner and his wife wrote the theme song, Bou aan Liefde.

“It was a great privilege writing a song for Uitvlucht,” says Gardiner. “My wife, Nerine, and I watched an unedited version of the movie and immediately knew what the feel of the song should be. She wrote the lyrics and it was easy for me to create the right melody, because it is a heartfelt movie with lots of emotion.”

The movie was nominated for best film at the Indie Karoo Film Festival in 2016 and has already been screened to more than 25 000 people across the country.

The film is produced in collaboration with kykNET and the industrial development corporation, distributed by Ster-Kinekor Entertainment and was written by Regardt van den Bergh and Clara Joubert van den Bergh, with Vlokkie Gordon and Regardt van den Bergh as producers and Lika Berning as co-producer.

Uitvlucht is available at Musica stores across the country.

WIN:

Ten lucky readers can each win an Uitvlucht DVD. To enter fill in the competition form below before 14 October and use the word ‘Uitvlucht’ in the keyword section.