LINDA KRIGER writes…A feature film about the tragic life of iconic South African poet Ingrid Jonker had its South African premiere at the recent Durban International Film Festival (DIFF).
POETRY IN MOTION – Carice van Houten as Ingrid Jonker with Liam Cunningham as Jack Cope
The Dutch-German-South African production Black Butterflies is a 1960s period piece and was shot in Cape Town in March and April 2010 with a South African crew.
Black Butterflies had Oscar nominated Dutch director Paula van der Oest (Zus & zo) at the helm, and stars acclaimed Dutch actress Carice von Houten (Black Book) as Ingrid Jonker.
Jonker’s work was placed in the global spotlight when her poem Die Kind (The Child) was read by Nelson Mandela at the opening of the first democratic parliament of South Africa in May 1994.This led to a documentary about Jonker’s life called Korreltjie niks is my dood made for Dutch television in 2001. Filmmaker Saskia van Schaik gave some of Jonker’s poetry to her friend, Paula van der Oest.
“I loved Ingrid’s poetry and I was very much moved by her tragic life, and especially her relationship with her father,’ says Van der Oest. One of the producers of the documentary encouraged her to become involved in plans to make Black Butterflies.
Moving story
The screenplay by South African Greg Latter focuses on the period of Jonker’s life after she separated from her husband and moved to Cape Town with her daughter, Simone. It shows her tumultuous relationship with writer Jack Cope (Irish actor Liam Cunningham), and her fruitless struggles to gain acceptance from her father, Abraham Jonker (Dutch actor Rutger Hauer), a National Party member of parliament responsible for censorship and deeply embarrassed by his liberal daughter.
Black Butterflies chronicles Jonker’s opposition to Apartheid and her experience of seeing a child shot in Nyanga during a pass book protest that led to the poem Die Kind. The film also shows her struggles with depression, abortion and her eventual tragic suicide in 1965 at age 31.
One of the first questions from the audience following the film’s screening at DIFF was why the filmmakers chose to make the film in English, since Jonker wrote in Afrikaans.
Van der Oest says that she loves Jonker’s poetry in Afrikaans. “It’s a lovely language and the words are much crisper.’
However, since the film was a period piece “everything had to be created’, making the film expensive to produce. Therefore it was a pragmatic decision to use English to make it more accessible and more marketable to art house audiences worldwide.
“The poetry is still beautiful, because it was translated so well,’ notes Van der Oest, “and now that it’s in English more people will learn about Jonker and be touched by her poetry.’
She says wherever the film has been screened, audiences have been moved by the story, although reactions have differed. “In the US they had many questions about Apartheid. In Europe people have been very impressed with Carice’s performance. They love her and think it’s a daring step forward in her career,’ says Van der Oest, “although it was mentally a very tough part for her.’
Outsider
Van der Oest was also aware of the obstacles involved in coming from Europe to tell the story of an iconic South African. “I think I read about six books about her, and every time I learnt something new,’ says Van der Oest.
She also visited South Africa three years ago to prepare for the film by traveling to places important in Jonker’s life and to speak to her
daughter and other people who had known her well.
“Because I’m an outsider I needed a humble approach. I wanted to show the different sides of Ingrid, but I think I did her justice,’ says Van der Oest.
Jonker is portrayed in the film as beautiful, passionate and a loving mother, but also erratic, impulsive, angry and at times cruel. Van der Oest says they had to find ways to balance Jonker’s dark side and tragic life with the beauty of her poetry. “The poetry itself gives you insight in a much more profound way,’ notes Van der Oest.
The film was funded by German and Dutch funds as well as Spier Films in South Africa, and produced by Frans van Gestel, Richard Claus, Arry Voorsmit and Spier Films’ Michael Auret. It was shot by South African director of photography (DOP) Giulio Biccari on RED, and converted to 35mm during post-production at Watefront Studios in Cape Town.
They wanted the look of the film to be organic and not too polished. “We wanted to be as close to the character as possible,’ she explains.
They also used a lot of imagery from Jonker’s poems, compiled by her assistant director, for example a barking dog, a yellow bucket and the ocean, which is often present in her work. “Nature
was a really strong element,’ adds Van der Oest.
She is full of compliments for the South African crew she worked with, describing them as “very professional and very dedicated’.
The film has already screened at festivals in the US and was released in the Netherlands in March, where it was still on circuit at the time of going to print. According to Van der Oest the film has been sold to about 50 countries and will release in the US in autumn and in South Africa in October.
