*War of the Flea is a military term: The guerrilla fights the war of the flea and his military enemy suffers the dog’s disadvantages: too much to defend; too small, ubiquitous, and agile an enemy to come to grips with. If the war continues long enough – this is the theory – the dog succumbs to exhaustion and anaemia without ever having found anything on which to close its jaws or to rake with its claws. – Robert Taber
A new documentary uncovers some of the most gruesome farm murders in South Africa and attempts to understand why this country has a history of perpetual violence.
Many South Africans live under the constant threat of violence but none on the scale of commercial farmers.
The statistics are horrifying – a South African farmer has a 700% higher chance of being murdered than any farmer elsewhere in the world. It is also more dangerous to be a farmer in South Africa than to be a policeman. How has this endemic and brutal violence come about?
Producer / director Rain van der Walt attempts to reveal the problem in War of the Flea*.
“I grew up in a small town in the Northern Province and often heard about farm murders and family friends who had been murdered. This made me want to uncover and expose the problem and discover why we live in such a brutal society,’ says Van der Walt.
The reality
However, he is quick to point out that he did not want the documentary to be gratuitous. “I wanted to tell it like it is. No-one is really standing up for farmers and I thought I should make their voice heard. I want people to understand what life is like for South African farmers and show the level of the threat they face on a daily basis.’
While the documentary centres on farm murders it also takes an acute look at the reasons why the country is so destructive.
Van der Walt continues: “I decided to bring in many experts who give their views on the history of violence in South Africa. This goes back to the days of Apartheid and examines the repercussions of what this oppression meant. Under Thabo Mbeki’s presidency the commandos (who helped to guard farms) were terminated and now farmers have to fend for themselves.
“This is ironic because in a well-functioning state with tax payers it is the responsibility of the state to defend and offer security to its civilians. The farmers have been forced to provide their own security and will defend themselves by any means possible.’
In South Africa’s current politically correct mindset, Van der Walt is aware of how the documentary may be received. “People on the right say I am too lenient while people on the left say the film is racist. I could not sensor myself as I wanted to tell the story and not divert from the truth. The story had to emerge organically.’
Family tragedies
One of the toughest things Van der Walt had to do was request interviews with the families of murdered victims. “This was the most difficult part of making the film. Most of the people were understandably reticent at first but after a while they would open up. Some talked for hours.’
Initially Van der Walt did not want to be in the documentary himself but his executive producer Anton Truesdale, after viewing the first set of rushes, said it worked better with the filmmaker’s presence in the film.
“I really had to push myself to the limits emotionally,’ notes Van der Walt. “It was vital to be true to their stories because they trusted me with their pain.’
Filmic look
Van der Walt’s objective was to make the documentary look as filmic as possible. To this end he shot on the Panasonic 900HD with a lot of wide, abstract and atmospheric shots.
“We shot a 90-minute feature length documentary and aim to sell it to channels like the BBC and other big broadcasters. I have also submitted it to the Sundance Film Festival and plan to go to other festivals,’ explains Van der Walt.
The documentary was funded by a private investor. It took Van der Walt nearly a year to find the money and he produced it by himself to retain complete independence to tell the story.
“This film is about a violent society and if we have to solve the problem we need to uncover the truth to fix it. But I am skeptical that it can happen,’ he concludes.
