On 8 August at 07h00, the eve of Women’s Day in South Africa, local director
Meg Rickards plans to create awareness around woman and child abuse, a
subject highlighted in her upcoming film Whiplash. Adorning only a
petticoat and painted-on bruises, Rickards will walk 26 km from the Cape Town
City Hall to Muizenberg.
Whiplash, based on the novel by Cape Town author Tracey Farren,
tells the story of a prostitute who suffers a lifetime of abuse, first as a child who
is abused by a family member and later as a young woman raped and made
pregnant. According to Rickards the film challenges the ever-present culture of
abuse and violence in South Africa.
“As a woman, mother and filmmaker I feel compelled to act against one of the
most devastating plagues in our society using the tools at my disposal – the
story and the camera. By bringing Whiplash to the screen, we hope
to make a contribution to changing hearts and minds through the power of
narrative, and to challenge the culture of impunity around rape,’ says Rickards.
Rickards will be joined as far as Woodstock Police Station by Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, former Deputy Minister of Health, as well as members of NGOs and
project supporters, in an initiative to raise awareness about the film, and to
attract financial support via the local crowd-funding platform Thundafund. While
the project has already received support from the National Film and Video
Foundation and the Department of Trade and Industry, an additional R1 million
is needed before production can commence.
Producer Jacky Lourens says, “The aim of our appeal is to solicit donations from
a large number of people. Donations start at R100 and everyone who backs the
project will get something in return. The rewards are designed to draw people
into the filmmaking process – to visit the set, watch the rough cut and even be
in the movie. ‘
Willing contributors can visit the Thundafund website for
more information.
