“Adapting a novel is challenging. Because words are charged with meaning, they can describe a feeling, a setting, a thought. You don’t have that in film. Your characters can’t say everything they feel or think, you have to show what your character is experiencing. That’s why capturing the heart of this moving, delightful novel was so important.” – Lizé Vosloo
Filmmakers are increasingly looking to turn popular young adult books into movies. Now, out of South Africa, comes Nul is Nie Niks Nie, a heart-warming and darkly amusing new film about life, death and everything in between.
The film tells the story of three friends living in a sleepy town – Martin ‘Hoender’ (Jaden van der Merwe), Drikus (Pieter Louw), and Chris (Daniah de Villiers) – who set out to make Drikus’ dying wish come true.
Young adult book to film successes include Whale Rider, a 2002 New Zealand-German family drama film directed by Niki Caro, based on the novel of the same name by Witi Ihimaera, which earned more than $41 million, as well as an Oscar nomination for 13-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes. In 2012 The Perks of Being a Wallflower brought to the big screen the tale of a trio of friends struggling to find a place where they belong. The Fault in Our Stars, the 2014 drama directed by Josh Boone, and based on the novel of the same name by John Green about two young cancer patients who meet at a support group, was a blockbuster that grossed more than $307 million.
Nul is nie Niks Nie is based on the hugely popular Oor ‘n Motorfiets, ‘n Zombiefliek en Lang Getalle Wat Deur Elf Gedeel Kan Word, (About a Motorcycle, a Zombie Movie and Large Numbers Divisible by Eleven), by prolific South African children’s book author Jaco Jacobs who has published more than 100 books for children and young adults.
The film was directed by Morne du Toit: “I read the book Oor ‘n Motorfiets, ‘n Zombiefliek en Lang Getalle Wat Deur Elf Gedeel Kan Word, it deals with cancer and a very strong binary theme of life vs. death. It also had a fun sub-plot of ‘kids making a zombie movie’ that was secure in a metaphor of ‘running away from death’ – these are good signs for a potentially well balanced and compelling film and I knew I wanted to take on the challenge to make this picture. Films like Stand by Me (Harold Ramis), ET (Spielberg) and What’s eating Gilbert Grape (Lasse Hallström) have always been some of my favourites and looking back at my debut feature film, Hoofmeisie (2011), I think (amongst other genres) I enjoy the challenge of making films with child actors in leading roles who are forced to deal with so-called adult themes like leadership, loss, facing death and choosing life,” he comments.
“It was a big responsibility to adapt the film because Jaco Jacobs is a well-known and much-loved author,” says Lizé Vosloo, who wrote the screenplay for the film and is also a producer with Stefan Enslin, who produced the hugely successful Strikdas: ‘n Familie Gedoente. “There are no rules or guidelines that tell you exactly what makes a novel a good contender for a film. Both set out to tell a story. The difference between the two is that a novel makes use of words to create the world the story is set in. With a film, you tell the story by making use of pictures; you show the story through actions.”
Like the terminally ill teenagers in The Faults in our Stars, the characters in Nul is Nie Niks Nie show readers and viewers that a short life can still be a good life. In between all the pranks, there is a profound, realistic portrayal of teenage tragedy,” comments Helen Kuun of Indigenous Film Distribution.
Vosloo says the first time she read Oor ‘n Motorfiets, ‘n Zombiefliek en Lang Getalle Wat Deur Elf Gedeel Kan Word, she was deeply touched by the story, a factor that helped her convey the essence of the book in the film: “Adapting a novel is challenging. Because words are charged with meaning, they can describe a feeling, a setting, a thought. You don’t have that in film. Your characters can’t say everything they feel or think, you have to show what your character is experiencing. That’s why capturing the heart of this moving, delightful novel was so important.”
Knowing every part of the story is essential, says du Toit, including themes, characters, setting, and plot. “If you understand the characters, their world, the choices they make, the relationships they have with other characters and with their world, you will be able to capture the essence of the story.”
Nul is Nie Niks Nie was shot on the Red Epic with Zeiss T1.3 Super Speed lenses at 5K in 16:9. “With the story being set in Watervalboven in Mpumalanga I wanted to use the entire frame so that we could capitalise on the landscape and the town’s setting,” explains du Toit. “The Red Epic was my DOP Eduan Kitching’s camera of preference and I have had great results with this camera on a couple of short films that I made. Kitching is a very well experienced colourist and was also the colourist on Nul is Nie Niks Nie, one of the reasons why I love working with him as DOP is he knows what we can achieve in post. Apart from the fact that the camera has very good low-light capabilities and gives a versatile RAW image, a smooth workflow was also important to us. It is a file format and post process that we are familiar with so it was a no-brainer ‘let’s work with what we know’ and focus on the story. After all, I believe the camera is an extension to assist in achieving a vision, not the hero.”
The film is brought to life by the trio of friends at the heart of the story. Thirteen-year-old Hoender is a mathematics genius and a successful chicken farmer who is missing his father. When Drikus moves in next door, Hoender unexpectedly befriends him and discovers that the new boy has Hodgkin’s disease and dreams of making a zombie movie before he dies. The trio is completed by Chris, Hoender’s dream girl.
They quickly form an unbreakable bond, and together they escape the monotony of their daily lives – school bullies, Drikus’ overprotective parents and Hoender’s reclusive mother are all forgotten as they focus on making their movie. Together, the friends discover that zero is not nothing – it’s slap bang in the middle of the positive and the negative, signifying pure potentiality.
Du Toit says that the response to the picture thus far has been overwhelming: “I have never worked so hard on a picture and after viewing the film with channel head’s and commissioning editors at kykNET and M-Net, the response was that they absolutely love the film, which was a major relief. Jan du Plessis (director of M-Net channels) praised our achievement by saying that we made the film look like it was shot with double the budget that we actually had to work with (that made me cry of joy inside), and they are especially impressed with the performances by the young actors. Helen Kuun from Indigenous Distribution was pleasantly surprised that the film turned out to be a very good balance between an art film that deals with sensitive themes, and that is supported with fun adventurous elements which also makes it appealing for a more commercial audience. Box Office release can be very unpredictable so we will have to wait and see what the critics and the general public think, but we are excited indeed,” he concludes.
The Nul is Nie Niks Nie cast includes Morné Visser, Marisa Drummond, Antoinette Louw, June van Merch, Kim Syster, Bradley Olivier, and Francois Jacobs. The film was produced by Stefan Enslin and Lize Vosloo.
Nul is Nie Niks Nie is produced by Redhead Productions and Faith in Motion Productions, in association with kykNET Films, the ATKV, and the DTI. It is being distributed in South Africa by Indigenous Film Distribution, and will be released in cinemas nationwide on 7 July.
TECH CHECK
EQUIPMENT:
- Camera: RED Epic
“Apart from the fact that the camera has very good low-light capabilities and gives a versatile RAW image, a smooth workflow was also important to us. It is a file format and post process that we are familiar with so it was a no-brainer ‘let’s work with what we know’ and focus on the story. After all, I believe the camera is an extension to assist in achieving a vision, not the hero.” – Morné du Toit
BY Monique Verduyn
