Lenie and Marius, an elderly married couple, find themselves alone for Christmas as their only son and his family go on vacation without them. How do you celebrate the festive season when you’re home all alone? You paint the town pink.
Veteran actors Rika Sennett and André Stoltz play Lenie and Marius. Other members of the cast include Hannes Brümmer, Zonika de Vries, Monica Muller and Andreas Jordaan. The script was written by Tharine Pienaar, with Gustav Gerdener as the director.
Gustav says of the movie: “It’s a film that will certainly warm the hearts of the whole family. It’s a story about rediscovering love and finding meaning in life again; about reconciliation that makes you realize where you are in your life and that you need to make the best of it; about appreciating the little things and striving to suck the marrow out of life."
Gustav approached the script like any other. “You must stay true to the story, dig deep, peel the onion layer by layer, and extract every last bit of juice from it. As a director, you must realise the camera is the viewer’s eyes, and you must guide them to the message in the hope that they will get new insights into life.”
Kind was filmed in Johannesburg, and there are wild car chases, dancing in nature, and late-night putt-putt. “But wait, I'm giving away too much. People will have to watch to experience this adventure,” says Gustav.
For him, it was a dream come true to work with such experienced actors. “It only takes a word, and they understand exactly what you want. I have tremendous respect for how they handled the sometimes challenging filming conditions. It was a joy! And with this technical team, I would go to war.”
“I think the film is a beautiful, delicate, and unexpected exploration of aging, family relationships and the celebration of Christmas,” says the producer, Danie Bester. “Under Gustav’s guidance, Rika and André, take us on an intimate and personal journey that I believe will resonate with viewers – young and old – because it’s so honest and sincere.”
Kind will air on kykNET (DStv channel 144) on 23 December at 20:00 and will also be available on DStv Stream.
Take a look at the trailer right here :
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