Three southern suburbs actors have roles in the locally made movie, Moffie, which opens nationwide tomorrow.
Directed by Cape Town-born Oliver Hermanus, Moffie tells the story of two SADF soldiers coming to terms with their homosexuality during the Angolan Bush War.
It’s 1981 in apartheid South Africa, and Nicholas van der Swart (Kai Luke Brummer) and Dylan Stassen (Ryan de Villiers) must complete their compulsory military service while also confronting the growing attraction they feel for each other.
Brummer, 27, from Walmer Estate, trained rigorously and lost 13 kg for his starring role. He says the film made him realise just how much of the prejudice from that time is still with us today.
“When you make a period piece about subject matter such as ours, you hope to see how far we as a society have come, but, in reality, it highlighted for me how little prejudices have shifted.”
Jordy Gurr, 22, from Observatory, plays army recruit Albert Williams. He was impressed with the effort that went into recreating the look and feel of the SADF.
“They were brutal in every aspect, but their methods worked, plus we had our sergeant breathing down our necks constantly, that added to the unique experience.”
Wynand Ferreira, 25, from Rondebosch, played army recruit Niels Snyman.
“The boot camp training showed me exactly the type of physical and mental abuse these soldiers had to endure and any resistance was met with some sort of pain, whether it be physical or psychological.”
He listened to old army stories shared by his uncles and stepfather before rehearsing for the role.
This is Gurr’s first feature film role. Brummer is starring in Master Harold and the Boys at The Fugard Theatre, and Ferreira has had cameo appearances in other local movies, Kanarie and Klein Karoo.