7th(2005)
Grietjie from Garies / Grietjie van Garies
Odette Geldenhuys
- South Africa
- 2004
- 48min
- Beta
- color
SYNOPSIS
A small, old woman dances and sings cheerfully. Her song goes: “If there is a farm, we suppose it is owned by a man. Then, we suppose that he has a wife and son, which in turn there is a maid in the house.” It is the song of the seventy-eight year old Grietjie Adams, singing about her own life in Afrikaans.
There are eleven official languages in South Africa, Afrikaans being one of them. It is also known as South African Dutch, which reflects the history of colonization based on apartheid and the worst war between the Netherlands and the British Empire, whose primary purpose was exploitation of resources. Grietjie? life is not free from this colonil oppression either. Despite this, Grietjie’s presence and music are enough reason to make others smile.
The director Odette Geldenhuys is a South-African born human-rights activist that followed Grietjie around for a year to portray her songs and life. This film is a pleasant piece of musical documentary. (Jay Sohn)
There are eleven official languages in South Africa, Afrikaans being one of them. It is also known as South African Dutch, which reflects the history of colonization based on apartheid and the worst war between the Netherlands and the British Empire, whose primary purpose was exploitation of resources. Grietjie? life is not free from this colonil oppression either. Despite this, Grietjie’s presence and music are enough reason to make others smile.
The director Odette Geldenhuys is a South-African born human-rights activist that followed Grietjie around for a year to portray her songs and life. This film is a pleasant piece of musical documentary. (Jay Sohn)
PROGRAM NOTE
A small, old woman dances and sings cheerfully. Her song goes: “If there is a farm, we suppose it is owned by a man. Then, we suppose that he has a wife and son, which in turn there is a maid in the house.” It is the song of the seventy-eight year old Grietjie Adams, singing about her own life in Afrikaans.
There are eleven official languages in South Africa, Afrikaans being one of them. It is also known as South African Dutch, which reflects the history of colonization based on apartheid and the worst war between the Netherlands and the British Empire, whose primary purpose was exploitation of resources. Grietjie? life is not free from this colonil oppression either. Despite this, Grietjie’s presence and music are enough reason to make others smile.
The director Odette Geldenhuys is a South-African born human-rights activist that followed Grietjie around for a year to portray her songs and life. This film is a pleasant piece of musical documentary. (Jay Sohn)
There are eleven official languages in South Africa, Afrikaans being one of them. It is also known as South African Dutch, which reflects the history of colonization based on apartheid and the worst war between the Netherlands and the British Empire, whose primary purpose was exploitation of resources. Grietjie? life is not free from this colonil oppression either. Despite this, Grietjie’s presence and music are enough reason to make others smile.
The director Odette Geldenhuys is a South-African born human-rights activist that followed Grietjie around for a year to portray her songs and life. This film is a pleasant piece of musical documentary. (Jay Sohn)
Director
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Odette GeldenhuysOdette Geldenhuys
Born in 1959 in Strand, Western Cape, Odette Geldenhuys grew up in a small town in South Africa and went on to study at the University of Cape Town. She trained as a human rights and labor lawyer, worked with the prestigious South African law firm Cheadle, Thomson & Haysom and organizations such as the United Nations and the Legal Aid Board in South Africa. Her client list included farm workers, inner-city housing tenants, and laborers. In 2002, she decided to follow her passion and become a full-time filmmaker and directed her first documentary Being Pavarotti in 2004.
Credit
- ProducerOdette Geldenhuys
- Screenwriter Odette Geldenhuys
- Cinematography Odette Geldenhuys, Bart Smithers
- Editor Thomas Barry
- Music Grietjie Adams
- Sound Tonia Selley
