Katrina tells the story of a ‘coloured’ woman who ‘tries for white’. She renounces her mother and father to make a better life possible for herself and her son in Apartheid South Africa. A white Anglican priest, Alex Trewellyn, falls in love with Katrina, and their lives are shattered when the secrets are revealed. A milestone in South African cinema and a searing examination of South Africa’s unjust racial policies under Apartheid; the film was also applauded (instead of being vilified) by those who instituted those exact same unjust laws.
Classic Cinema Section
Katrina
CLASSICS O’CLOCK V, Wednesday, March 3, at 19:00 (GMT +2)
English title:
Katrina
Original title:
Katrina
Director:
Jans Rautenbach
Country:
South Africa
Genre:
Drama
Year:
1969
Length:
99’
Dialogues:
Subtitles:
English, Romanian
Cast:
Katinka Heyns, Jill Kirkland, Don Leonard, Cobus Rossouw, Joe Stewardson, Carel Trichardt
A quote for the film:
You're the most beautiful girl in the world
Director’s bio:
Jans Rautenbach is the pioneer of modern, bold and South African filmmaking in the 1960s and 1970s. Together with producer Emil Nofal, Rautenbach made groundbreaking films during a time when South African cinema hardly reflected the socio-political realities of the country. He was born in 1936 in Boksburg, South Africa, in a very poor household. After studying theology at the University of Stellenbosch for 3 years, Rautenbach decided that it was not his calling and moved to Bloemfontein. While working as a clerk in a government department, he studied criminology at the University of the Free State. In January 1960, he accepted a position as a criminologist in the Central Jail in Pretoria, but about a year later, he gave 24-hour notice to leave and work in the film industry. Well-known for such classic films as Die Kandidaat, Katrina and Jannie Totsiens, Rautenbach developed a central theme around the identity of the Afrikaner in all his 11 films. His final film was Abraham (2015), which he completed a year before his death.
Selective List of festivals and awards:
2011 - Anthology Film Archives (New York)
