press kit - Wonderphil Productions

Fortunately this was early in the process, before the scriptwas written and we only had the rough story.Thus the film became Klein Karoo and the Kango Valley at thefoot of the Swartberg Mountains our location. This was notonly the ideal location, but it also became something of anextra character in the story. In discussions with Regardt andalso with Etienne, we all agreed that the environment shouldplay a central role.The people in the area were always willing to help us, opentheir farms and houses to us to shoot.There were also a couple of lucky shots and miracles alongthe way. For example, on one of our first location recces wemissed a turn off and ended up on the wrong dirt road. Wearrived, quite by accident at a quaint little nursery schoolcalled Rin in Tin Skool. The school was really remote, but itfitted perfectly with our vision for Kalfieskraal. We may neverhave found the school and the film would have been poorerfor it.Another lucky break came when we wanted to shoot a picnicscene on top of the Swartberg Pass. The wind was howlingmaking it impossible to shoot so high on the mountan. Thegood folks from the Kango Caves came to our rescue and theentire scene was shot inside the caves. The first Afrikaansfilm to shoot in the caves. What an privilege.Klein Karoo afforded us the opportunity to showcase a partof South Africa’s beauty and the majesty of the SwartbergMountains and immediately puts the film on an internationallevel.ABOUT THE FILMMAKERSCOBUS VAN DEN BERG - ProducerCobus was born in the years of apartheid and is too young tobe a hippy and too old to be a computer whizz kid.At school he performed in every imaginable theatre piece, butwent on to study chartered accountancy because his fatherwould only pay for a degree that would guarante real work.Dreams of a career in film were just a fantasy.Having been a Receiver of Revenue, helped to list a companyon the JSE, opened a private auditing practice and then,together with a partner, being involved in the tourism andhospitality industry for the past ten years, Klein Karoo camealong and changed his fantasy into reality.Fortunately the years of fantasising, knowledge of theindustry (he has been documenting Afrikaans films sincehe was a kid), passion, natural inclination, as well as hishands-on experience running a theatre cafe at the hotel heand his partner manage in Cape Town, the transition to filmproducing was smooth. Over and above that, his businessacumen and marketing background help to make Klein Karooa successful business.How did you become involved with Kaapland FilmsI had a gun pressed to my head by one of my fellow producers.What did you enjoy most about producing Klein Karoo?The idea that we are creating something for future generationsand making a difference in the community where we shot thefilm. The great team spirit.What was the biggest challenge in bringing this storyto screen?The limited time we had to shoot the film and the fact that theweather didn’t always play along.What were your biggest challenges as a producer?The technical team was very small and at times I had tofollow my gut without having any experience – I used mypassion and common sense.What was the highlight of the shoot for you?The scene in the Kango Caves – a first for an Afrikaans film