Broad scope of loss explored in ’n Poppy op die heuwel

The 14th kykNET Silwerskerm Festival is once again bringing South African and Afrikaans filmmakers, actors and storytellers together in Camps Bay, Cape Town, from 19 to 22 August, with a programme spanning short films, feature films, documentaries, television previews, workshops and industry conversations. This year’s festival includes 22 films, giving both established and emerging filmmakers a platform to showcase their stories. Making its debut as part of this year’s Silwerskerm Festival programme, ’n Poppy op die heuwel is a quiet but powerful exploration of grief, belonging, family and the complicated relationship between people and the places they once called home.

A brother and sister return to a Namaqualand farm to bury their grandmother Poppy in the place where she spent more than 50 years of her life — but they find themselves up against the company that now owns it. Initially, Josh (Marunzo Thomas) tries to convince Laila (Lauren Joseph) that they should abandon the idea of burying their grandmother alongside her mother — but Laila has a plan. Even if it means she must take up the spade herself to claim grandmother Poppy’s rightful resting place.

The short film forms part of a festival programme that highlights the work of both established and emerging filmmakers and celebrates the breadth of Afrikaans visual storytelling. The director Winford Collings shares insights about the short film, Silwerskerm Festival and more.

It feels so authentic that one could almost think it is a true story. Where did the idea come from?

The idea came from watching my mom arrange a tombstone unveiling for my grandmother, which was also going to double as a family reunion. I saw how hard it was for her just to get everyone to agree, and how much that weighed on her. She knew she had to get it right, and wanted to honour my grandmother’s memory properly.

At one point Josh says: “This is no longer our place.” Please elaborate on the themes that are touched on — and how history can never truly be left behind.

South Africa’s history of land possession and dispossession still echoes in the lives of many families today. It’s never really left behind, it just resurfaces in different forms, generation after generation. That’s why “home”, or where we belong — what Josh calls “our place” — is so difficult to define; it always feels just in and out of reach. In the film, this is represented by Laila’s family’s separation from their ancestors’ burial plot.

’n Poppy op die heuwel has very little dialogue. Tell us about the importance of silence in telling the story — you even avoid mood music. 

I always want to challenge myself to use film as a visual medium first, and to find where I can push the camera to its full effect. Sometimes that means a single shot already captures everything a scene needs, and adding dialogue or music at that point would take away from it rather than add to it.

The focus is mainly on Laila, offering a wonderful role for an actress. What was the process of choosing the actress?

I’ve been a long-time viewer of Suidooster and have always admired Lauren Joseph’s work. I had her in mind from the moment I started writing the screenplay. I felt she had the right tenacity and fire behind her eyes to play Laila, and I was so grateful when she said yes.

You do not come from film school ranks originally. Tell us a little about your journey. And what is next? 

I studied and worked in finance for a number of years, but always wanted to be a writer. I wrote the screenplay for Adam — my first feature film, commissioned by Showmax — at 18, and it only got made ten years later. In a way, it feels like I ended up exactly where I was always meant to be, just equipped with a few extra skills along the way. I have a production company, Winnow Productions, and I hope to keep making films, hopefully including my second feature film soon.

Anything else you would like to share with viewers? 

I hope people who watch it can walk away thinking about their own grief process. We often want to honour and do right by the person who has passed away, but in doing so we can leave ourselves behind. I think the film explores what it looks like when you try to do both, as complicated and difficult as that may be.

*The 14th kykNET Silwerskerm Festival takes place from 19 to 22 August in Camps Bay, Cape Town. Tickets for the films, as well as the prestigious awards ceremony on Saturday, 22 August, are available at Quicket. 

For the full programme, visit www.silwerskermfees.co.za.