Cinema/ Theatre
Moving pictures have a wonderful way of moving the human spirit, by combining striking visual and sonic elements with swift storytelling. Unless you were born somewhere utterly remote, you most probably grew up, so to speak, with motion pictures. Rich tales from across the wide world were communicated upon a magic screen, and in-between the commercial noise one actually learned much that was of value. And while some have outgrown an urge for the excesses of the moving screen, few will surely deny the significance of a well-told piece of cinema. The Cinema is, after all, a modern expression of the ancient Theatre.
Filmmakers
1. Jacob Claassens
Jacob Claassens is a South African artist who has made videography his vocational playground since graduating with flying colours from UCT circa 2011 with a degree in film and media production. An accomplished hobby fine artist and creative writer in addition, Jacob expresses a healthy mix of pragmatist and dreamer, attested to by his exciting career in the film and video industry (you can view an array of his project videos on his Vimeo page: https://vimeo.com/jacobclaassens )
Jacob’s eyes have always been wide open. With his spectacular imagination, he swallows intuitively both logic and nonsense in one gulp, his laughter a tribute to the real in you and me. A man of the soil, his vision is quintessentially South African.
2. Etienne van Bart
Another art form I have dabbled in is cinematography. One of my majors at university was Film and Media Production, and during those years I produced a few simple yet striking videos. My lifestyle changed dramatically when I trekked into the bushveld afterwards, but who knows – perhaps time and inclination will allow for more video-making yet.
I loved the cinema and movies growing up; I believe that films are a modern form of theatre, and a valid form of storytelling. My favourite film of all time is ”The Usual Suspects”, a detective-story set in America in the 1990s.
1. Felicitis (2014) Music Video for the song ”Felicitis” from the album Fantasmagoria by Daniel Gray
2. Expecting to Fly (2015) Short Film for my sister Emma on her 21st Birthday
This special film requires a short introduction. In 2010 our beloved mother Annie unexpectedly fell ill with cancer and passed on within a few short, precious months of her diagnosis. Her departure changed our lives dramatically, especially at the time. I was in California then, on a semester-abroad exchange, studying film and creative writing. But she visited me on the day of her passing in an unexpected form, and so from the start I learned to feel her ongoing presence in my life, beyond the body. She walks with us still, a star of everlasting love. This film is a tribute to her and the family life she nurtured with such devotion.
The Zen Olympiad 