‘Griekwastad’ film directed by Jozua Malherbe and co-produced by 7 Films premieres in SA
Director Jozua Malherbe has just released his latest feature film, the much-anticipated ‘Griekwastad’, co-produced by 7 Films and Scene 23. We do the Zoom thing with Jozua and the team from 7 Films to find out how this joint venture has led to a predominantly long-form director making a predominantly commercials production company his new home and why you should stop trying to recreate TikTok dances and pay attention.
‘Griekwastad’ is based on the bestselling true crime novel by journalist Jacques Steenkamp. The film tells the tale of the search to find the truth around the gruesome murders that took place in 2012. A farmer, his wife and daughter were brutally killed on their farm, and their son, a teenage boy, was the sole survivor. ‘And where can I watch this immediately?’ you ask. Get it on Box Office right now, right here.
Over and above the year-and-a-half that Jozua and the team at 7 Films collaborated on ‘Griekwastad’, they have also been working side-by-side on various projects for over three years, and now, with the release of the film, they have decided to make the relationship ‘bio-on-website’ official.
‘Griekwastad’ Trailer
Jozua is about as established as you get in the SA film industry, not to mention (but we will mention it) that his television dramas have won every single directing award the country has to offer. He’s been directing award-winning (yes, more awards) feature films like “Wolwedans in die Skemer” and prime time television dramas including “Fluiters”, “Bloedbroers”, “Swartwater” and “Donkerland”, as well as producing award-winning (so many awards) short films, including one of his most recent projects, ‘I Am All Girls’ which will be released in the US in 2020.
Short-form filmmaking is not new to Jozua
“The space between long-form and short-form is becoming very vague and at the end of the day, it’s always about storytelling for me. Whether you’re selling a product or not, you still need those storytelling skills, and of course the more you actually understand the heart of a character, the better the story you can tell.” – Jozua Malherbe
Whether directing a commercial or a feature film, Jozua is equally obsessed with creating complex characters as he is with narrative. He believes that a director’s role is to tell any story in the most effective way, a skill that certainly caught the attention of 7 Films. The production company has always put ‘story first’, and with 4 consecutive Creative Circle ‘Ad of the Year’ wins under their belt, they’re clearly getting away with it. For them, Jozua was the perfect 7 Films fit.
“I think having all this experience and all this talent wrapped up in this beautiful young man is such a blessing, specifically for the young talent at 7 Films. Having seen him mentor and work with them already on Griekwasstad is incredible. This is the first feature we’ve been involved in producing and hopefully the first of many. We are very proud of Jozua, he not only directed the film but also shot it himself. He is a real filmmaker and we are very proud of the work he creates and that he trusted us to get involved and guide and help where we can.” – 7 Films Co-Founder, Director Lourens van Rensburg
Zooming in on Jozua
Seeing as he spends most of his time behind the camera, this may be the first time some of you will meet the real Jozua, so we thought we’d hit him up with some of the most revealing first date questions out there (according to the internet that is).
IDIDTHAT: What are the top 3 things on your bucket list?
Jozua: See the Northern Lights. Ride a motorbike through Africa. Maybe something ridiculous like jumping out of a plane and then starting to ski…
IDIDTHAT: Your first post-lockdown drink?
Jozua: Whiskey on the rocks, double…
IDIDTHAT: What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?
Jozua: Skied with the German Olympic ski team down a huge mountain.
IDIDTHAT: Not in your dreams, in real life.
Jozua: Yes haha. I was doing a documentary on them in the Alps. They were the slalom team and the lifts were closing and the place was shutting down. We had like 5 minutes to get down this mountain and they just said ‘Keep up’ and I did, although I think I wiped out a few times. That was pretty scary.
IDIDTHAT: What’s one thing you want to learn or wish you were better at?
Jozua: I wish I could draw. I can’t draw for shit. As much as I love art and wanted to be an artist, I can hardly draw a stick man. Which is all very frustrating when you’re trying to draw your own storyboards – I always end up writing it out.
IDIDTHAT: We’ll be the judge of that. Draw this frame of the Zoom call and send it to us immediately.
Jozua, please don’t quit your day job😳
IDIDTHAT: What is one thing 7 Films doesn’t know about you?
Jozua: I’ve moved 19 times in my life.
*LOL, look how Nina and Lourens move closer to hear his answer.
IDIDTHAT: Career-wise, what are you most proud of?
Jozua: I think this film I just completed, ‘Griekwastad’. It’s definitely a highlight for me. To date, it’s the most personal work I’ve done and that puts it in a very special place. I don’t think one often gets an opportunity to make something so personal that is going to be shown to the world that involves a real story and incredible actors and that I got to shoot myself. It’s just an accumulation of a lot of very special things that have come together for me.
IDIDTHAT: We don’t have Zoom Premium so this call is about to cut out, any final words that we should grab as a takeaway?
Jozua: ‘Griekwastad’ will be out on the 5th of May on Box Office for R35 so please sign up. Anyone can get Box Office, you don’t need DSTV
Lourens: Haha, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Contact 7 Films:
Nina van Rensburg | Executive Producer
nina@7films.co.za
Saskia Finlayson Gupffert | Executive Producer
saskia@7films.co.za
Produced by the IDIDTHAT.co Content Studio – Credits: Anne Hirsch (Writer) / Julie Maunder
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