Rob De Mezieres
Encyclopedia
Rob De Mezieres is a South African writer
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...

 and director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

. His first film, mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...

 Shooting Bokkie won first prize at the Festival Africano di Milano, and Best South African Feature Film at the 24th Durban International Film Festival Awards in 2003.

Shooting Bokkie

Directed by: Rob de Mezieres, Adam Rist

Writing credits: Rob de Mezieres, John Fredericks

Movie Genre: Drama, Documentary

Released: 2003

Running Time: 74 minutes

Rating: 18VL

Synopsis
A South African filmmaker convinces a film crew to help him make a documentary about a 13-year-old assassin in the South African Cape Flats. Following the 13 year old hitman (a bokkie) as he goes about his daily business, the audience gains unique insight into the lives of people living on the Cape Flats
Cape Flats
The Cape Flats is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. To many people in Cape Town, the area is known simply as 'The Flats'....

, living under conditions of poverty and violence, and the gangster culture that is prevalent there.

The mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...

 format of the film invites us to consider the ethics of filmmaking in a culture of violence. As Van der Vliet (2007) points out, it also calls into question the ethics that attend being an observer to violence.

This thought provoking film won first prize at the Festival Africano di Milano, and Best South African Feature Film at the 24th Durban International Film Festival
Durban International Film Festival
The Durban International Film Festival is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. It is one of the oldest and largest film festival in Southern African and presents over 200 screenings celebrating the best in South African, African and...

 Awards in 2003.

Shooting Bokkie was originally released as an impactful short film.
The Short won a Gold Award at the 1999 South African National Film and Video Association Awards.

The documentary was shot on minimal budget (largely privately raised), and took five years to make. The difficulty De Mezieres and Rist encountered in raising a budget for this film, together with examples like Timothy Greene
Timothy Greene
Timothy John Greene is a South African actor, film director, and writer. He is also known as Tim Greene and cited under that name in most articles about him.-The making of Boy called Twist:...

's innovative solution to funding problems in the making of Boy called Twist
Boy called Twist
Boy called Twist, is a 2004 film that tells the story of a Cape Town street kid, based on Dickens’ classic, Oliver Twist. It was the first film directed by Timothy Greene...

, illustrate some of the challenges that face South African filmmakers in getting movies into production.

The short version of Shooting Bokkie can be viewed at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2638367158496648628
]

Filmography

2007 Editor Prey - The Making of

2004 Editor 'Home'

2003 Writer-Director-Editor Shooting Bokkie (The Feature)

2001 Director-Editor Fudukazi's Magic

2000 Editor Taming the Tugela

1999 Writer-Director-Editor Shooting Bokkie The Short

1993 Editor-Director Raptures of The Deep (Gold Award, UNESCA)

External links




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