In the documentary, he interviews poets like Antjie Krog, Vincent Oliphant, Joan Hambidge, and Johann de Lange about poetry’s ability to help express emotions we otherwise would not be able to.

"Literature – and, therefore, also this project – verbalises what we feel," De Villiers says. "Literature – the power of the word and the way it unlocks things within us – tells our stories and makes sense of what makes us human."

Artists such as Francois van Coke, Brandon October, Amanda Strydom, and Pieter-Dirk Uys, as well as young poets such as Bibi Slippers and Fourie Botha, also share their connection with the written word.

"It’s rare that someone asks you to do something you truly believe in and that something for me is poetry," De Villiers adds. "It’s extra special that AVBOB is prepared to donate funds to promote poetry. I immediately agreed and I am completely in the project, which also includes a poetry competition in all eleven official languages."

Ek wou nog sê will be broadcast on VIA for the first time and the documentary’s English version, I wish I’d said, will be broadcast on Soweto TV and KZN TV. Ek wou nog sê will be broadcast in the following time slots on VIA:
  • Tuesday, 18 July at 19:30;
  • Wednesday, 19 July at 07:30;
  • Thursday, 20 July at 13:30;
  • Friday, 22 July at 15:30; and
  • Saturday, 23 July at 13:00.
For more information, contact [email protected] or visit www.viatv.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.