South African film fans have a lot to look forward to in 2010, starting with the
release of Oscar-nominated director, Darrel Roodt’s new film, Jakhalsdans.

Roodt is best known for Yesterday, the first ever feature length film in isiZulu, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2005.

Set and filmed in the picturesque town of Loxton in the Northern Cape, Jakhalsdans stars popular local singers, Theuns Jordaan and Elizma Theron, in the lead roles, and boasts a screenplay written by the widely admired Afrikaans crime novelist, Deon Meyer. It also stars stunning South African model, Christina Storm, and the talented and versatile Neil Sandilands.

“This is Afrikaans drama in the tradition of Die Storie van Klara Viljee (1992); Nag van die 19de (1992); and Paljas (1998),” says Roodt. “I’ve always had a great love for the remote, brooding landscapes of the Karoo. The film provided a wonderful opportunity for me to work with stars like Theuns Jordaan and Elizma Theron and to create a love story that is quintessentially South African. It’s something completely different from the comedies which have dominated the Afrikaans language local film industry over the past few years.”

Jakhalsdans tells the story of a female teacher, Mara Malan (Elizma Theron), who has spent her last savings on a house in Loxton so that she can raise her five-year-old daughter, Mia (Janke Bruwer), in a safe and friendly country environment. But on their arrival, Mara discovers that the town’s primary school is going to close down, unless she can raise R500 000 within three weeks.

It’s the local musician-cum-handyman, Dawid le Fleur (Neil Sandilands), who gives
Mara the idea to hold a music festival, but she has to find a way to get the country’s
top artists to play if she hopes to attract a crowd. What Mara doesn’t know is that
her reclusive, surly neighbour is actually the celebrated singer-composer, Ruan
Landman (Theuns Jordaan). He has come to Loxton to get away from the blinding
spotlight of fame and to escape the people who only want to enrich themselves
through him. Little Mia sparks Ruan’s creativity and he starts composing again, but a
series of misunderstandings create serious conflict between him and Mara. The two
first have to learn a couple of valuable life lessons before they can save the school,
and acknowledge their love.

The idea for the script came to Meyer in 2005, after he had been to a music festival
in Bloemfontein, where he had seen Valiant Swart; Koos Kombuis; David Kramer;
Gert Vlok Nel; and Theuns Jordaan in concert. “They all have such different styles, but together on stage they were phenomenal,” says Meyer. “I knew there had to be a
way to capture this in the form of a story. As I made my way back to the Cape, the
tale began to unfold. Even then I knew it was going to be a screenplay and not a
novel or a short story.”

The film includes a brand new track by Theuns Jordaan, who has taken the South
African music scene by storm with his interpretation of old Afrikaans songs and his
own original numbers, both of which have made him a hit with fans.

Jakhalsdans is produced by Anton Ernst, who was also behind Number 10; Lullaby; and Surviving Evil. He is currently working on vampire flick, Being V, written and to be directed by David Bourla (Push).

Jakhalsdans opens at cinemas in South-Africa on 23 April 2010. Makadi Entertainment Ventures and Welela Studios in association with Next
Entertainment and Phoenix Rising Media present a Darrell James Roodt film,
Jakhalsdans, starring Theuns Jordaan; Christina Storm; Neil Sandilands; Elizma Theron; Chris Majiedt; Chante Hinds; and Janke Bruwer. Production Design by Sonya Bester. Cinematography by Andrew Tolmay. Music by Anton L’Amour. Edited by Ronelle Loots. Associate Producer was Christianne Bennetto. Written by Deon Meyer. Executive Producers are Janice Boris; Anton Smith; and Andre Frauenstein. Produced by Diony Kempen and Anton Ernst. Directed By Darrel James Roodt. Jakhalsdans was also supported by Indigenous Film Distribution; Blue Note Events; Crystal Productions; and The Department of Trade & Industry.