Vaselinetjie – a story of hope

Anoeschka Von Meck’s celebrated youth novel Vaselinetjie will be released as a full-length feature film on 22 September 2017.

Vaselinetjie is a story about defining one’s identity and race within the turmoil of post-Apartheid South Africa and the long road to discovering who you really are. It is a tribute to the strength of the human spirit, the power of love and our ability to triumph despite all odds.

Husband and wife team, Corné and René van Rooyen, wrote the script and Corné also directed the film. The couple also co-wrote and produced the film Hollywood In My Huis, which was released in 2014. René also wrote and directed Mooirivier (2015) and Corné was the director of Sy Klink Soos Lente (2016).

Corné said the writing process took him and his wife Rene two years and adapting this book was the toughest thing ever.

“A film needs its own voice and it has to be different from the book and it really took two years for the screenplay to develop its own two legs and voice. You have to distance the book from the film but keep the heart and soul.”

Corné also mentioned that 11 years ago he read the book Vaselinetjie and it became a dream of his to one day tell this very important story. “At first I was petrified, mostly because of the themes and the really hectic things these kids have to go through at a young age,” he said.

Vaselinetjie was a massive production because of the magnitude of the cast. Every cast member needed an older and younger version. The younger version was between eight and 12 years old and older between 16 and 19 years.

“I auditioned nearly 6 000 kids all over SA to find the perfect cast for this film and it was through this casting process that I realised the real power and purpose of making this film.”

Arno Greeff, one of the leading actors in the film, said he found it to be quite stressful once he realised the magnitude of the project and the story behind it.

“I knew I had to bring my A-game. Everyone put in 110% and was committed to telling the story as real as possible. It was the toughest, but best four weeks of my life,” he said.

He said one of the most important lessons he walked away with after shooting the film was that “no matter who you are or where you come from, everyone out there is fighting a battle and we’re all just trying to survive”.

The film will give the audience a first-hand insight into what it was like for some youngsters growing up in an orphanage during the early years of this country’s democracy.

Corné added, “It does not matter if you are black, brown or white, as long as you know your life has a purpose – a purpose that has been given to us even before the day we were born. In the end, it’s really a story about hope, love, friendship and finding your true identity in a messy world.”

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