Part 31966–1976 Going freelance sounded great. No overbearing bosses, no daily insistence on arrival on time at a studio every day, above all no internal politics. One slight problem, however, no work! It took a couple of months before I landed a small job. I was asked to write and direct a short period film, […]
Part 2 continued1956–1966 In earlier blogs I did write about how I met my wife Hero whom I met in 1965 and married in 1966. I want to expand this period here as it has had a profound and positive affect on the rest of my life. We will soon have been married sixty years […]
Part 2 continued1956–1966 I was invited to join the Filmlets scriptwriting team and started the following week. I found it strange that the writers were not located in or around Killarney Film Studios where all the commercials and other films were shot. Once I had settled in, I began to realize the primary reason for […]
Part 2 continued1956–1966 I still had some money left by the time we finished the picture, and I spent a few weeks frankly dithering about I should do next. Dennis suggested that I take some still photos for his company, Crown Studios. He sent me to photograph a young woman in one of the farming […]
Part 2 continued1956–1966 Looking back on my life I now realize that my career consisted of wild swings between my involvement in film or television and finding myself in some remarkably isolated parts of our planet. As I wandered around in the Namib, I became aware of the utter silence of the desert. In fact, […]
Part 2 continued1956–1966 Despite the exhausting routine of driving a cab at night and filming by day, both Dennis and I felt that the little movie was progressing well. However, I was shocked when Dennis called me one morning. He apologized profusely and said that there was a urgent matter that he had to sort […]
Part 2 continued1956–1966 It’s an awful feeling when something goes wrong and for that moment one has absolutely no idea how to fix it. My well-spoken, wealthy but inebriated passenger had left the cab. I rushed to the front of the Royal Hotel and spotting a group of youths chatting on the pavement, I approached […]
Part 2 continued1956–1966 Looking back at that time, I realize now that I enjoyed hobnobbing with a number of people who were to a greater or lesser degree radically opposed to the Apartheid government. I had no desire to become a violent activist like Ronnie Kasrils, but I did enjoy my friendship with the Bughwans […]
Part 2 continued1956–1966 As Ronnie and I started to work together, I quickly realized that he did not have much if any experience with film. He was also clumsy and once dropped a roll of film on the floor. Despite this, he was clearly very bright, and we started to have interesting conversations on a […]
Part 2 continued1956–1966 Having devoted the previous four years to learning the business of television, then assimilating the craft of script writing, I experienced a sudden and very abrupt change of direction as a learner farmer! While lifting heavy boulders into place to create a dam across the Crocodile River, I wondered if I could […]