Streaking RomCom, Kaalgat Karel, Impresses Local and International Critics
KAALGAT KAREL, the hilarious new Afrikaans comedy by Boondogle Films (Tess and 1994: The Bloody Miracle), has just won the Writers Guild of South Africa (WGSA) Muse Award for Best Produced Feature Film Screenplay.
Although director, co-producer and WGSA-member, Meg Rickards’ name is on the award, it was co-written and co-produced by her husband, Paul Egan whose brilliant idea it was to write a story about a serial streaker.
The pair are thrilled by this latest accolade and say that they are thankful for the help and support they have received along the way.
“A big thank you to the WGSA for this great honour and for the work they do supporting writers,” the couple says. “We also want to acknowledge the sterling work of Melt Sieberhagen, who translated the dialogue into Afrikaans; Mustapha Hendricks and Sarah Golding as brilliant script editors; and our very close colleagues Bert Haitsma and Stanford Gibson who provided feedback throughout the long writing process, as well as Multichoice’s Wikus du Toit.”
Finally they also want to acknowledge the late Kim Williams, who tragically died in a climbing accident in February 2021, for producing the film with them and providing script input along the way. “We wouldn’t have been able to make this movie without him and we miss him more than words can say.”
The film, starring Francois Jacobs (Donkerland, Vir die Voëls, Pad Na Jou Hart) and Christia Visser (Tess, Ballade vir ’n Enkeling, Hollywood in my Huis), is also being well received abroad and was not only named Best Feature Film at the Gelos Comedy Festival in Moscow and Best Romantic Comedy at the Poor Life Choices Comedy Festival in Los Angeles, but has also been selected to feature at several other international film festivals, including the Smile International Film Festival in Holland (where it received an honourable mention), the Boden International Film Festival in Sweden, the Phoenix International Genre Festival in the USA, the Iceland Comedy Festival and the Join the Craic – Comedy of the Mind Film Festival in Belfast.
KAALGAT KAREL is the tummy-tickling tale of Karel Venter (Jacobs), a thirty-year-old guy who loves the thrill and accompanying social media stardom of streaking during sports matches. He falls head-over-heels for the paramedic, Rita (Visser), who saves him after a streak gone wrong, but there’s a problem; she’s a strait-laced single mom who has no interest in his streaking shenanigans.
Aside from brilliant cinematography by Bert Haitsma, an impressive music score by Loki Rothman, and a cheeky theme song by Jack Parow, Altyd Op Vakansie, the movie also boasts a star-studded cast with Schalk Bezuidenhout as Karel’s friend and roommate Flip, Siv Ngesi as Vuyo, Karel’s streaking rival, Tracey-Lee Oliver as Rita’s best friend and fellow paramedic, Rosebelle Clasen as Rita’s daughter Bella and Eden Classens in the role of the glamorous plastic surgeon Jean-Pierre du Toit.
The film, which opens in local cinemas on 24 September 2021, promises some incredibly funny laughs combined with a powerful message and some heartfelt personal revelations that will keep audiences captivated until the credits start rolling.
It is locally distributed by Filmfinity (Pty) Ltd. and was produced in cooperation with kykNET, the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC), the Eastern Cape Provincial Arts and Culture Council (ECPACC), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and its brand integration partners, Galito’s, Red Alert and the Hathaway Group of Guesthouses.
Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDtBaSs6PzE
