Movie Director creates a little Whiplash for Women’s Day
As we celebrate Women’s Day in South Africa today, a movie director has undertaken an interesting journey to throw some light on the silence that surrounds the abuse of women and children in a country where there are reportedly 3,600 rapes per DAY. That’s 1.4-million per year. Meg Rickards is the director of ‘Whiplash’, a story […]
As we celebrate Women’s Day in South Africa today, a movie director has undertaken an interesting journey to throw some light on the silence that surrounds the abuse of women and children in a country where there are reportedly 3,600 rapes per DAY. That’s 1.4-million per year.
Meg Rickards is the director of ‘Whiplash’, a story about Tess and her journey to shedding the misplaced shame she feels at being abused and violated. Yesterday, on the eve of Women’s Day, Meg made a 26 km journey from the Cape Town centre to the seaside suburb of Muizenberg, wearing a petticoat and with bruises painted on her face and body.
Tracey Farren, author of the award-winning book on which the movie will be based, went along with her to record the experience and wrote that: “Every single person who saw her believed her to be a lone, wounded woman finding her way home after an savage attack.
“Some men laughed out loud. Other men did a u-turn in tight traffic to offer her a lift to the hospital.
“The women who passed her responded as if they were one – with raw shock and deep sympathy. Many women said things like, ‘I used to look like you’. Some remembered their mother’s suffering. Several had to fight back their tears. It took several minutes sometimes to refuse the help of women who simply did not believe that the bruises were not real.
“While trailing Meg with a video camera I was shaken by the occasional hard-hearted jeering but mostly I was stunned by the tide of compassion that washed in her wake.”
After the journey was over Meg said on Facebook that “it was one of the most interesting and moving days of my life. I am shaken to my core by all the experiences that were related to me throughout the day.”
There was catcalling and some men did shout out comments like “Nice legs Baby girl, nice legs!”. Meg admitted the laughter and wolf whistles were “so strange” but that there was “lots of real interest and engagement too”.
According to the Whiplash FB page, the walk was endorsed by the Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT), and many NGOs in the sector have been consulted by the Whiplash team. It is a serious issue in South Africa where in the last month three sex workers have been murdered in Cape Town alone.
The filming of Whiplash is due to take place in Muizenberg next March, with the release date set for next Women’s Day, 9 August 2015.
In an open letter shared on Facebook Meg wrote the following:
This gesture is to build support for a film that will help break the silence around the abuse of women and children. The film is called Whiplash, and is based on the award-winning novel by Tracey Farren. We aim to film in Muizenberg next March and to launch next Women’s Day, 9 August 2015.
The story is about Tess and her journey to shedding the misplaced shame she feels at being abused and violated. Sadly, Tess’s story is all too common. The Medical Research Council estimates that up to 3,600 rapes happen daily in South Africa: a terrifying 1.4 million rapes a year. These are committed in a climate of impunity: amongst the small proportion that get reported, no more than one in ten result in a conviction. A culture of abuse means that for many, rape – even that of minors – is not seen as a crime so much as a daily occurrence.
As a woman, mother and filmmaker I feel compelled to act against one of the most devastating plagues in our society, using the tools at my disposal – the story and the camera. However, Whiplash is not a didactic or explicit ‘messaging film’. The fact that it tells a riveting – and even hopeful – story makes it all the more powerful in promoting empathy and sparking discussion. To this end, Whiplash will be launched as part of a public awareness campaign, with screenings and discussions held in schools, prisons, civic and community spaces throughout the country.
I’ve been asked, ‘Is Whiplash a feel-good film?’ Well, No – but it’s certainly a feel-better film. This is not a Pretty Woman fairy tale; this is a chance to fall in love with someone intrinsically beautiful who believes she is ugly. Tess is so brutally honest your skin will itch, so bitingly funny you’ll laugh despite oneself. Whiplash won’t leave you bleak, but rather with a sense of hope.
I’m thrilled to be collaborating with an amazing team on Whiplash. We have been working for over two years to raise the finance, and wonderfully, have 70% of what we need in place, thanks to the National Film and Video Foundation and the Department of Trade and Industry. But we are struggling to raise the last 30%, a total of R1 million.
To raise the remainder, the Whiplash team, led by producer Jacky Lourens, has launched a crowdfunding campaign. We know times are tight, but if you can, please consider going onto the site, investing something, and becoming part of the journey. There are some worthwhile rewards including tickets to the premiere and visits to set, and since investment starts at R100 ($10), it doesn’t need to break the proverbial bank.
www.thundafund.com/whiplash
The Saartjie Baartman Centre, a refuge for women and children who are survivors of abuse, will receive 10% of all funds raised today and tomorrow, Women’s Day.
We would also be grateful if you could please share this letter with others.
With warmest regards and many thanks,
Meg Rickards (Whiplash film director)
www.thundafund.com/whiplash
www.facebook.com/Whiplashfilm
Twitter: #whiplashfilm
Technical issues donating? Please contact Nazli: 078 452 74 75 or email accounts@thundafund.com