Screening of the film “Variations on the theme”

Variations on a Theme, directed by Jason Jacobs, Devon Delmar, South Africa, Netherlands, Qatar, 2026, 64 min

Awarded Tiger Award at this year's Rotterdam International Film Festival (IFFR)

It is a lyrical portrait of Ouma Hettie, an elderly woman grazing goats in South Africa's Kamiesberge region. Hettie falls victim to a scam promising to pay back her father's wartime service benefits — compensation the families of many South African World War II veterans have been waiting for for decades. The film looks at her everyday life rooted in the rhythm of nature and the life of a small community. His lyricism grows out of Afrikaner culture and sensitivity to landscape, plants and animals, evoking the spirit of Eugène Marais's work. Hettie is the grandmother of co-director Jason Jacobs and has been tamed with the camera presence for years. It is a tender and insightful portrait of life in the village of Kharcams, where everyday life is permeated with a metaphysical dimension — the world of memory, the dead and those who have passed away.