Blood and Glory

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Blood and Glory
Blood and Glory - International Poster.jpg
Bloed en Glorie
Directed by Sean Else
Produced by Llewelynn Greeff

Henk Pretorius

Sean Else
Cinematography Adam Joshua Bentel
Edited by Quinn Lubbe
Music byQuinn Lubbe
Distributed by Ster Kinekor
Release date
  • April 2016 (2016-04)
CountrySouth Africa
LanguagesEnglish
Afrikaans

Blood and Glory (Afrikaans : Modder en Bloed) is a feature film that was released to cinema in April 2016 in South Africa. The film, set in 1901, at the end of the Second Boer War, is a period drama that follows Willem Morkel, a Cape rebel (a Boer or Afrikaner) farmer who was captured and sent to a British prisoner of war camp on the Island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. Though suffering under great oppression and hardship, Morkel and his comrades slowly come together to assert their defiance, humanity, and human spirit, especially through the game of rugby.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Blood and Glory is a fictional account, using the backdrop of the Boer War, with some of the places in the plot resembling actual locations from the war. The film's protagonist, Willem Morkel, is loosely based on Sommie Morkel, who went on to play for the South Africa national rugby union team.


It is documented that 28,000 Boer women and children, as well as 20,000 black people, died in British concentration camps (Professor Fransjohan, 2011 writing for BBC). The film also makes mention of the scorched earth policy implemented by the British commander-in-chief, General Herbert Kitchener, during the Boer War.

Blood and Glory was co-produced by Dark Matter Studios and Collective Dream Films. It was written and directed by Sean Else (Spud 2, Platteland, 'n Man soos My Pa), and produced by Llewelynn Greeff (Leading Lady and The Unfamiliar) and Henk Pretorius (Leading Lady, Fanie Fourie's Lobola, Wolwedans in die Skemer, Hoofmeisie, Bakgat Trilogy and The Unfamiliar)

Cast

Blood and Glory includes a strong South African male cast, along with five international actors – a first for a South African film:

The film also features appearances from well-known South African actors Greg Kriek, Clyde Berning, Paul Snodgrass, Carla Else and Andrew Lopescher.

Production

Filming took place during winter in the Western Cape, South Africa in 2015, specifically in the Worcester area and parts of Cape Town. Some sequences were filmed on a boat off the coast of Hout Bay.

Distribution

The film was released on 1 April 2016 in South Africa via distribution partners of the film Ster Kinekor to 51 cinemas nationwide. The film stayed in cinema for a total of 8 weeks, leaving all sites in South Africa on 19 May 2016.

The producers of the film are currently in talks with the following territories for international distribution of Blood & Glory:

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