Doccie about racial imbalances in the music industry finds a bigger audience
Since the screening of the hard-hitting documentary Die ongetemde stem – ’n Herontdekking van Afrikaanse musiek [The Untamed Voice – A Rediscovery of Afrikaans Music] at the 2022 kykNET Silwerskermfees Film Festival in March, the film was also selected for the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival in Cape Town and the SAFF (South African Film Festival) in Australia and New Zealand.
The cultural and musical history this doccie uncovers, is an eye-opener for many viewers. The fascinating and often tragic story of Afrikaans music is told by the two co-directors, Gideon Breytenbach and Riku Lätti, through a mixture of archival material, graphics and conversations with many musicians, prominent cultural commentators and role players in the local music industry, including Churchil Naudé, Frazer Barry, Deniel Barry, Schalk van der Merwe, David Kramer, Piet Botha, Lloyd Ross, Anton Goosen, Koos Kombuis, Jackie Lätti, Bacchus Nel, Theunis Engelbrecht, Rian Malan, Marcel van Heerden, Schalk Joubert, Jolyn Phillips, Deon Maas, Johannes Kerkorrel, Bernoldus Niemand, Christo van der Rheede, Hunter Kennedy, Willem Möller, Jannie ‘Hanepoot’ van Tonder and Max du Preez.
Seasoned arts journalist Diane de Beer saw Die ongetemde stem at the Silwerskerm Film Festival and on her blog, De Beer Necessities, she calls it “a hard and uncompromising look at the Afrikaans music industry and the racial imbalances that still persist almost 30 years into our democracy. One would think that especially when people have a language in common, inclusion would be a given particularly with our past. I was shocked, for example, to hear that someone like the articulate Churchil Naudé who uses his music to express particular feelings, still feels side-lined.”
Click here (https://debeernecessities.com/category/movies/) to read her interview with co-director Riku Lätti.
In her review for Netwerk24 (https://www.netwerk24.com/netwerk24/kunste/feeste/woordfees/resensie-dokkie-oor-afrikaanse-musiek-praat-met-eie-stem-20220713) Mariana Malan describes Die ongetemde stem as “a candid and brilliant documentary that will give viewers a lot to think about and open their ears to. It will also infuriate some people, maybe a whole lot of people.”
Veteran film critic Leon van Nierop says it’s a film that “breaks the chains in your head”
in his review for Rapport (https://www.netwerk24.com/netwerk24/kunste/flieks/us-woordfees-tv-koos-doep-se-formidabele-musiekbydrae-20220717). According to Van Nierop, the doccie offers a “unique take on Afrikaans music full of sound, images and fury”. He says the strength of the film lies in the big variety of voices who weigh in on contentious issues.
Click here (https://silwerskermfees.co.za/movie/?2021/die_ongetemde_stem) to see the English Q&A with David Kramer, Churchil Naudé, Gideon Breytenbach and Riku Lätti which took place after the screening of Die ongetemde stem at the 2022 kykNET Silwerskermfees Film Festival.