Variations on a Theme, a South African drama by directors Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar,  just won the coveted Tiger Award for best competition film at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in The Netherlands, and has now gone on to win the Best African Film award at the Joburg Film Festival 2026 Gala Awards.

So, obvs, we needed to talk to them. Gino got hold of them via Zoom to get some insight into the "whats?" and "whys?" behind the film. 

It tells the story of an elderly goat herder, Hettie, who falls victim to a scam promising long-overdue reparations for her father’s WWII service. As she waits for money that will never come, the disruptions of her 80th birthday threaten to strip away the last of her independence. 

Devon adds, “Although the film is fictional, it's based on the real experiences of people who have historically borne the brunt of a lot of injustices and continue to fall victim to these scams".

The Tiger Competition jury said: “Possessing a deep poetic language, we found this to be a thoughtful and moving portrait of a community living under the spectre of colonial legacies and familial bonds in this world and the next.”

You can catch Variations on a Theme at Ster-Kinekor V&A Nouveau in Cape Town or at Rosebank Nouveau in Johannesburg. 

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