''Bakgat!'' is a 2008 South African
teen
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by Henk Pretorius and written by Pretorius and Danie Bester.
Plot
Katrien (Cherié van der Merwe) is dumped by her boyfriend, high school rugby star Werner (Altus Theart), so he can focus his energy on the sport. To get even, she makes a bet with her friends that she can make a star out of the school's dorkiest boy, Wimpie Koekemoer (
Ivan Botha), by pretending to be his girlfriend. The awkward Koekemoer rises to the challenge but Katrien finds herself falling unexpectedly in love with him, until he realizes she is merely using him.
Production
The film was shot on location in
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...
and
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
in 2007. Local high schools
Waterkloof
Waterkloof (Afrikaans for "Water Ravine") is a upmarket suburb of the city of Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa, located to the east of the city centre. It is named after the original farm that stood there when Pretoria was founded ...
and Eldoraigne participated in the production and the 2007 teams of both schools play the high school rugby teams in the film. These students, and the students who appear as extras, are all credited at the end of the film.
Most of the cast, according to reviewer Kgomotso Moncho, were recruited from the
Tshwane University of Technology
Tshwane University of Technology (TUT; af, Tshwane-Universiteit vir Tegnologie) is a higher education institution in South Africa that came into being through a merger of three technikons — Technikon Northern Gauteng, Technikon North-West an ...
, where many of the high school scenes were filmed.
''Bakgat!'' received mixed reviews, described by critics as amusing but clichéd.
Shaun de Waal described it as "an efficient attempt to replicate the American teen comedy," criticized it as "largely predictable" and deriding its use of cartoonish stock characters such as "a mincing moffie thrown in for laughs."
Sequels
Two sequels, ''
Bakgat! 2'' (2010) and ''
Bakgat! tot die mag 3'' (2013) have been released. The filming of ''
Bakgat! 2'' began in 2009 at the Potchefstroom Campus of
North-West University
af , Noordwes-Universiteit
, image = https://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/NWU-Logo-SW.png
, motto = ''Dit Begin Alles Hier (Afrikaans)''
''Gotlhe Go Simolola Fano (Setswana)''
, mottoeng ...
, with
Henk Pretorius returning as director and Botha and van de Merwe returning in their roles as Wimpie and Katrien.
References
External links
*
* {{IMDb title, 1259199
2008 films
2008 comedy films
2008 directorial debut films
2008 LGBT-related films
2000s high school films
2000s sports comedy films
2000s teen comedy films
Afrikaans-language films
Films about dysfunctional families
Films set in South Africa
Films shot in Gauteng
LGBT-related comedy films
LGBT-related sports comedy films
Rugby union films
South African comedy films
South African LGBT-related films
Teen LGBT-related films
Teen sports films
Tshwane University of Technology