''Katrina'' is a 1969 South African

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Jans Rautenbach and starring Katinka Heyns, Jill Kirkland and Don Leonard.Katrina (1969)

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Based on a play called ''Try for White'' by Basil Warner, the film depicts the lives of a family of a

Coloured Coloureds () are multiracial people in South Africa, Namibia and, to a smaller extent, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Their ancestry descends from the interracial mixing that occurred between Europeans, Africans and Asians. Interracial mixing in South ...

South Africans, who in the

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

system are considered neither white nor black, in which Katrina, the daughter, attempts to appear white, before her secret is exposed. The screenplay was written by Emil Nofal.

Plot

Katrina September, a

coloured Coloureds () are multiracial people in South Africa, Namibia and, to a smaller extent, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Their ancestry descends from the interracial mixing that occurred between Europeans, Africans and Asians. Interracial mixing in South ...

woman, in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

decides to leave her family, taking her son Paul away with her, to live as white-passing in order to live a better life during

. Katrina goes by the name Catherine Winters in her secret life. However, their lives get messy when both herself and Paul meet their love interests. Paul does not know he is coloured which causes problems when he starts dating Alida Brink, a white girl. Alex Trewellyn, a white

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest, starts to fall in love with Katrina and her secrets start to unravel. When Katrina's mother dies, she is forced to return home to her family, where her brother, Adam September, is upset with Katrina. Adam wishes for Paul, who has just returned from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

with a

medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

degree, to work in their village.

Cast

* Katinka Heyns as Alida Brink * Jill Kirkland as Catherine Winters / Katrina September * Don Leonard as Kimberley Jacobs * Cobus Rossouw as Adam September *

Joe Stewardson Joe Stewardson was a South African film actor.Database (undated)"Stewardson, Joe" ''The British Film Institute Film and Television Database''. Accessed 12 August 2010. Career Partial filmography * '' All the Way to Paris'' (1965) * '' Wil ...

as Father Alex Trewellyn * Carel Trichardt as Mr. Brink * Reghardt van den Bergh as Alida's brother * Ian Strauss * * Anthony Handley

Production

Katrina was written and produced by Emil Nofal, directed by Jans Rautenbach. The crew consisted of Peter Henkel as editor, Vincent Cox as cinematography and composition by Roy Martin.

Release

The film was released in 1969 and grossed at approximately R900 000 at the

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicket. ...

Reception

Katrina has been viewed by approximately 400 000 white and coloured viewers. The film was originally released in English and Afrikaans, but has since been dubbed into eleven other languages. Katrina also entered the 1970

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. Katrina was controversially received by its Afrikaans audience. Rautenbach supposedly received death threats from right wing Afrikaans citizens.

Newspaper reviews

Katrina was reviewed by Ned Munger on the 1st of December 1969 in the Africa Report, and the article was titled "An Outstanding South African Film About Race Relations Provokes Mixed Reactions and Reflections" in Issue 8 of Volume 14.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* 1969 films 1969 drama films Afrikaans-language films Apartheid films Films about racism Films about race and ethnicity Films shot in South Africa Films directed by Jans Rautenbach South African drama films 1960s South African films {{1960s-drama-film-stub