A poignant story of hardship, sacrifice and selfless love set against the harsh backdrop of the South African bushveld during the Great Trek.
Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by writer and filmmaker Brett Michael Innes, the film tells the story of Afrikaans family, the De Beers, who are forced to find shelter on a local farm in the Eastern Free State of South Africa in the 1800s. Winter has arrived and, as dark clouds laden with snow start to roll in over the Drakensberg mountains, tragedy strikes.
“Known as an Afrikaans tale for all South Africans, the film is inspired by the cherished tale, passed down from generation to generation, of female folk hero Racheltjie de Beer,” says Innes. “When they became separated from the rest of their party, the young girl gave her life to save that of her little brother, making her mark on history as a youthful hero.”
It’s a poignant story of hardship, sacrifice and selfless love set against the harsh backdrop of the South African bushveld during the Great Trek, the eastward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape into the interior of modern South Africa, where they were seeking escape from the British colonial administration.
Die Verhaal van Racheltjie de Beer ihas been adapted for the big screen by writer-director Matthys Boshoff, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Brett Michael Innes, who co-wrote the screenplay.