\n\tOuma Hettie is an octogenarian goat herder in South Africa\u2019s Kamiesberge. When she falls victim to a scam promising reparation for her father\u2019s unpaid service during World War II, her family becomes more involved than she would like them to. <\/p>\n
\n\tWelcome to the world of Variations on a Theme (Variasies op \u2018n Tem) from writers\/directors Devon Delmar and Jason Jacobs (Carissa), which won the Tiger Award<\/a> at this year\u2019s International Film Festival Rotterdam<\/a> and just screened at the 70th edition<\/a> of the BFI London Film Festival<\/a> (LFF).<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cA poetic and distinctive visual style infuses playfulness into this insightful study of a woman\u2019s resilience and a community that exists close to the land,\u201d the LFF website said about the film. <\/p>\n \n\tDelmar, who also edited the film, came to London for LFF snd talked to THR about the musicalness of Variations on a Theme and how it may well be the only movie ever to be written on Microsoft Excel.<\/p>\n \n\tThe film has a rhythmic dance vibe, a sense of an underlying choreography that you just feel while experiencing it \u2013 without necessarily being able to explain that feeling. And that is all by design.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt all starts with Jason being a very perceptive and observant person,\u201d Delmar tells THR. \u201cHe is from this village you see in the film. He was born there, went to school there, and then came back after living in Cape Town to live with his grandmother.\u201d The duo actually made a short film there a few years ago, \u201dand I have become part of this community in some way as well,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n \n\tAnd the place has its own pace. \u201cAnyone would be able to observe the routine, the rhythm of this space,\u201d Delmar says. \u201cIf you sit in a corner for long enough, you\u2019ll start to notice the routines and the rhythms that occur naturally. \u2018Here comes Mr. So and So with his goats when the sun is setting,\u2019 and so on. The routines are very ingrained into the space, and it\u2019s very beautiful to observe the musicality of the space within that rhythm.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s also where the title Variations on a Theme comes from. The repetition of everyday life also \u201charmonized, to use a musical term again, with the awareness that the exploitation that\u2019s happening there in 2026 is merely history repeating itself,\u201d the filmmaker tells THR. \u201cWhat\u2019s happening with villagers being scammed out of money is exactly what happened in the 1940s to [the protagonist\u2019s] father, who was being exploited by the government at the time, which is exactly what happened to the people who were colonized going back several generations.\u201d <\/p>\n Highlights Delmar: \u201cSo this idea of repetition became very important to our way of thinking, and then it was very natural to incorporate that into the structure of the film to show this repetition and the cycle of violence, and the daily routines of this woman.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tOne possibly surprising tool to map out shots for the film to ensure the visual representation of this repetition and cycle was Microsoft Excel. Yeah, really! \u201cI\u2019ve joked that it\u2019s the only film ever, potentially, to be written on Microsoft Excel,\u201d says Delmar. \u201cBecause we have five story days, so we has five columns and then 30 shots that repeat like clockwork.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAnd the filmmaker keeps the surprises coming. \u201cWe were borrowing from an Estonian composer called Arvo P\u00e4rt,\u201d Delmar explains. He\u2019s the big guy in Tallinn in terms of music, and he wrote music very formulaically. He came up with these almost formulas or equations for his music. He would work on a very small kernel of an idea or a seed, but once he unleashes that little seed, it manifests the most unbelievably beautiful and spiritual music.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThat served as an inspiration for Variations on a Theme. \u201cWe were interested in how we could contain the film into one core idea, and then almost press play on it and let it unfold,\u201d Delmar explains. \u201cIt\u2019s like an origami thing you do, and then a pop-up book appears.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ouma Hettie is an octogenarian goat herder in South Africa\u2019s Kamiesberge. 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