The film Meerkat Maantuig, to be released nationwide in South Africa on 16 March 2018, has already been accepted to screen at eight international film festivals.

The film’s writer and director, Hanneke Schutte, used the youth novella Blinde Sambok by well-known South African writer Riana Scheepers, as a point of departure and transformed it into a cinematic story set in the wonderful woods of Magoebaskloof in South Africa.

The film tells the story of Gideonette de la Rey, a frightened 13-year-old girl who believes in her family’s generational curse and is convinced she is next in line to die a premature death. Scared and desperate, she’s not able to escape from this story which has defined her reality. Finally, it’s only by facing her fears that she can overcome them.

The local premiere for Meerkat Maantuig took place at the annual Silwerskerm Fees in Camps Bay, Cape Town in 2017 where the film was nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Production Design and Best Director. The cinematographer Willie Nel walked away with the prize for Best Cinematography.

In November 2017 Meerkat Maantuig had its North American premiere at the prestigious Austin Film Festival in Texas. Director Hanneke Schutte attended the festival and she was overwhelmed by the positive response. The film garnered so much attention at the festival that it was given an additional encore Buzz screening.

Meerkat Maantuig was also listed as the number one film on US film festival critic Jesse Knight’s list of Top 10 Undistributed Films in the US.

The film has also landed on US Film Bloggers Bill and Bill Movies’ list of top films of 2017 alongside an impressive list of blockbusters and Oscar nominees.

The film has been officially selected by a list of prestigious international film festivals including the Austin Film Festival, Oxford Film Festival, Sedona Film Festival in Arizona, The Kids First Film Festival (the biggest kids’ film festival in the world), The Bay Area Children’s Festival outside San Francisco, Omaha Film Festival, Nebraska, Calcutta International Cult Film Festival and the GUKIFF International Kids Film Festival, Seoul, Korea.

Meerkat Maantuig, a film by The Film Factory, is produced by André and Dries Scholtz, and has been adapted for the screen by writer and director Hanneke Schutte. The film is distributed by Ster-Kinekor Entertainment and will screen from 16 March 2018 countrywide in theatres. Rooi Rose is the proud media partner of the film.