ALMOST 40 years after the idea came to him to write a book about a Khoisan outlaw hero, author, Pieter Pretorius, finally put pen to paper and now the book is set to become a mo-vie, creating jobs for many Khoisan people, including the lead role in the film.
Pretorius said that he started thinking about writing a book about Koos Sas, who was a well-known Khoisan man during the colonial period in South Africa, during the 1980s.
“The idea came to me after (hearing) a song that David Kramer wrote. At that time I was working as a producer for 50/50 at the SABC where I made documentaries for the channel. The idea never left me and I had to get rid of it.
“During that time I also made a lot of inserts about the San and read more and more books about the subject. The idea slowly developed over the years and I actually realised how little I knew of the subject and read even more,” Pretorius explained.
“With my wife’s support that encouraged me to write the book, I wrote it during the [height of the] COVID period. After my wife read it for the first time and told me that it was a good book, I decided to take the project further and published it myself with her support in 2021.”
Pretorius said that his wife, Maria, planted the seed about the book becoming a film, especially since the two of them were huge film watchers. With his background in film production, turning the book into a film was thus the next logical step.
“I wrote a film script, my wife read it and she liked it. That encouraged me to take it further. My wife passed away at the end of 2021 and that also encouraged me to turn this project into a reality as an honour to my wife,” he said.
“I shared the text and there came interest from abroad to shoot the film. We are now at the start of preproduction and I can’t believe that things have already progressed so far.”
Pretorius explained that the book is about a Khoisan farm worker, Koos Sas, who longs for freedom as his ancestors had. He goes AWOL from his farm and finds that the country is divided into farms belonging to individual owners.
British imperialism and the heavy hand of the law lead to him clashing with society. Soon, he becomes notorious in the colony and his situation worsens when he meets a young woman.
The search for freedom is also worsened by his disregard of Khoi mythology that subsequently leads him astray.
According to Pretorius, what makes the film unique and exciting is that it will be in Afrikaans and have a Khoisan cast. They are also planning on shooting the film in the Eastern Cape and exhibiting Khoisan art.
“The Khoi community across the country was approached with the book and they are very excited about the project, in such a way that I have been invited to officially launch the book in Lambertsbaai in April.”
Pretorius said that he already had his next book on his computer with research done and dusted.
“As soon as I’m done with this project, I’ll focus my attention on the next book. At the moment we are planning to have the film released mid-2023.”
For more information on the film and casting details, readers can visit the following website: www://peglegproduction.co.za/Die Ballade van Koos Sas.
