THEY LIVE IN HELL. THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.
When the executor of a will comes to investigate why a once prosperous South African homestead has turned to rack and ruin, he uncovers a dark secret buried in the evils of Apartheid putting his own life in peril.
“WHITE DEVILS” is a psychological horror/thriller set during Apartheid South Africa, directed by Gabriel Bologna (Amazon Prime’s “Tango Shalom”, HBO Original’s “The Elevator”, Samuel Goldwyn’s “Love Is All There Is” ), starring the British actor Jonny Coyne (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”, “The Mandalorian”, the “Toxic Avenger” reboot, ), South African-born, Damon Shalit, (Roku Channel’s “The World Without You”, starring Radha Mitchell ) South African-born, Chella Ferrow (“The Ticket”, opposite Dan Stevens ), US actress/songstress, Connie Jackson (Ethan Coen’s “The Drive-Away Dolls” opposite Pedro Pascal, Margaret Qualley, and Matt Damon, “Dreamgirls” on Broadway, and backup vocalist for Phil Collins ) and South African born, Maria Olsen (“Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief”, “Paranormal Activity 3” ), screenplay by Damon Shalit, who also produced it with Robert Meyer Burnett (“Agent Cody Banks” franchise ), Carlos de los Ríos (Disney’s “Playing Mona Lisa”, Orion Pictures’ “Diablo”, starring Scott Eastwood, “The Forger”, starring Josh Hutcherson ), Sam Oldham (“Master Demon” ), and Yan Fisher (“Papillon”, starring Rami Malek ). Music and sound design by Steve Yeaman (Academy Award-winning “The Panama Deception” ).
“WHITE DEVILS” is the first-ever feature film adaptation of “Diepe Grond”, the seminal work of Reza de Wet, South Africa’s most celebrated female author and playwright. Though, sadly she passed away in 2012, she left behind a legacy of leading a literary war against Apartheid during the height of that country’s censorship and oppression.
Reza de Wet
Author of “Diepe Grond” (“The White Devils” )
Born Elizabeth Frederica de Wet in Senekal, a rural town in the eastern Free State, South Africa, Reza de Wet was a prolific and socially conscious author and playwright who wrote in both English and Afrikaans.
Reza attended the University of the Orange Free State, earned a post graduate performers’ diploma in acting at the University of Cape Town’s Drama Department, completed a BA Honours in English literature at the University of Cape Town, completed her formal studies with an MA in English Literature from the University of South, and lectured in the drama department of The University of South Africa.
She won more literary and theatre awards than any other South African, including the prestigious Herzog Prize for Drama, the highest honor in Afrikaans literature. She won five Vita Awards, three Fleur du Cap Awards, a Dalro Award, a CNA Prize, and a Rapport Prize. Her plays have been performed all over the world, including productions in London’s renowned West End. She was also the only female dramatist represented in London’s Open Space Theatre anthology of African plays.
When the government censors were clamping down on news, television and film, Reza led a hand-full of playwrights into a thriving artistic movement called “Theatre of the Struggle.” Aside from chipping away at the societal mores of apartheid and racism, her stories masterfully weaved Afrikaner folktales, Christian symbolism, and stream-of-consciousness storytelling, forever leaving in her wake a style entirely of her own.
Reza’s struggle at the Market Theatre bares the similarity of the brief, though legendary, anti-Soviet movement at the Moscow Art Theatre, where some fearless playwrights wrote plays of resistance in the hornets’ nest of a brutally repressive state. But, unlike Mikhail Bulgakov, who was silenced by the Soviets, Reza’s increasingly popular “Theatre of the Struggle” at the Market Theatre really did contribute towards dismantling a toxic martial regime.
Fearlessly, Reza never looked at the works of Chekhov, Shakespeare, and the Brontë Sisters as sacrosanct, and often rewrote their canons to her fashion, all the while breathing and demystifying their complex themes to modern audiences.
Reza de Wet consulted on the shooting draft of the White Devils screenplay with Damon Shalit before passing away in 2012.
Testimonials
“I am a big fan of psychological horror. This adaptation of the extraordinarily brave work of South African refusenik, Reza de Wet has the paranoid isolation of Hitchcock’s “Psycho.” It is a darkly perverse fable about the insanity of neglect, illustrating the severe colonial decline during a rough night at a rural madhouse. I can honestly say this dark tale is not for the faint of heart.”
“As President of Cannery Row Group, the media company behind White Devils, I can say that I am so proud to see what the team has accomplished with this amazing, dark gem. This movie is beautiful, horrifying, and thought-provoking all at once.
Whether it’s the bravura performances coaxed from the actors or the delicate adaptation of such incendiary yet important material, one person relentlessly pursued their unique vision. Director Gabriel Bologna’s searing, primal scream of a movie is astonishing, disturbing, shocking, and overwhelming at times. But it is also quite insightful about one of the most difficult topics of this or any time: racism. This movie shines a light on that darkness. Adapted from Reza de Wet’s groundbreaking masterpiece, White Devils speaks to several topics: fear of others, mental health, the difficulty of changing times, among others. But at its core, this story eviscerates any notion that racism is somehow a natural state of being or that it is only commanded by dogma, as racism-apologists might argue. Gabriel manages to accomplish several amazing feats in directing this startling wake-up call to the foulness that grows from the seeds of dictatorial structures in both government and home. Importantly, he makes the viewer wonder if racism is, in fact, a form of child abuse – to the racists’ own children!? This dizzying walk through a societal house of mirrors forces viewers to see just what absolute horrors these Apartheid castaways became after the xenophobic party was over.”
Cast
“Frikkie”
DAMON SHALIT
“Sussie”
CHELLA FERROW
“Mr. Grove”
JONNY COYNE
“Alina”
CONNIE JACKSON
“Mother”
MARIA OLSEN
“Father”
GLEN A. VAUGHAN
“Young Frikkie”
DAVID VERNE
“Young Sussie”
AVIV GADI
“Girl In The Veld”
IRINA SOPHIA KRICHELY