Documentary backdrop image for Calvinia (2022)

Documentary backdrop image for Calvinia (2022)

202250 minPGdocumentary

Calvinia

202250 minPGdocumentary

25 years after apartheid, an Afrikaner man returns to his rural South African hometown to confront his father's failing health and unresolved pasts.

Genres

Director

Rudi van der Merwe

Synopsis

25 years after apartheid, an Afrikaner man returns to his rural South African hometown to confront his father's failing health and unresolved pasts.

People

Rudi van der Merwedirector

Synopsis

An Afrikaner man returns to Calvinia, a small town in rural South Africa, 25 years after apartheid's end. He confronts his father's declining health and reflects on his past. As he searches for the town's dogs and marginalized individuals, he encounters the lingering effects of history and the challenges posed by climate change. The film captures a community grappling with issues of life, death, and survival in a shifting world.

Awards & Festivals

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Reclaiming the Promised Land - South Africa (2008)

Reclaiming the Promised Land - South Africa

A small South African community challenges the government to reclaim land expropriated during apartheid, highlighting ongoing struggles for justice and restitution.

Reclaiming the Promised Land - South Africa

Struggling To Survive (2016)

Struggling To Survive

A rural South African farming community faces severe challenges in survival, lacking essential resources like water and electricity, while one man seeks to implement change.

Struggling To Survive

Social Legacy of Apartheid Leaves Families in Ruins (2018)

Social Legacy of Apartheid Leaves Families in Ruins

In the rural village of Dreifontein, rampant child abuse and incest plague families, exacerbated by the enduring social legacy of Apartheid and community silence.

Social Legacy of Apartheid Leaves Families in Ruins

The Man Who Stole My Mothers Face (2022)

The Man Who Stole My Mothers Face

Cathy Henkel's quest for justice and healing for her mother, a victim of a brutal assault, reveals deep-seated issues of trauma and resilience in South Africa.

The Man Who Stole My Mothers Face

South Africa: 30 Years after Apartheid (2024)

South Africa: 30 Years after Apartheid

Thirty years after apartheid ended, many South Africans still face high levels of poverty and unemployment, struggling to find opportunities.

South Africa: 30 Years after Apartheid

The White South Africans Starting Again in the Congo (2016)

The White South Africans Starting Again in the Congo

400 hectares of land in the Congo are offered to white South African farmers seeking new opportunities after leaving their homes in South Africa.

The White South Africans Starting Again in the Congo

Interracial Relationships in Post-Apartheid South Africa (2022)

Interracial Relationships in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Under apartheid, marrying outside one's race was illegal, but today, mixed-race couples like Pam and Sebastian face ongoing societal challenges in South Africa.

Interracial Relationships in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Hate and Hope - South Africa (2008)

Hate and Hope - South Africa

Vrijburg High, a formerly violent and elitist school in South Africa, showcases the transformation and hope for a more inclusive educational environment.

Hate and Hope - South Africa

Fatherland (Controversial Coming Of Age Documentary) (2018)

Fatherland (Controversial Coming Of Age Documentary)

In the South African bush, a group of Afrikaner boys undergoes military training at a camp that challenges their identity in the context of a changing nation.

Fatherland (Controversial Coming Of Age Documentary)

He spent one week in South Africa's 'White-Only' Town. This is what happened. (2025)

He spent one week in South Africa's 'White-Only' Town. This is what happened.

In South Africa, journalist Ade Adepitan spends a week in Orania, a town established as a "whites only" community, reflecting on its apartheid-era legacy.

He spent one week in South Africa's 'White-Only' Town. This is what happened.

Explore Calvinia

Awards FAQ Stream

Where else to watch

My African Diary (1999)

My African Diary

1999•41m•★9.0TMDB

Two young boys, Hjalmar and Simon, navigate life in South Africa shortly after the end of apartheid, experiencing a country in transition.

My African Diary

Whites Only: Ade's Extremist Adventure (2024)

Whites Only: Ade's Extremist Adventure

2024•47m•★9.0TMDB

Ade Adepitan spends a week in Orania, South Africa, a town known for its 'whites only' policy, engaging with Afrikaner residents about their views.

Whites Only: Ade's Extremist Adventure

Addicted to Solitude (1999)

Addicted to Solitude

1999•1h12m•★6.5TMDB

Two women in a white South African community confront personal loss and societal change on a desolate farm after the end of Apartheid.

Addicted to Solitude

Remember Africville (1991)

Remember Africville

1991•35m•★7.0TMDB

More than 20 years after the demolition of Africville, former residents and their descendants recount the forced relocation of their community in Halifax.

Remember Africville

Auntie (2014)

Auntie

2014•22m•★4.0TMDB

A gay man returns to his village in the Philippines after his parents' death, reflecting on identity and belonging in a community filled with both joy and sorrow.

Browse more like this

He spent one week in South Africa's 'White-Only' Town. This is what happened. (2025)

He spent one week in South Africa's 'White-Only' Town. This is what happened.

In South Africa, journalist Ade Adepitan spends a week in Orania, a town established as a "whites only" community, reflecting on its apartheid-era legacy.

He spent one week in South Africa's 'White-Only' Town. This is what happened.

No digital watch option in your country

The Two Rivers (1985)

The Two Rivers

1985•58m•★10.0TMDB

A poet and writer travels from his village in the south of South Africa to Johannesburg, revealing the roots of the apartheid conflict.

Black Sheep (2018)

Black Sheep

2018•27m•★7.2TMDB

A family moves from London to Essex, only to encounter a racist gang that threatens their safety and sense of belonging.

Matabeleland (2025)

Matabeleland

2025•1h20m•★10.0TMDB

Chris navigates economic challenges and seeks reconciliation in Matabeleland while reflecting on his identity as an immigrant shaped by societal changes.

Tell Me and I Will Forget (2010)

Tell Me and I Will Forget

2010•1h19m•★6.5TMDB

Fifteen years after the end of Apartheid, paramedics in Pretoria and Johannesburg confront a surge in violent crime amid significant social change.

Tell Me and I Will Forget

14 Up South Africa (1999)

14 Up South Africa

1999•1h34m•★5.0TMDB

Twenty-seven-year-olds discuss their lives in 1992 and reflect on their experiences seven years later as teenagers in a changing South Africa.

14 Up South Africa

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →