A law enforcement officer has to remove people that are homeless in order to make way for a 10km fun-run. Year of production 2022 Length 7' Country South Africa Shooting Format 4K Aspect Ratio 4:3 Dialogue Afrikaans, English DirectorDian Weys Producer Keenan Arrison, Le Roux Fourie, Dian Weys Executive Producers Nkateko Mabaso, Nicola van Niekerk, Tina Kruger, Lucia Meyer-Marais, Wim Steyn, Elle Oosthuizen Production Company Stranger Films (Pty) Ltd. Writer Dian Weys Cinematographer Pierre de Villiers Sound Designer Morné Marais Sound Craig Ryneveld Production Designer Bathoni Robinson Production Manager Luzanne Paxton First Assistant Director Heno Janse van Rensburg Continuity Izel van der Merwe Colour & Grading Leon Visser Make-up & Hair Artist Charlene Goliath Green Cast Oscar Petersen, Nicola Hanekom, Gretchen Ramsden, David Isaacs, Dean Balie, Robert Hindley, Earl Kruger
Festival selections kykNET Silwerskerm Festival 2022, South Africa - World Premiere Alice nella Città 2022, Italy Carthage Film Festival 2022, Tunisia - Tanit d’Argent Award Zinebi - Festival Internacional de Cine Documental y Cortometraje de Bilbao 2022, Spain Corto Dorico Film Festival 2022, Italy Festival du Court Métrage de Clermont-Ferrand 2023, France Vilnius International Short Film Festival 2023, Lithuania Muestra de Cine Internacional de Palencia 2023, Spain Semana de Cine de Medina del Campo 2023, Spain Tampere Film Festival 2023, Finland FESCAAAL – Festival del Cinema Africano, d’Asia e America Latina 2023, Italy Dieciminuti Film Festival 2023, Italy Director's Statement The term "bergie" is a South Africanism that refers to people that are homeless, since they sought refuge on the slopes of Table Mountain in the past (in Afrikaans: ‘Tafelberg’). Today, the 14,000 homeless people in Cape Town are 11 times more likely to be arrested than the average South African. Those having to enforce these archaic ‘vagrant laws’ – whether they navigate it carefully or apply it brutally – are nevertheless confronted with someone in need. In "Bergie" when a law enforcement officer has to remove people that are homeless to make way for a 10km fun-run, he has to navigate the complex intersection of the law and personal responsibility when confronted with the dignity of those often ignored. If ‘home’ refers to comfort, identity and security, then ‘homeless’ infers discomfort, alienation and instability: to be voiceless and powerless in the eyes of society. I often wonder how we can or should respond to the needs of others in our global capitalist and neo-liberal societies. This short film therefore invites us to think about our relations to others and what it means to take responsibility for another.
