Die Voortreflike Familie Smit
Die Voortreflike Familie Smit ("The excellent family Smith") can refer to:
1. an award winning Afrikaans novel by Anna M. Louw (1913-2003)
2. an Afrikaans film
3. an Afrikaans TV series
The latter two were both based on the novel.
The novel
Telling of the everyday life of a rural family that has moved to the city of Cape Town, as narrated by the teenage daughter Grietjie, the tale was originally written for a writing competition sponsored by the Vroue Landbouvereniging[] ("Women's Agricultural Association"), it was published in serial form in the women's magazine Sarie Marais in 196* and was subsequently published in book form by in 1968.
Louw received the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns's Scheepersprys for youth literature for it in 1968.
The film (1965)
The novel filmed and distributed by Carfo in 1965. The sources are rather contradictory regarding the film production, though they agree on the date and the cast. For example some sources (e.g. the name Kappie Botha as the adaptor, scriptwriter and director, while the probably more authoritative IMDb entry on the film has a different set of crew members, naming Euodia Kritzinger as scriptwriter, Tim Spring as director and lighting designer, Kappie Botha as cinematographer and David Neppe as film editor.
The cast (in credits order) consisted of
P.W. Botha P.W. Botha ... Oupa
Helen van Pletzen Helen van Pletzen ... Ouma
Jemima Wessels Jemima Wessels ... Grietjie
Elma Marais Elma Marais ... Petro
Ben van der Merwe Ben van der Merwe ... Pa
Bertha Visser Bertha Visser ... Ma
Louis van Niekerk Louis van Niekerk ... Mnr. Oberholster
Francois van Wyk Francois van Wyk ... Lodewyk van Dyk
Lambert Millar Lambert Millar ... Mauritz de Lange
Neels de Klerk Neels de Klerk ... John Blackwood
The cast consisted of:
• PW Botha
• Helen van Pletzen
• Ben van der
Merwe
• Bertha Visser
• Jamima Wessels
• Elma Marais
• Louis van Niekerk
The TV series (1983)
Adapted as a series for TV, directed Stephan Bouwer.
Sources
https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_voortreflike_familie_Smit
https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_M._Louw
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2187183/
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