BEAT THE DRUM - A DREAM COME TRUE FOR SA DIRECTOR DAVID HICKSON
By Daniel E. Dercksen

For Cape Town director David Hickson, a lifelong dream has come true with the release of Beat The Drum on November 24.
He sincerely hopes that local audiences will walk way from the cinema with the feeling that "they have just had their best cinema experience of the year!"

Hickson also hopes that the response of audiences won't be because it is a South African film.
"I really believe that it is time that people stop judging South African films any differently to the way they judge films from anywhere else." says Hickson

"Too often I've heard people saying that a South African film is "not bad, considering it is local"! That is just another way of saying that they don't expect South African film to be of international standard. I hope that audiences will walk away from Beat the Drum proud that a South African film compares favourably with films around the world. Of course Beat the Drum is not a special effects extravaganza, but as a small, emotionally involving drama I hope it will be judged on an international level, not just as a local film."

It was important for David Hickson to make Beat The Drum, and realise a dream that began
when he was at school in Cape Town and joined a filmmaking workshop in the afternoons after school. His initial motive to join the workshop was to make animated films and made his first few films on VHS and took on the position of writer, director, actor, editor, and cameraman.

"In those days the idea of making films as an occupation seemed absurd and a completely pie-in-the-sky dream. As a result I studied Architecture after school, and spent several years working as an architect before the desire to tell stories overcame all common sense, and I gave up everything to go to film school. I have never regretted it, and now, many years later the pie-in-the-sky dream seems a little more reachable, although with only one feature film, several shorts and various TV work under my belt I feel there is so much I would still like to do!"

He was drawn to Beat The Drum because it afforded him an opportunity to tell a story about HIV and AIDS.

"I think that we have all become so "immune" to the issue because of the extensive media and educational drives surrounding it, and yet it is something which affects all of our lives on a daily basis, and will do so more and more. And so the opportunity to tell a story about this thing that affects us all was one I jumped at - like all big issues it is sometimes the small intimate contributions which end up having the greatest impact, and I hope Beat the Drum is one such small contribution which can have a widespread effect."

He also wanted to make the film because of the story is emotionally driven, and it is not "moralistic or obviously didactic".

"Emotion I believe is the greatest story-telling tool, and it is always my aim to use emotion as the prime element in any story I tell through film," he says. "Beat the Drum provided the perfect vehicle for this - and I saw it as the ideal way to tell a story about HIV and AIDS - through emotion, rather than through moralistic or "educational" (which so often becomes judgmental) story means."

Watching Beat The Drum is indeed a rewarding emotional experience and a proud achievement in South African filmmaking.

"The evoking of emotion has always been what has drawn me to film, and I believe that the medium of film is unique because of the intensity of emotion that it can evoke," says Hickson.

"The emotional experience of the film is no lucky coincidence!," says Hickson, who worked closely with writer and producer David McBrayer on achieving their goal.

"It is always gratifying to hear that people were emotionally moved by the film, because it was not an easy thing to do, and a lot of the time when filming, I wasn't sure whether scenes were going to work towards enhancing the emotion, or would fall on the wrong side of the line, and cause viewers to stop the suspension of disbelief necessary to become emotionally involved in a film. Altogether I think it mostly worked - I have sat in audiences around the world at festivals and been gratified by the sounds of rustling tissues and muffled sobs!"

Hickson firmly believes that there is something "extraordinarily universal about natural and genuine emotion".

"People everywhere share the same emotional responses - which is why it was so important to me to have the emotions of this film work - it is why this film has been able to travel so widely, and I believe is the key to having the world understand and appreciate South African film."

"When people become emotionally involved in a film they are able to see beyond cultural differences, racial differences, language barriers, and understand the story that we are telling. I think that people are misguided by the often stated fact that South Africa has so many stories to tell - that is not ALL that is important, it is the way in which we tell them that is important, and my personal belief is that the way to tell stories is through emotion."

When asked about where the inspiration for the film comes from, Hickson finds it difficult to answer. For him, "every moment in the making of a film has its own inspiration!"

The actual story was inspired largely by a true story.

"The village that we filmed at in KwaZulu Natal had been decimated by AIDS related deaths, and a young boy from the village had left for the "big city" a year before we filmed there, and had not been heard of since."

Beat The Drum delivers a very important and potent message and view on the AIDS epidemic. Is this what he hoped to achieve?

"Yes and no! Or to be more accurate: yes, but not in the way one might expect," says Hickson.

"The whole idea of a "message" in a film leaves me cold. I believe that a message should be a subtle thing that the viewer absorbs, not something that is thrust upon them. Having said this however, Beat the Drum does have a very important message, a strong and very simple message - "face the truth", which is exposed by the various storylines, and which we didn't want to go unheard because of its importance. It is hopefully something that viewers take with them as a FEELING when they leave the cinema, more than an IDEA. Of course producers and directors traditional battle over this issue - the message is more important for the producers, whereas the director is aiming for good story telling, which by definition means that the message is subtle.

Hickson is fortunate that the star of Beat The Drum, Junior Singo, who was only 12 when the film was made, had very supportive parents who speak freely with him about important issues.

"We dealt with very serious and "adult" issues in Beat the Drum, but I took the approach that if one talks about things honestly and with integrity, then even young people are able to understand the ideas if not the specifics."

Hickson had long discussions with Singo about "what AIDS was, about death, about how AIDS is spread, etc".

"We didn't avoid issues, or speak in "baby-talk", but spoke simply and directly, and I always made sure that these were things that his parents had spoken to him about - because I felt that was important. The approach Junior and I used was a fairly traditional "method acting" type approach where one uses an emotional memory to help "feel" the emotions one is performing - which I think helped Junior deliver such a mature and believable performance, despite his youth and obvious lack of experience in many of the things the character he was playing (Musa) had experienced."

"I hope that the result is a strong clear message, understood by everyone who watches the film (because we need it to be understood!), but a message that is subtly conveyed."

The world has embraced Beat The Drum and bestowed upon it 29 awards in International film festivals.

"It has been very encouraging to get such a fantastic response, but it is a proud moment tainted slightly by the frustrations of trying to get the film shown here. Festivals around the world have invited Beat the Drum to play there, but until this year's Apollo Film Festival the film hadn't played in a single South African festival. It has been frustrating to have the politics of the local film industry stand in the way of showing the film in the country it was made."
How does he view the South African film industry?

"I have several contradictory views about the South African film industry. On the one hand I think there is tremendous potential in this country - the old cliché about there being so many stories to tell, but also I believe that South Africans have a particular psyche which is a result of what has happened in this country over the last several decades - which has made South Africans generally fairly "self-aware", and certainly very conscious of different perspectives on any issue, which I think means that we have something of great interest to offer the world in terms of film-making."

"Another positive thing about the film industry here is that government are becoming more and more involved in a positive way, and film is seen now as a contribution that South Africa can make to the world. Film is in some ways an "export" that we should nurture. I think this is very positive."

On the negative side Hickson believes that there are some worrying aspects about the local film industry.

"There is a danger I believe that our industry could become controlled by too few people in positions of power, and that we won't develop a healthy balance between production, distribution and financing, which could turn the industry into something similar to a monopoly. I think this would be dangerous, because in any monopoly decisions are made based upon "who one knows" rather than the value of a particular product. That having been said, I think that our industry has every chance of avoiding these pitfalls if everyone really does get involved. "

He also believes that "what we need to be careful of in this country is that projects, finance and positions on projects are awarded on the basis of skill and talent and not politics, because what we need now is produce really top quality films so that the world's attention which has become focused on South African film is rewarded with the best we have to offer."
"I think there is a slowly emerging South African style of expression in all these media that I find tremendously inspirational. South Africans are finding new and exciting ways of expressing themselves, and of expressing something that is uniquely South African about themselves."

Copyright © 2006 Daniel E. Dercksen
An edited version of this interviews was published with permission in the Weekend Argus, November 18, 2006

COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND ANSWER WITH DAVID HICKSON

You must feel very proud of the response BEAT THE DRUM has received internationally?
Yes, Beat the Drum has been very well received - it has won 29 awards in International film festivals. The awards have pretty much covered all aspects of the film, both technical and creative. Awards for performance, cinematography, directing, best film, etc. Beyond the awards themselves, there has also been a tremendous amount of favourable media and general public response and feedback. It has been very encouraging to get such a fantastic response, but it is a proud moment tainted slightly by the frustrations of trying to get the film shown here. Festivals around the world have invited Beat the Drum to play there, but until a month ago the film hadn't played in a single South African festival. It has been frustrating to have the politics of the local film industry stand in the way of showing the film in the country it was made.

Why did you make BEAT THE DRUM?
As a filmmaker I was drawn to Beat the Drum for two reasons - the first was simply the opportunity to tell a story about HIV and AIDS. I think that we have all become so "immune" to the issue because of the extensive media and educational drives surrounding it, and yet it is something which affects all of our lives on a daily basis, and will do so more and more. And so the opportunity to tell a story about this thing that affects us all was one I jumped at - like all big issues it is sometimes the small intimate contributions which end up having the greatest impact, and I hope Beat the Drum is one such small contribution which can have a widespread effect. The second reason that I was drawn to making the film is because the story is emotionally driven, and it is not moralistic or obviously didactic. Emotion I believe is the greatest story-telling tool, and it is always my aim to use emotion as the prime element in any story I tell through film. Beat the Drum provided the perfect vehicle for this - and I saw it as the ideal way to tell a story about HIV and AIDS - through emotion, rather than through moralistic or "educational" (which so often becomes judgmental) story means.

It is an incredibly emotional experience. Do you agree?
Yes, the most important thing for me about the film is the emotional experience it offers the viewer. The evoking of emotion has always been what has drawn me to film, and I believe that the medium of film is unique because of the intensity of emotion that it can evoke. The emotional experience of the film is no lucky coincidence! The writer of the film (David McBrayer) and myself worked almost obsessively on the way in which the film draws the viewer in, subtly and slowly, and then begins to work on the emotional response of the viewer. It is always gratifying to hear that people were emotionally moved by the film, because it was not an easy thing to do, and a lot of the time when filming, I wasn't sure whether scenes were going to work towards enhancing the emotion, or would fall on the wrong side of the line, and cause viewers to stop the suspension of disbelief necessary to become emotionally involved in a film. Altogether I think it mostly worked - I have sat in audiences around the world at festivals and been gratified by the sounds of rustling tissues and muffled sobs! There is something extraordinarily universal about natural and genuine emotion. People everywhere share the same emotional responses - which is why it was so important to me to have the emotions of this film work - it is why this film has been able to travel so widely, and I believe is the key to having the world understand and appreciate South African film. When people become emotionally involved in a film they are able to see beyond cultural differences, racial differences, language barriers, and understand the story that we are telling. I think that people are misguided by the often stated fact that South Africa has so many stories to tell - that is not ALL that is important, it is the way in which we tell them that is important, and my personal belief is that the way to tell stories is through emotion.

Where did the inspiration for the film come from?
This is difficult question to answer, because I think that in some ways every moment in the making of a film has its own inspiration! But I can provide you with some general early inspirations …
The initial inspiration came from the producers (David McBrayer, Karen Shapiro, Rick Shaw) who were producing some television work in South Africa, and were appalled by the number of homeless street children they encountered daily in Johannesburg, and asked the question: "where do they all come from?" This question lead them circuitously to the issue of HIV/AIDS (via poverty, the urban/rural problems in this country, quality of education, etc.). But what really inspired them to make the film was the way in which so many people in South Africa simply accept the situation, and problems of street kids, poverty, crime and disease are accepted as part of our everyday lives. As they discovered this they realized they wanted to make a film that told this story.
The actual story was inspired largely by a true story - the village that we filmed at in KwaZulu Natal had been decimated by AIDS related deaths, and a young boy from the village had left for the "big city" a year before we filmed there, and had not been heard of since.

Where do you find your inspiration from?
My own inspiration comes from a variety of sources - great filmmakers and films of course: Krystof Kielowski (the Three Colours Trilogy, the Decalogue), Tony Scott (Man on Fire and many others), Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise and many others), Scott Hicks (Shine, Snow Falling on Cedars) - and I could continue … the things that inspire me in other filmmakers' work is the way in which they use the language of film to tell their stories, and evoke emotion (I'm back to the whole "emotion in film" thing!). Other inspiration comes from music, art and theater. I think there is a slowly emerging South African style of expression in all these media that I find tremendously inspirational. South Africans are finding new and exciting ways of expressing themselves, and of expressing something that is uniquely South African about themselves.

BEAT THE DRUM delivers a very important and potent message and view on the AIDS epidemic. Is this what you hoped to achieve?
Yes and no! Or to be more accurate: yes, but not in the way one might expect. The whole idea of a "message" in a film leaves me cold. I believe that a message should be a subtle thing that the viewer absorbs, not something that is thrust upon them. Having said this however, Beat the Drum does have a very important message, a strong and very simple message - "face the truth", which is exposed by the various storylines, and which we didn't want to go unheard because of its importance. It is hopefully something that viewers take with them as a FEELING when they leave the cinema, more than an IDEA. Of course producers and directors traditional battle over this issue - the message is more important for the producers, whereas the director is aiming for good story-telling, which by definition means that the message is subtle. Beat the Drum was no different - the whole issue of how clearly the message is being conveyed was under constant discussion between myself and the producers. I hope that the result is a strong clear message, understood by everyone who watches the film (because we need it to be understood!), but a message that is subtly conveyed.

Junior Singo was a great find. Do you agree? Was it difficult working with him being so young?
Junior is absolutely wonderful. A wonderfully talented actor, and a very mature young person. No it wasn't difficult working with him at all - he has very supportive parents who speak freely with him about important issues. We dealt with very serious and "adult" issues in Beat the Drum, but I took the approach that if one talks about things honestly and with integrity, then even young people are able to understand the ideas if not the specifics. I had long discussions with Junior about what AIDS was, about death, about how AIDS is spread, etc. We didn't avoid issues, or speak in "baby-talk", but spoke simply and directly, and I always made sure that these were things that his parents had spoken to him about - because I felt that was important. The approach Junior and I used was a fairly traditional "method acting" type approach where one uses an emotional memory to help "feel" the emotions one is performing - which I think helped Junior deliver such a mature and believable performance, despite his youth and obvious lack of experience in many of the things the character he was playing (Musa) had experienced.

Your views on the film industry in South Africa?
I have several contradictory views about the South African film industry. On the one hand I think there is tremendous potential in this country - the old cliché about there being so many stories to tell, but also I believe that South Africans have a particular psyche which is a result of what has happened in this country over the last several decades - which has made South Africans generally fairly "self-aware", and certainly very conscious of different perspectives on any issue, which I think means that we have something of great interest to offer the world in terms of film-making. Another positive thing about the film industry here is that government are becoming more and more involved in a positive way, and film is seen now as a contribution that South Africa can make to the world. Film is in some ways an "export" that we should nurture. I think this is very positive. On the negative side I think there are some worrying aspects about the local film industry - one of which is the inevitable politics of the industry. There is a danger I believe that our industry could become controlled by too few people in positions of power, and that we won't develop a healthy balance between production, distribution and financing, which could turn the industry into something similar to a monopoly. I think this would be dangerous, because in any monopoly decisions are made based upon "who one knows" rather than the value of a particular product. That having been said, I think that our industry has every chance of avoiding these pitfalls if everyone really does get involved. The only other problem I believe we need to be careful of in this country is that projects, finance and positions on projects are awarded on the basis of skill and talent and not politics, because what we need now is produce really top quality films so that the world's attention which has become focused on South African film is rewarded with the best we have to offer.

Have you always wanted to be a filmmaker? Or, how did your interest in filmmaking begin?
Yes, I suppose I have always wanted to be a filmmaker. When I was at school in Cape Town I joined a filmmaking workshop in the afternoons after school, where I made my first few films on VHS, and was the writer, director, actor, editor, DOP - we all did everything which was fantastic experience. I joined the workshop because I wanted to make animated films, and re-tell the stories that I'd loved as a child, in my own way. I always used to wonder whether I would tell stories in the same way, or tell them differently to the way in which I had read or been told them. Stories fascinated me, particularly the way in which one would empathise with a character, and could even find oneself understanding and taking journeys with people who had nothing in common with oneself. But in those days the idea of making films as an occupation seemed absurd and a completely pie-in-the-sky dream. As a result I studied Architecture after school, and spent several years working as an architect before the desire to tell stories overcame all common sense, and I gave up everything to go to film school. I have never regretted it, and now, many years later the pie-in-the-sky dream seems a little more reachable, although with only one feature film, several shorts and various TV work under my belt I feel there is so much I would still like to do!

What do you hope local audiences will get from watching the film?
I have two hopes for the way that local audiences will respond - My first hope is that audiences will walk away from the cinema with the feeling that they have just had their best cinema experience of the year! And my second hope is that they don't qualify that response because this is a South African film. I really believe that it is time that people stop judging South African films any differently to the way they judge films from anywhere else. Too often I've heard people saying that a South African film is "not bad, considering it is local"! That is just another way of saying that they don't expect South African film to be of international standard. I hope that audiences will walk away from Beat the Drum proud that a South African film compares favourably with films around the world. Of course Beat the Drum is not a special effects extravaganza, but as a small, emotionally involving drama I hope it will be judged on an international level, not just as a local film.
Perhaps you are surprised that I don't mention here that people should walk away with the message of the film, or that the film should change their attitude towards HIV/AIDS. The reason for this is that I believe that if the film is well received and is perceived as a "good film experience", then the message will have been conveyed, and there is no need to "hope for" that.

Is there a reason the film was first distributed internationally before reaching South Africa?
Yes, there is a reason the film has been distributed internationally before locally, and it is a sad and rather embarrassing reason (embarrassing for the local film industry). The film was initially offered to a local distributor (not NuMetro who are now distributing the film), soon after production. The film was turned down as being "of no interest to South African audiences", which surprised the producers (and myself) a good deal. I am so pleased and grateful that NuMetro are now distributing the film, and are thoroughly behind marketing it and getting it seen.

Any comments on the film?
I have said so much already! My only comment would be what I always say about the film - Beat the Drum is an emotional journey, and I would encourage people to put aside their reluctance to see films about the serious issues of HIV/AIDS, and to overcome their "cultural cringe" which prevents them from queuing up to see a South African film, and should go and see the film purely for the opportunity to be taken on a rewarding emotional journey.
And thank you so much for asking me all these questions, and letting me go on about things!

Copyright © 2006 Daniel E. Dercksen       

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