Daniel Dercksen shares a few thoughts with writer-director Shamim Sarif.

The World Unseen is a beautiful romance: restricted love (between Amina and Miriam/ and between  Jacob and Madeleine) Your thoughts on how you perceived the  romance?
True love is something that most of us perceive as an overwhelming force, something that should not be stopped. So when it is stopped, cruelly, as in the case of Jacob and Madeleine, it brings home the unjust nature of the system that tries to control it. In the case of Amina and Miriam, this was a little different. In Amina, I wanted to have a character who just happened to be gay, and because of this, her influence on Miriam and their connection tips over into the romantic. But I never saw this as a sexual awakening for Miriam. If anything, it's an intellectual and emotional awakening that Amina is a catalyst for. That love that she feels for Amina  stems from that, I think, and is almost irrespective of sexuality and gender and more about the person.

It is amazing how you captured the vast landscape of Cape Town in the 50s? Did you  have a special approach to your vision of this?
We had an amazing team working on locations and production design, and one of the things we worked hard to find was Miriam's isolated shop. And we found the most stunning location. It was empty, and the shop non-existent, but that bare, open, vast landscape was incredible and Tanya Van Tonder, our production designer did an incredible job to create this very rural shop there. The landscapes in the film were shots we picked up at the start and end of every day there. The most vibrant sunsets and sunrises.

It is a  vibrant world we encounter in World Unseen. Was this  deliberate?
Absolutely. I had so much in terms of different cultures, music and politics to draw on. And Amina's café in particular is a haven for those who had a spark of life that did not quite fit into the apartheid system. It was a definite choice to use South African and American jazz of the period in the café, to create an atmosphere that was free and relaxed, and this also was reflected in the production design - the intense reds and greens of the décor.

Culture  and issues of identity and sexuality are important themes in your film. Is  this an important aspect for you as a filmmaker?
I think identity, in terms of identifying who you truly are, identifying one's humanity, is very important to me. This goes way beyond cultural and political boundaries though, and is much more relevant to me on a human level. In The World Unseen, the somewhat restrictive Indian society of the time, and the political system serve to highlight the everyday struggles of the characters. The sexuality is less of a theme than it might seem. I really wanted to create a world where the sexuality of Amina was simply a fact, and people could choose to react to that or not, as the case may be.

It is  interesting how you balanced the role the police played during this period  with two opposing policemen?
I tried to find a balance with the policemen. Colin Moss and I spent some time on the background of De Witt, the rougher of the two, in sketching out his beliefs. De Witt is someone for whom the apartheid is a natural progression, and it was important that the actor not judge the character, but play him with the zeal that his belief required. Whereas with his partner, played by Rod Priestley, is less convinced, and actually has a friendly relationship with Amina and Jacob. He is someone who will go with the flow, but make it as easy as possible.

All the  performances in the film are excellent and shows how important casting is.  When you look at the film now, is this how you first saw the characters when  writing the book?
In some instances, the casting matched what I had envisioned as a novelist. De Witt, for instance. And Omar. But others were enhanced by the choices we made. Lisa brought such a quiet intelligence to Miriam, and Sheetal's Amina was a little more innocent, a little younger in feel than I had originally conceived, but worked well. Farah, the nasty sister-in-law, was quite shrewish and unattractive in the original book, but Natalie Becker brought a louche, unfulfilled sexuality to her that was perfect for the film.

Do you  regard yourself as a writer or as a director?
Yes (!) I would say I regard myself as a storyteller, and I feel very privileged to be able to express this in such different genres.

What  motivates you as a writer/ filmmaker and where do you find your inspiration?
I've always had a desire to tell stories, but stories that I hope can inspire a little bit, can give something to aspire to.  Most often, the stories I tell stem from the unexpected collision of two different characters who influence each other. I like to explore what it takes for a character to begin to shift the way they look at the world. Most often it's an emotional jolt - falling in love, a traumatic experience. I also wanted to create characters I would be happy to spend time with, that had a charisma that came from integrity.

Have you  always dreamt of being a filmmaker? Where did it all start?
I always wanted to be writer. But I always loved film, and in fact adapted a short story of mine into a script before I wrote a novel. I optioned that script to Hollywood and waited for glory! And in fact they raised a substantial budget, but wanted two sex scenes - in a delicate film about unrequited love. I couldn't go through with it, and so persuaded my wife Hanan to try producing the films for me. We created Enlightenment Productions together, and making films this way, with creative control and the support of amazing Executive Producers who supported the integrity of the work, is a dream come true.

Your use  of music beautifully underscores the emotional journey and amplifies the world  of the characters? How did you choose your music?
I always write to music. That is, I build a 'soundtrack' even while writing a novel, of congs that evoke different eras but also different moods for each character. I also gave the actors a CD of songs that for me reflect different aspects of their characters. It can be shorthand that evokes more than a lot of explanation. Not all of these translated straight to the soundtrack of the movie of the The World Unseen but some did. The songs we used in the café particularly are a mix of South African and American jazz of the period. I chose all those, with help from Hanan, working to find pieces that matched the mood of each scene, and which also matched our budget! It is a great thrill for me to be able to hear singers like Dinah Washington and Billie Holiday in the film. The score itself was a long process in that we waited for Richard Blackford to become free to do this project. He created a stunning score, rich, textured and emotional. It was worth the wait.

What do  you hope audiences will get from watching the film?
I hope that audiences are entertained. I hope they are absorbed and moved. I hope they walk away feeling they can take something of the integrity of the film into their own lives. I think we've all left some movies feeling a little uplifted and inspired and if we could convey just a fraction of that to people watching, it would make this whole, wonderful journey all the more worthwhile.

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Copyright © 2009 Daniel Dercksen
Published with permission in Screen Africa