Young Bernie Baatjies dreams he'll be like Dallas bad-man "JR Ewing" one day and find that soapie staircase to Southfork heaven. But endemic poverty, drugs and gang violence block exits out of the Cape Flats. Nobody leaves Hanover Park "except in a coffin or with the bible in your hand." One night, bingeing Bernie narrowly escapes gang slaughter. He flees to the city, where he wheedles and steals his way into menial jobs until a hard-living nightclub owner gives him his first big break - and lessons in self-worth. But Bernie's peace is short-lived when the past follows him.
Donovoan Marsh's first feature is based on real-life Bernie Baatijie's rise from the ghetto - a graphic journey looped with idiomatic and self-ironic social commentary.
Starring:
Clint Brink, Joey Yusuf Rasdien
