Experiencing Interruptions?

Incurable

When an impoverished white prostitute from the slums of Pretoria East discovers that her younger daughter is terminally ill, she has to try every means at her disposal to make enough money to get her daughter the surgery she needs. But making a living is tough for a woman in her position, and she is eventually forced to consider sacrificing her older daughter’s innocence in order to save the younger one's life.

  • Darren Parker
    Director
  • Darren Parker
    Writer
  • Kristie-Lynn Angus
    Producer
  • Annelize Erasmus
    Key Cast
  • Renier Rautenbach
    Key Cast
  • Matt Lotter
    Key Cast
  • Erya Bergh
    Key Cast
  • Tyra Bergh
    Key Cast
  • Karien van Biljon
    Editor
  • Jasmine Coryndon-baker
    Director of Photography
  • Marnus Maritz
    Colourist
  • Tamsyn Hobbs
    Costume, Make-up and Stylist
  • Delisa Govender
    Visual Effects Artist
  • Abigail Cooke
    Supervising Sound Editor and Mixer
  • Ivan Welker
    Music Composer
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    24 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    December 2, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    1,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    South Africa
  • Country of Filming:
    South Africa
  • Language:
    Afrikaans, English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, 2K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2,39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes

  • South Africa
Director Biography - Darren Parker

Darren Parker is passionate about telling stories that reflect real life issues. He is unafraid of tackling sore and sensitive subjects that capture the zeitgeist and unique energy of the wonderful, obscure and diverse subcultures of South Africa, and the world. Darren tackles these stories with sensitivity and with insight into the humanity that exists within each subject he broaches.

Darren graduated with cum laude at the end of 2015 with a B.A. degree in film, having majored in Film Directing and Screenwriting. This is Darren’s second Bachelor’s degree, having graduated from the University of Pretoria in 2006 with a B.Com in Business Management. He completed his B.A. Honours degree with distinction at AFDA in 2016.

Before studying to become a filmmaker, Darren spent some years as a journalist and then magazine editor for reputable trade publishing companies in Johannesburg. However, a side career in music drew Darren ever closer to the arts. From 2001 to 2009, he composed and co-produced several hit songs and albums for local South African artists such JubJub, Arde, Mean Mr Mustard, One80, Karen Micaela and CJay.

However, after years of practicing the art of writing in his journalistic field, as well as music composing, Darren sought to fulfill his lifelong dream of combining them into one art form - Film. Since 2013, Darren has: written, co-produced, directed, edited and scored some advertisements and has written and/or directed several well-received short films and documentaries, the latest being Incurable.

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Director Statement

Incurable came out of a place of wanting to unpack and understand the souls of the impoverished people of South Africa. So many poverty-stricken people cross our paths daily in this country, and many of us have become accustomed to it… numb.

I wanted to understand how the cycle of poverty is perpetuated, what kind of roles these parents play towards their children, and how their impoverished upbringing and culture of desperation may be the very reason the cycle continues.

It would seem an obvious choice to make the narrative about black poverty in South Africa, since the impoverished black population far outstrips the impoverished white population. So much so that it has become something of a cliché in South African films and television. But more importantly, I felt that, as a white man, I was not in a position to tell a tale of black poverty with the sensitivity and insight that it would require.

White poverty in South Africa, on the other hand, has barely been explored at all in film, and therefore this subculture became the subject of intense research and investigation.

We spent some time getting to personally know the people of these “white squatter camps” through the filming of our preparatory research documentary entitled The Invisible People. The more I found out, the more I was deeply intrigued and saddened by, in particular, the sorry state of the women who end up living in these communities or who grow up there.

Rape. Drugs. Sexual abuse. Child abuse. Alcoholism. Violence. Prostitution. Thievery.

And the worst part? Their children grow up in this environment, learn from it, emulate it, and end up in the exact same position as their parents before them.