Private Project

On/Off

An Afrikaans-speaking man helps his elderly German neighbour in a time of need, despite a language barrier. In the process, he learns volumes about himself.

  • Jurg Slabbert
    Director
  • Christiaan Boonzaier
    Writer
  • Mia Cilliers
    Producer
  • Katharina Stehle
    Producer
  • Marlo Minnaar
    Key Cast
  • Aletta Bezuidenhout
    Key Cast
  • Pascale Neuschäfer
    Cinematographer
  • Jackie Ruth Murray
    Production Coordinator
  • Gary Witbooi
    First Assistant Director
  • Wolf Britz
    Production Designer
  • Wolf Britz
    Costumes
  • Maddy Bezuidenhout
    Make-up
  • Wolf Britz
    Animal Handler
  • Graeme McCree
    Poster Design
  • Arno van der Laan
    Focus Puller
  • Brian Oliver
    Lighting
  • Denzil Lesch
    Gaffer
  • Nathan Midcalf
    Sound
  • Morne Marais
    Sound Design
  • Mia Cilliers
    Line Manager
  • Sophia van Taak
    Location
  • Christiaan Boonzaier
    Continuity
  • Leon Visser
    Online Editor
  • Leon Visser
    Colourist
  • Elana Steyn
    Offline Editor
  • Wilhelm Conradie
    Assistant Editor
  • Lars-Luis Linek
    Music
  • Jordan Kareem Rees
    Music
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Aan/Af
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Horror, Psychological, Thriller
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 54 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 25, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    9,990 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    South Africa
  • Country of Filming:
    South Africa
  • Language:
    Afrikaans, German
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:85:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Silwerskerm Festival
    Cape Town
    South Africa
    March 25, 2022
    World
    Won – Best Actor (Marlo Minnaar); Nominated – Best Editing (Elana Steyn)
  • Fright Nights – The Ultimate Festival of Fear
    Pasching
    South Africa
    October 5, 2022
    International
    Nominated – Best Actress (Aletta Bezuidenhout)
  • Woordfees
    Stellenbosch
    South Africa
    October 10, 2022
  • Treasure Coast International Film Festival
    Port St. Lucie
    United States
    October 12, 2022
    North America
    Nominated – Best Foreign Short Film; Nominated – Outstanding Actress in a Short Film (Aletta Bezuidenhout)
  • Goa Short Film Festival
    Goa
    India
    October 15, 2022
    Asia
  • Topaz Film Festival by Women in Film, Dallas
    Dallas
    United States
    October 20, 2022
    Texas
    Won – Best Score (Lars-Luis Linek and Jordan Kareem Rees)
  • Curtas Festival do Imaxinario
    Villagarcia de Arousa
    Spain
    October 21, 2022
    Spain
  • Abuja International Film Festival
    Abuja
    Nigeria
    October 31, 2022
    Nigeria
    Nominated – Best Short Film, Foreign
  • Diabolical Horror Film Festival

    United States
    November 1, 2022
    Won – Best Short; Won – Best Director (Jurg Slabbert); Won – Best Cinematographer (Pascale Neuschäfer); Won – Best Actor (Marlo Minnaar)
  • Queens World Film Festival
    New York City
    United States
    November 1, 2022
    New York
    Nominated – Best Narrative Short; Nominated – Best Actor Female, Narrative Short (Aletta Bezuidenhout)
  • ColorTape International Film Festival
    Brisbane
    Australia
    November 6, 2022
    Australia
    Nominated – Short Fiction Film
  • Cyprus International Film Festival
    Nicosia
    Cyprus
    November 10, 2022
    Cyprus
  • Meglio Matti Che Corti
    Modena
    Italy
    November 11, 2022
    Italy
    Finalist – Best Short; Finalist – Vittorio Saltini Prize
  • The Midnight Soul Film Festival
    Lulea
    Sweden
    November 11, 2022
    Sweden
    Honorable Mention – "Emerging Stars", First-Time Filmmakers
  • Newcastle International Short Film Festival
    Newcastle
    Australia
    November 18, 2022
  • Hammer Kurzfilmnächte
    Hamm
    Germany
    November 25, 2022
    Germany
  • Another Hole In the Head Film Festival
    San Francisco
    United States
    December 1, 2022
    California
  • Anchorage International Film Festival
    Anchorage
    United States
    December 2, 2022
    Alaska
  • Shockfest Film Festival

    United States
    December 10, 2022
  • Mumbai Shorts International Film Festival
    Mumbai
    India
    December 11, 2022
    Won – Best Film
  • Asti Movie Awards

    Italy
    December 13, 2022
  • Global Bengaluru International Film Festival
    Bengaluru
    India
    December 17, 2022
  • Gully International Film Festival

    India
    December 20, 2022
  • Indian International Short Film Festival

    India
    December 20, 2022
Distribution Information
  • IdeaCandy
    Distributor
    Country: South Africa
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Jurg Slabbert

Jurg Slabbert is an LGBTQI+ filmmaker, editor, and video producer based in Cape Town, South Africa. After several years as a multimedia journalist, he shifted his focus to documentary film and graduated with a master’s degree from the DOC NOMADS consortium in 2017. His first professional short, Aan/Af (On/Off), debuted in 2022.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The film is based on a true story – a bizarre experience between the screenwriter of the short and his elderly German neighbour, who desperately needed help after she couldn’t recall how to turn off her TV. What ensued was an empathetic attempt to help, despite a language barrier, but a failed exercise at that, since neither could find a way around the old woman’s crippling memory. It was a moving experience, strangely reminding our screenwriter of the many things he himself had forgotten in his life – and which he luckily, unlike both our characters, could still easily call to mind.

Since the short is based on an unexpected and thrilling – both good and bad – moment, the style of the film is equally chaotic and haphazard. The tight framing mimics the intimate space, the forced intimacy between the two strangers, also the sense of claustrophobia they face next to each other, but also in their separate lives, which neither can escape. Ironically, they are worlds apart – different races, sexes, ages… all evident in the film’s warm and cold colour grading – but independent from each other, they also share many life experiences, which unique cinematography, expert lighting, moving performances, and clever production design highlight subtly.

Apart from shining a light on themes concerning sickness, elderly care, and disability, the film hopes to start conversations about loneliness and the bridges kindness can build to dispel isolation. In some ways, we are all broken, and we can only really heal when we take hands. Let this film be a reminder of that.