I first encountered Revel Fox three years ago at the Sithengi film market when he pitched his film The Flyer. He spoke passionately about the film, which he had been trying to make for the past 20 years. I recall how, of the many films pitched that year his idea was well received by industry role players. It was obvious: this was a story about himself — a boy who loved the circus.
The pitch for The Flyer was magical and visually exciting, with elements of grittiness and the influence of Italian neo-realism. It had broad appeal and Fox was finally able to realise his dream after years of trying to secure finance.
The completed film, released this week, is beautiful and skilfully framed by director of photography Rob Malpage, with fine acting by the young actors Jarrid Geduld and Marvin Pasqualie.
The Flyer pays homage to Fox’s teacher and mentor Keith Anderson who worked as production designer on set. The role of Anders Larsen, an instructor who teaches a young pickpocket the art of trapeze, is modelled on Anderson and is played by Marcel van Heerden. Anderson — a designer of musicals in South Africa and on Broadway — is a world authority on the art of flying trapeze.
What inspired you to make this film?
As a young boy I wanted to fly. Members of my family, my father, Revel Fox [Snr], an architect, and my siblings were part of Keith Anderson’s circus. I was flying trapeze from a young age. The circus was something beautiful to look at as a child. Flying trapeze is a frightening thing to do because if you do anything wrong that’s the end. There’s life above and below the ground and that’s the beauty of it, because if you are having trouble and need to be in harmony with yourself, it’s the best place to be. I was taught by Anderson and made a documentary on the circus, and decided to use this as a platform.
I noticed that you merged the young boy with that of his teacher. What prompted this decision?
The teacher, and the dedication that he puts in, was really my tribute to Anderson who was a father figure for me [while I was] growing up. My own father was an architect and expected me to follow in his footsteps. I rebelled against him and, in this film, I was coming to terms with the father-son relationship, which is personified by the teacher. I wanted to find common ground. In the early drafts of the script the teacher played a very minor part, but with time I felt that he was an integral part of the film.
You decided to set the film in the Cape Flats and remove this from your personal story as a white boy growing up in Cape Town. What were your reasons for this?
I was away from South Africa for 17 years and spent most of that time in England. I’d left in the 1970s and went to study film at the National Film School and, so, when I returned with this film in mind it felt right to set it in the Cape Flats. I was curious about the life of gangsters in the Cape Flats and felt the film could work well in that community. I also felt that, given the hardships of that life, if such a film was seen through the eyes of a child from that social, racial and economic setting, it could offer an alternative to the bleak life [experienced by] children growing up in that environment.
What was your process in working with the actors?
I grew up around actors so it was easy working and talking with them. My sister Grethe Fox is an actress and I had an uncle who was a playwright. During the rehearsal process I would tell the actors to chase each other and be free; I would allow the actors to come up with their own dialogue and move away from the script if their dialogue felt more natural. My intention was to give them the freedom to do what they wanted.
You mentioned before that this film took 20 years to make. Why did it take you so long?
I came with a very good idea I wanted to do. But I was not good at hustling. It frightened me, the thought of hustling. England was too difficult, even though my student films received many awards there. It was a tough place and I always felt like an outsider. I decided to return the year before Nelson Mandela became president. But South Africans did not know me or my work, so I had to start forging new relationships and that took some time.
What films did you watch as references for making this film?
The neo-realist films of [Roberto] Rossellini were always an influence. Mexican films such as Y Tu Mamá También, Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull and Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.