In 1974 South Africa, 11-year-old Marnus (Dawian van der Westhuizen) has known an idyllic childhood of family, friendship and summer holidays. When a missing fishing rod sets off a disturbing chain of events, he begins to recognise the violence and inequality his privileged world has allowed him not to see.
The Smell of Apples
The Smell of Apples
Australian Premiere.
Director
John Trengove
Runtime
104 Minutes
Country
Chile, Netherlands, South Africa
Classification
Unclassified 18+
For 11-year-old Marnus (Dawian van der Westhuizen), growing up in 1974 South Africa has been idyllic. Summer holidays, fishing trips and the security of a loving, privileged family have given him little reason to question the world around him. But when he accuses the grandson of the family’s Black domestic worker of stealing his fishing rod, the consequences begin to expose a reality he has never had to see. Adapted from Mark Behr’s acclaimed novel, The Smell of Apples traces Marnus’s dawning awareness of the violence and inequality underpinning his childhood. Director John Trengove observes this awakening with a calm naturalism, resisting sensationalism as Marnus begins to see his family, and particularly his celebrated army general father, in a different light. Period detail is similarly understated, creating a world that feels lived rather than reconstructed, and making his gradual recognition of what has always surrounded him all the more unsettling.
Toronto
Film Credits
Director
John Trengove
Year
2026
Country
Chile, Netherlands & South Africa
Language
Afrikaans & English
Subtitles
English
Type
Feature Fiction
Program Strand
Feature Fiction Competition
Producer
Eric Abraham, Frank Hoeve, Cait Pansegrouw & Jack Sidey
Writer
Christopher Ciancimino & John Trengove
Cinematographer
Lennert Hillege
Editor
Matthew Swanepoel
Cast
Dawian van der Westhuizen, Hilton Pelser & Maude Sandham
Film Source
Cercamon
Genre
Coming of Age, Drama & Politics
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