Bauke Brouwer: The Fallen

‘Take your kid to work day’ can be a pretty boring experience depending on your dad’s profession, but when a nine-year-old Bauke Brouwer found himself “safely tucked away in an edit suite” while his dad took a meeting with a broadcaster, he was happy as Larry. “From that moment on I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker,” says the Dutch-born Cape Town resident of 20 years.

Brouwer has spent the last decade in an edit suite, though in a professional capacity splicing together documentaries, TV shows and film promos rather than as a wide-eyed kid. Recently he’s ventured into his preferred career by making self-funded shorts, the most recent of which is The Fallen.

A World War II period piece, complete with a battle scene, was an ambitious project to tackle for a young director but Brouwer believed it was a story that needed to be told. “Through research I discovered the sacrifice made by South African soldiers and realised that in today’s South Africa, this is a history that is not often talked about,” he explains. “Today’s history books are all about the apartheid years. Rightfully so, but I believe that we can’t forget this part of our heritage,” he says, adding that his wife’s 94-year-old grandfather’s stories of fighting in North Africa and Italy helped provide inspiration.

Pulling together $2500 from his own pocket and generous family, Brouwer’s biggest challenge was achieving a convincing period look on a tiny budget, but the first of two pieces of luck struck when he visited an army shop and was given the phone number of Anton Hart, the guy who buys all the WW2 uniforms the shop acquires. “I discovered he was one of the founders of the Heritage Group, whose purpose is to pay respect to the fallen soldiers of WW2 irrespective of their nationality,” explains Brouwer, who met up with Hart and gave him the one-page script. “He read it, looked up and offered me all the uniforms and props I would need.” 

The Heritage Group also acted as military advisors during the shooting of the film, handy when you’ve got 12 blokes wielding real bayonets at 90 degrees while charging through a compressed gas explosion. No one was hurt but, “next time we’re using rubber bayonets for sure,” insists the director.

The second lucky break was a meteorological one. Brouwer desperately wanted a rain machine for the scene where Tommy delivers the letter but the budget wouldn’t allow it. “I was really disappointed because I knew it would just add so much to the scene, but on the day of the shoot it rained, it poured, and when it wasn’t raining we filled in the rain with a sprinkler.”

Brouwer is still editing to pay the bills but is looking to become a full-time director. Currently unsigned, he just wants to tell stories. “30 seconds or full feature length, it really doesn’t matter,” he says, and he’s keen to do another piece in the same vein as The Fallen. “Currently I’m reading books about South Africa’s involvement in WW2, looking for that true story that has the potential to become a feature film.” JL