Kai Luke Brummer as Nicholas in Moffie
For Sight & Sound, I interviewed the South African directed Oliver Hermanus about his new feature, Moffie. Taking its name from a homophobic slur, the film is a queer tale of military conscription in apartheid South Africa, and also a study in how the perception of risk can be used to brutalise a society.
As Hermanus notes, “‘communist’ was interchangeable with ‘terrorist’ was interchangeable with ‘Black man’. Apartheid created a very binary code.” There was another perceived risk: the threat to manhood… “‘Moffie’ was interchangeable with ‘paedophile’ was interchangeable with ‘atheist’. Every gay man remembers the first time it was weaponised against them. It’s not just about whether you’re gay or straight, it’s used to challenge heterosexual men’s masculinity too. It identifies a lack. It’s a measurement system: are you a man or not?”
Read the interview here and watch Moffie online here if you’re in the UK.
