The movie Griekwastad will be released exclusively on DStv BoxOffice on Tuesday May 5.
Based on the Griekwastad murders, the movie sees Arnold Vosloo in the leading role of police detective, Dick de Waal.
On 6 April 2012, Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christel, 43, and their teenage daughter, Marthella, 14, were murdered in the living room on their farm Naauwhoek in the Northern Cape.
Fifteen-year-old Don Steenkamp had stormed into the Griekwastad police station just after dusk, his face, hands and shirt covered in blood.
He told police that his family had been the victims of a farm murder, claiming that he hid in the barn and returned to the house once the shooting stopped. His sister died in his arms.
But photographs of the scratch marks on his neck and his bloody, torn shirt served as evidence of his violent struggle with his sister, Marthella.
Police detective De Waal must relinquish his belief in the innocence of youth to solve a triple homicide on the Steenkamp farm.
Griekwastad, based on the best-selling true crime novel by Jacques Steenkamp, tells the tale of the search to find the truth about what happened that night.
The cast includes a number of Cape Town actors, including Albert Maritz of Melkbosstrand as Joe Scholtz, Tim Theron of Stellenbosch as Jacques Steenkamp, Albert Pretorius of Gardens as Deon Steenkamp, Charlene le Roux of Wetton as Martha Koopman and Deon Lotz of De Tijger as Bennie Heckroodt as well as Alex van Dyk from Durbanville who plays the role of Don Steenkamp.
“Although the story was widely written about, I want the audience to experience it as if for the first time, to feel a sense of immediacy, as if they too have to solve this puzzle,” says director Jozua Malherbe.
“The characters are all based on real people and we wanted to respect that, to stay away from sensationalism and honour the truth. We referred to Jacques Steenkamp’s book about the murders as our backbone for the script and story.
“I spoke with many people who took part in the actual events, including Dick de Waal, the detective who solved the case and who we follow in the film.”
It costs R35 to see the movie on DStv BoxOffice or, if you don’t have DSTV, you can also watch it straight on the Box Office website.
Visit GriekwastadFilm for more information.
