A lavishing and dynamic, musical and visual composition, BROWN proves to be an intriguing document of self-discovery that confronts a moment in SA history in an attempt to understand the destiny of future generations.

Durban International Film Festival Jury

What the festival juries have said:

Italy

For giving birth to highly accomplished , gentle portrait , that demonstrates the emotional intelligence of its director and of her film’s protagonist.

Apollo

And now finally, folks, the moment you have all been waiting for.........

For the skill with which the film weaves music, verse and image, for it's realization of a simple story told in an extraordinarily lyrical fashion, for it's rendering of universal characters battling to right the wrongs of the past, without resorting to didactics while setting up and resolving tensions, we decided that the Best Documentary film at the 5 th Apollo Film Festival goes to .............Kali van der Merwe for "Brown".

read the full version of Apollo Film Festival Documentary Awards Speech by Dan Jawitz

Article Cape Times

... Ernie and her grandfather have a close and beautiful relationship. She asks all the questions that so many people often intend to ask their elders whilst they are still on this earth but unfortunately frequently, never get around to. Watching the pair chat, and later looking into her grandpa's emotional eyes as he returns to the land from which he was evicted, might inspire people to re visit their own history and fill in the names and experiences of otherwise unknown family members who forlorn and forgotten, are relegated to the pages of dusty photograph albums.

"My documentaries are very personal in that they are about subjects and topics I am interested in exploring in my own life. So although I am telling someone else's story, my story is there too, gently threaded into the fabric. Most of my documentaries focus on women because I feel the exploration of the inner life of women is still absent from the media."...

Read the full version of the article Julia Landau wrote about BRown and the filmmaker Kali van der Merwe for the Cape Times published on March 4th 2005

Where credit is due

..."I like telling stories about women who have managed to survive something challenging," says Van der Merwe "I like to involve people in the filming process, to give them a chance to explore the medium. On my last documentary, Doing It, I gave the subjects of the documentary a chance to contribute with their own ideas to the story. I don't just want to take stuff away from them, without them having learned something they can use to improve their lives."

While Van der Merwe has confessed her passion for untold stories, she said it sometimes takes her two to three years to complete a documentary. "It's passion more than anything else. I don't always make enough money from my documentaries and would not advise anyone to make a documentary if they intend to make money," she said with humour. However, apart from the money, Van der Merwe says seeing her work being used in public libraries, schools and at workshops is a very rewarding feeling. "My work is often used to raise awareness, and stimulate debate about social issues...

Read the full version of the article Brian Paseka Letlhabane wrote about the documentary and filmmaker.