Growing Dreams
About
Inspired by two offbeat characters in a commercial campaign they were working on, three advertising colleagues decided to write a series about them. And so Kindergarten films was born. It wasn’t a production company in the usual sense of the word, but an incubator of ideas and a place to park their dreams of making grownup long form one day. They wrote and developed a number of projects, some of which are featured on this website.
Agency creative Bruce Harris and Producer Lisa du Toit subsequently left to further their careers in advertising, and with some projects starting to spread their wings, Writer/ Director Erica Brumage is well on the way to achieving Kindergarten’s feature film dream. Kindergarten Films made its first steps into the production space with the documentary feature Omdraai, currently in post production.
Previously a dancer and choreographer for one of South Africa’s national ballet companies, Erica created and directed a number of works for the stage before moving into film, directing short films and award-winning commercials for some of the world’s leading advertising agencies for close to twenty years. In 2019 Erica optioned Claire Robertson’s novel ‘The Spiral House’ through Kindergarten Films and developed and co-wrote the screenplay. The project was awarded development funding through the Thuthuka co-production initiative between South Africa and the Netherlands. THE SPIRAL HOUSE will be Erica’s drama feature debut as co-writer and co-director.
‘The Old Lady Next Door’ (Groundglass)
Kindergarten Films made its first steps into the production space with the documentary feature Omdraai, currently in post production.
The Work
The Spiral House
The Cape of Good Hope. 1794. Trijn van de Caab, a freed slave and wigmaker’s apprentice, travels with her adored French employer and teacher to a remote slave estate for an unknown reason.
Omdraai
Inspired by their dedicated teacher, and with support from the local community, seven girls from a rural South African village make it to the big city to participate in an international ballet competition.
Equus in Africa
In a unique meeting of natural and human history, EQUUS IN AFRICA follows the family of Equus on a journey from their origins the Eocene Age across millions of years and half the world to find a home in Africa.
Chicken Man
CHICKEN MAN is the story of a chicken farmer who starts to believe that he has a special relationship with one particular chicken.
The Science Lesson
The story begins after the world has ended. A small group of assorted human beings find themselves trapped in the web of spacetime, looking back at the world they have lost.
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