Eina : The thin line between being a filmmaker, character & crew

Michael Dorfling is a fourth year television student who initiates a healing process for himself and four other characters to heal from their experiences with corporal punishment. This aim leaves him torn between the logistics, creative aspect of making a film with content and relevance while also going through a process of healing himself. The bare essence of Eina initiated a film that is unconventional and a film submerged in numerous avenues that have not been explored in film that also break several norms in the art and process of making a film: it breaks the safe fourth wall, integrates the crew and uses unique, theatrical and layered approach to bring the harsh reality of corporal punishment to life. 

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Finding the right beings – characters-, being sensitive to them and the subject matter alongside keeping a process-driven vision was complex and challenging. The process of getting to know our characters: Michael Dorfling, Eddith Ngcobo, Amanda Khoza and Hombokazi Denge spanned from far before the filming process so as to foster an informed decision in combining and choosing them for one cause: raising awareness about corporal punishment through their confrontation of it and healing from it. In making the film an intimate pre-interiew was constructed to ask a brief set of questions to get to know them and the effects of corporal punishment on them. The effects of corporal punishment are the driving force of the film. They focus a spotlight on the main character: corporal punishment.  The pre-interview fostered a creative approach to how we would film and portray each character through the lens and the audio. We spent a day in each character’s life, organised a meet and greet prior to them all leaving to Hamburg. This genuine process of four unique identities meeting one another to share a process together is the film. Ngcobo, Khoza, Denge & Dorfling drive the narrative but the main character and thread is Corporal Punishment.

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Capturing corporal punishment as the main character required a creative approach towards making each incident come alive so as to emphasise that the stench of corporal punishment permeates throughout the entire film and hovers over the whole narrative of the film. Re-enactments were chosen as a mode of representation and embodiment of this haunting monster. Dark, dated and active footage together with audio was captured to bring corporal punishment to life in Eina. The grab and hit of the authoritative figure and student are magnified and emphasised through accurate framing and slow-motion shooting. Each incident had to have its climax. The climax was the exact moment of the punishment: when the plank/ hand or plastic pipe violates each child all driven by the ominous presence of an overpowering figure who reprimands through violence.  In making the re-enactment the editing required a quick cutting approach that lingered the build-up but gave power to the action. More importantly the audio and words of each character were the most essential part of the film which initiated a genuine confrontational interaction with the raw reality of being corporally punished.

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