His Big White Self

Documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield experienced death threats and bomb scares after making in 1991. The film was an account of his investigation of and meetings with Eugene Terreblanche, the extreme right-wing leader of the AWB. At the time, Terreblanche was downright inhospitable to the British filmmaker. Nevertheless, 14 years later Broomfield returns to a changed South Africa to see what is left of the leader and his supporters. As ever, Broomfield is distinctly present in his film, through the voice-over and even in front of the camera when necessary. He accompanies the footage of his new trip with the music from his 1991 film, which he also refers back to. The ironic tone of his commentary and the emphatic attention of the camera for the AWB members' pets counterbalance the sometimes horrifying archive footage. The leader's former chauffeur drives around in an ambulance now. He has divorced his wife Anita, who has aptly traded in her black Kaffir cat for a calico. Whether Broomfield will succeed again in getting to speak to the leader is as big a question mark as the first time around.