Normal Is Over The Movie

Nine years ago, Heila and Rodney Downey decided to move to the town of Robertson in the Western Cape, where they set up a Zen Dharma Center. Both have had very successful careers. Rodney used to manage a huge South-African store chain. They owned a large house with a swimming pool and drove the latest Mercedes. They had all they could possibly wish for, and yet the question remained: 'Is this all there is in life? 'After attending a Zen retreat, they both decided to change their lives and dedicate themselves to help others. Once a month they teach Zen Buddhist meditation lessons to fifteen inmates at Malmesbury prison. Among others, we follow Unathi, a young black man convicted of murder who is now serving a ten years prison sentence. Through another inmate he comes into contact with Zen Buddhism and Heila and Rodney. We see Unathi's release and follow him on his way to Robertson, where the couple take him in because he's not ready to return to his township yet.…

During the past 2 years we have produced a 7 x 26' min. series on unusual contemporary South-African artists, called CANVAS EXTREME. Programmes or portraits can be viewed/aired individually as well. As a free-lance director/producer, Renee Scheltema has made documentary films for Dutch TV during 15 years, but now lives in Cape-Town. For a long time during the Apartheid era, the visual arts have been the stepchild of the arts in South-Africa. Resistance art emerged in the 80-ties, but since 1994, the artists stepped into a new era of participation. How have the latest developments in the New South-Africa affected the life and works of contemporary visual artists? This series looks at over 20 contemporary black and white, young and old, male and female visual artists, living and working throughout South-Africa. The portraits were filmed in Cape-Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Oudshoorn, Venda,etc. For some artists there is the need to explore the boundaries of what is acceptable in society, and what not. As a result, they often produce controversial works and sometimes with a sophisticed and explicit nature.…