Die herskryf van die roman Die swye van Mario Salviati van Etienne van Heerden as 'n draaiboek, met spesifieke fokus op identiteit, hibriditeit en liminaliteit

Abstract

This study explores the possibilities of rewriting the text of a complex novel as a film script. Film is an important contemporary artform but the actuality of the thematic content of contemporary Afrikaans novels is not well represented in current films. In this study an adaptation of the novel, The long silence of Mario Salviati by Etienne van Heerden (2000) ,t o a script is made in an attempt to provide the Afrikaans scriptwriter with a workable method. The theme which features prominently in the adaptation is the experience of identity in the post-colonial and/or post-apartheid era in South Africa. Theoretical reflection on the problem of adaptation is essential before the chosen novel can be turned into a script, since the scriptwriter has to make certain adjustments during the process of adaptation. The adaptation of a novel to a script implies the translation of a written, descriptive text into a visual text. When a complex novel such as The long silence of Mario Salviati is rewritten as a script, a detailed analysis of the novel must be undertaken in order to identify the relevant ideological content, the important themes and underlying meanings which should be retained in the film script. In order to find appropriate visual images for the thematic content of the novel, contributions of semiotics to film studies are studied and implemented in the process of visualisation. The chosen theme for the script of The long silence of Mario Salviati is "Identity, hybridity and liminality in the Tallejare community". This theme features prominently in many narratives about post-colonial and post-apartheid issues; therefore theoretical reflections on the concepts of liminality and hibridity are included in the study. There are two main sections in the dissertation. In the first section aspects of scriptwriting are analysed and discussed in order to develop a workable method for scriptwriters. The study entertains the hope that more contemporary Afrikaans novels will be adapted for the big screen or television by the film industry. This is necessary to ensure that the experience of South African identity is represented adequately in the Afrikaans film industry. The second section of the dissertation contains the film script, which is an adaptation of the novel The long silence of Mario Salviati by Etienne van Heerden. The script forms an integral part of the study as well as of the dissertation.