Carissa tells the story of a young woman living with her grandmother in the village of Wupperthal in the Cedarberg mountains. Pressured by family expectations and outside development interests, she retreats into the mountains and begins to confront questions of heritage, identity and belonging. The film blends daily realities with elements of magical realism, using language, landscape and community life to drive its narrative.

Producers Deidré Jantjies and Annemarie du Plessis were central to the making of the film, driving the project from development through production and distribution.

Jantjies and du Plessis bring diverse experiences and a shared focus on stories rooted in local voices. Jantjies, founder of Na Aap Productions, is known for projects that highlight indigenous heritage, including the award-winning web series Stories in die Wind. For her, producing Carissa was about creating space for diverse voices. “What matters most to me is that our stories and our history are as powerful and relevant as those from anywhere else,” she has said. “Throughout the making of the film, we worked as a team to create spaces for people to express themselves freely. Everyone had a voice.”

Du Plessis, who runs Meria Productions, briefly worked in theatre before moving into production and producing, and went on to start her own company in 2021. She sees her role as ensuring the film reaches beyond the screen and into wider conversations. A key moment for her was showing the finished film in Wupperthal. “People saw themselves, their way of life on screen and there was an enormous sense of pride,” she recalls. “That reaction was as meaningful as any festival showing, because it confirmed the film belongs to the community first.”

Beyond representation on screen

The rise of women producers in South Africa is reshaping an industry long dominated by men. International debates about gender equity often focus on representation on screen. But Jantjies and du Plessis show the importance of women in the roles that decide which stories are told, how they are financed and who gets to participate in the process.

Recent examples include Flatland (2019), written and directed by Jenna Cato Bass and co-produced by Saskia Schiel; Sew the Winter to My Skin (2018) and Knuckle City (2019), both produced by Layla Swart; This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection (2019), a Lesotho–South Africa production backed by women in key roles; and Barakat (2020), directed by Amy Jephta, the first Afrikaans-language feature by a Black South African woman.

In Carissa, participation meant building the production around the needs of Wupperthal.  Local residents were not just background extras but central characters and collaborators. Workshops were held in the community, and professional and non-professional actors worked side by side. Even behind the scenes, residents like Woudine Dirkse contributed both as performers and crew.

“This approach challenged the traditional top-down model of filmmaking,” says Jantjies. “Instead of arriving with a script and leaving with a product, the team ensured the process itself was collaborative. The result is a film that feels authentic, reflecting the language, landscape and heritage of the community.”

Global recognition, local grounding

The strategy worked. After its Venice debut, Carissa travelled to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia, drawing praise from critics for its restraint and sense of place. Locally, it received multiple nominations at the Silwerskerm Awards, including Best Actress for Gretchen Ramsden and Best Supporting Actress for Wilhelmiena Hesselman, a non-professional actor from Wupperthal.

By diversifying leadership, the industry becomes more open to stories that reflect the full spectrum of South African life. Jantjies, who continues to champion indigenous storytelling, sees Carissa as part of a longer journey of reclaiming heritage and giving communities agency. “In producing the film, I wanted to see more women leading on stories like this and to open doors for other projects too,” she says.

Du Plessis, who first joined the project in 2018, highlights the role of relationships. “What drew me in was the people and the community. From the start I felt there was something different here, and my job was to help build the bridges so that the film could reach both local audiences and the world,” she explained

Carissa’s international reception points to how women producers are widening the scope of South African cinema. It is less about prizes and more about building an industry that values collaboration and keeps communities at the centre.

When Carissa opens in local cinemas on 26 September, it will show that stories from remote places can find a global audience without losing their local roots.

Carissa is released in South Africa by Indigenous Film Distribution and Development.

View trailer below: