An elderly goat herder falls victim to a scam promising financial reparations for her father, who was never paid for his service in WWII. As she waits for money that will never arrive, her family disrupt her routines on her 80th birthday and threatens to strip away the last of her independence.
"‘Variations on a Theme’ is a quiet, meditative portrait of Ouma Hettie, an elderly goat herder living alone in the remote mountains of Namaqualand, South Africa. Haunted by the ghost of her father—a man who returned from World War II with nothing but a bicycle as payment—Ouma Hettie bears the weight of broken promises that echo across generations. Like many in her village, she is a descendant of men sent to war who returned with little to show. The long-term effects of this betrayal ripple into the present.
Now, in 2024, new predators arrive in the form of scam artists offering access to long-promised social relief funds—for a fee. Ouma Hettie, hopeful and desperate, pays. The promises disappear. On her 80th birthday, her family arrives in loud, loving droves, disrupting the fragile routines of her solitude. They insist she leave her home and give up her independence. She’s getting old, they say. She’s forgetting things. It’s no longer safe to live alone. This further compounds her sense of isolation and disenfranchisement. ‘Variations on a Theme’ dwells in the in-between spaces of life, inviting us to witness the quiet dignity of a woman whose world is slowly receding."
