Variations on a Theme

Variations on a Theme (2026)



Variasies op 'n tema

10.0 2026 65 min Netherlands, Qatar, South Africa

Director: Jason Jacobs

Cast: Hettie Farmer, Gladwin van Niekerk, Magdalena Links, Regan Nontas, Albertus Smit

Drama
An aging goat herder is duped by a fraudulent scheme offering overdue compensation for her father’s service in World War II. Built around a cycle of repeating visual motifs, Variations on a Theme paints a haunting picture of perseverance and grief.

More About This Film

Variations on a Theme is an intimate South African drama set in the Kamiesberg region and centered on Hettie, an elderly goat herder approaching her eightieth birthday. Her quiet routines are disrupted by a scheme involving promised reparations connected to her father's service during the Second World War, opening a wider reflection on memory, history, endurance, and community life.

Directed by Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar, the film blends fictional storytelling with the texture of lived experience. Hettie Farmer, Jacobs's grandmother in real life, plays the central character, giving the film an unusually personal connection to its setting and themes. The story observes village life through restrained performances, striking landscapes, and a reflective style that moves between everyday realism and more poetic perspectives.

  • The film won the top prize in the Tiger Competition at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2026.
  • Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar directed and co-wrote the film.
  • Hettie Farmer, the central performer, is Jason Jacobs's grandmother.
  • The film is a South Africa, Netherlands, and Qatar co-production and runs approximately 65 minutes.
  • It was presented at New Directors/New Films 2026 in New York and received its North American premiere there.

Where to Watch

Variations on a Theme has had festival and video-on-demand screenings, with access depending on the platform and territory.