It’s just a few more days before the highly-anticipated new Afrikaans romantic comedy ‘Jou Romeo’ hits the big screen. The film follows Yvette and Tyler, friends who have been dreaming of performing Romeo and Juliet in their matric year. However, the principal, Mister Kirby Potgieter, has other plans – by cutting the arts and culture budget he can upgrade the cricket clubhouse and refresh the school’s T20 cricket tournament. In an attempt to ensure that the production still takes place, Yvette and Tyler ask the most popular guy at school, Marko Marais, to play the role of Romeo. As expected, the show is a huge success. However, Marko finds himself falling deeper and deeper for Yvette while she discovers that there is more to him than sports and charm.
“According to me, the most important message of the movie is to try and always be your best, despite the ‘groups’ in which people find themselves,” Ruan Wessels, who plays the role of Marko Marais, tells me. “I think people should see ‘Jou Romeo’ because it’s a cool, funny and really romantic film. Audiences will be able to identify with the situations that are created in the film. They’ll really enjoy the journey on which the characters embark.”
Ruan admits that he sees a lot of himself in Marko and it’s something that drew him to sign on to the film. “Marko is a typical high school boy. He loves cricket and partying with his friends but hates math. Marko is different, however, because he is always true to himself. He never pretends to be something he’s not,” Ruan admits. “I see a lot of myself in Marko – especially because I also used to love cricket and hate math!”
The star adds that this was an incredible film to shoot. “I had so much fun on set,” he admits. “Our Director, André Velts, was absolutely amazing to work with. He made everything easy. ”
Ruan is a rising star and has appeared in films such as ‘Hoofmeisie’, ‘Dis Ek, Anna’ and ‘Agent 2000: Die Laksman’ and had a five-year stint on the popular soapie ‘Binnelanders’. The 19-year-old has had an exciting year and is ready to tackle new challenges in 2017. “I’m going to be living in Cape Town for a few months next year,” he admits. “I have two pending projects in the pipeline and hopefully a lot more adventures to come.”
Jou Romeo opens nationwide on the 23rd of December 2016 and is distributed by Ster-Kinekor Entertainment.
Feel free to comment, share or tweet @ElBroide.
