Gripping Zephany Nurse doccie to premiere at local film festival this weekend

After the screening on Saturday, Zephany (Miche) and the Nurse family will be in conversation with CapeTalk's Sara-Jayne King.

It's a little over 25 years since a tiny baby, just three days old, was stolen from her mother's bedside at Groote Schuur hospital in Cape Town.

The story of the kidnapping of little Zephany Nurse hit national and international headlines at the time, as frantic attempts were made to find the infant.

But as the days, turned into weeks, turned into months and years, it was as if the baby had simply vanished into thin air.

Now, the story of Zephany Nurse has become the focus of a 90-minute documentary that will have its world premiere at the Labia Theatre on Saturday as part of the Encounters Documentary Film Festival.

Girl, Taken follows the story of parents Celeste and Morne Nurse, Zephany/Miche, and the other family members whose lives were turned upside down, not only by the kidnapping but also by the extraordinary reunion 17 years later.

Pippa Hudson sat down with the film's producers Simon Wood and Francois Verster.

We first approached the family early in 2016, when we started we never thought the film would take so long to complete. The last bits we filmed were at the beginning of this year.

Francois Verster, Producer - Girl Taken

But often, not being able to make a film as quickly as you would like to often leads to a much stronger, much more comprehensive story.

Francois Verster, Producer - Girl Taken

The Zephany Nurse story, just blew up all around the world. There were stories in the Washington Post and lots of stories in the UK and France.

Simon Wood, Producer - Girl Taken

A lot of countries have their own Zephany Nurse - in the UK there's the Madeline McCann story - but very very rarely do these children ever come back.

Simon Wood, Producer - Girl Taken

Following this Saturday's sold-out screening at The Labia, Zephany (Miche) and the Nurse family will be in conversation with CapeTalk's Sara-Jayne King for a highly anticipated Q and A.

RELATED: 'I'm not trying to justify what she did,' Zephany Nurse in her own words

This article first appeared on CapeTalk : Gripping Zephany Nurse doccie to premiere at local film festival this weekend

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