
A movie is being made about Dr Christiaan Neethling Barnard. He was a pioneer in the medical field, performing the world’s first heart transplant in the 1960s.

Compiled by Priya Pitamber
The world’s first heart transplant took place in South Africa in December 1967, performed by Dr Christiaan Neethling Barnard at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. Fifty years on, his momentous achievement is being turned into a movie.
Dr Chris Barnard performed the world’s first human heart transplant. #LifetimeHeart #EnjoyTheWeekend #FirstHeartTransplant pic.twitter.com/rI3TLZDrxS
— Lifetime Heart (@Lifetime_Heart) July 14, 2017
Barnard’s feat put the South African medical fraternity on the map for all the right reasons and with the movie, his story will reach a wider audience.

The story
Karoo Films, a South African company, is shooting the movie. “[It is] based on the tumultuous events leading up to the completion of the first heart transplant complete with all the pain, drama and personal victories which came with it,” reads the official movie website, Barnard Film.
Barnard is a movie on the exciting life of Prof. Chris Barnard and the tumultuous events leading up to the first ever heart transplant.
— Barnard The Movie (@BarnardMovie) June 4, 2017
“We had multiple scripts,” film producer Robert dos Santos told news website Times Live. “[Barnard’s] life was so interesting that it became too much for any single screenplay so we decided to focus on the period around the transplant. It was the most tumultuous period of his life.”
Shooting will begin on location in Cape Town in September. No decision has been taken regarding who will play the lead role. However, the movie will feature English and Afrikaans.
Listen to an interview with director Byron Davis on talk radio 702.
Source: Times Live
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