Cape Town - Murdered model Reeva Steenkamp's family are planning a documentary series to tell her life story through the eyes of the people who loved her most - her family and close friends.
The family believes that while the murder and the subsequent trial made international headlines, the focus was on her killer, and did not give Reeva a voice.
“Through this documentary, we are determined to tell Reeva’s story, people will get to see another side that seeks to answer some of the questions that have been left unanswered, the truth and who Reeva was. She would want us to do this for her,” said June Steenkamp.
June has previously written a book titled Reeva: A Mother’s Story.
Steenkamp, who would have celebrated her 36th birthday on Monday, was killed by her boyfriend, Paralympian Oscar Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013. He is currently serving a 13-year prison sentence for the murder.
The focus of the documentary series will be on Reeva's story, the impact her murder and the subsequent trial on her parents, family and close friends. They believe that while the trial made history as the first murder trial ever to be televised live in South Africa, and made international headlines, it failed to reveal the truth of what happened that night.
Reeva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius. Picture: R.I.P Reeva Steenkamp Facebook page
Earlier this year, former Springbok rugby player Francois Hougaard told the Mail on Sunday rugby correspondent Nik Simon how Reeva's death and the subsequent media frenzy, impacted his life. Hougaard had dated Reeva before she became romantically involved with Pistorius. The two remained friends and regularly spoke to each other on the phone.
In fact, it was widely speculated that Pistorius was jealous of their relationship and that he killed Reeva after seeing a text from Hougaard on her phone.
"Everyone was saying I sent Reeva a message and that’s why he shot her. I had nothing to do with her any more but it’s all people were asking me about. Mentally, that was a really tough thing to go through," Hougaard said during the interview.
June and Barry Steenkamp remember Reeva on her birthday, and the anniversary of her death, every year, at Port Elizabeth’s Summerstrand beach.
‘My Name is Reeva’ will be produced by Warren Batchelor and Tony Miguel. Batchelor, who produced and directed '204 - Getting Away With Murder', a documentary about mining magnate Brett Kebble's death, will also direct 'My Name is Reeva'.
The money for the documentary will be raised via crowdfunding platform Uprise Africa.
“Uprise.Africa is proud to be able to facilitate this project especially during Women’s Month on an issue that affects so many women in SA. Investment in this documentary should be seen as our gift to Reeva on what would have been her 36th birthday today. The funding will be open to private funders during the launch and will be open to the public in due course, concludes Tabassum Qadir, CEO of Uprise.Africa.