Durban - A new opening night film for the Durban Film Festival has been announced after the initial selection for the prestigious slot stirred up controversy and sparked the resignation of the festival manager.
It was confirmed at the official launch of the festival on Thursday morning that the festival would now open with the world premier of the South African documentary, The Journeymen.
It replaces Shepherds and Butchers, produced by Durban film mogul Anant Singh.
Festival manager, Sarah Dawson, resigned from the post on May 8, claiming the UKZN’s deputy vice-chancellor Humanities, Professor Cheryl Potgieter, had interfered in the selection of Singh’s graphic, apartheid era film for opening night.
Dawson claimed Singh, whose company Videovision is a partner in the festival, had to use his financial and political muscle to push his film into the limelight – a charge which Singh has strongly rejected, stressing Shepherds and Butchers has artistic merit.
Shepherds and Butchers will screen at a special gala event on June 17.
The festival opens the day before.
Commenting on the opening film, Peter Machen, acting festival manager, said: “ Journeymen is a film that is incredibly inclusive, very dramatic and a film that talks to all South Africans.”
Addressing a question about the recent public spat, Machen said: “A lot of the story that broke out over the past few weeks was about an internal narrative that should never have been made public.”
The full programme is available on durbanfilmfest.co.za