If there’s one thing South Africans are good at, it is resilience and the ability to tell hard-hitting stories.
Every day in Mzansi lends itself to compelling storytelling, some days with historic scenes and other days filled with comedy. But, either way, we’re great storytellers.
As such, a group of young filmmakers in Cape Town and surrounding areas, have taken the time to turn their real-life experiences into stories for the Roots Film Festival.
The inaugural community film festival creates a vibrant screening platform to inspire social change.
The festival is a two-day pop-up event held on April 23 at Crystal High School in Hanover Park and on May 1 at the VGK Community Hall in Suurbraak.
The festival’s thoughtfully curated environmental program will screen three short films and one feature-length documentary, with guest speakers and master-classes by filmmakers from the Cape Flats and other parts of the country.
The Roots Film Festival is supported by the National Film and Video Foundation, Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme and the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival for the Encounters Community Festivals: Doc Activate season 2023 programme.
The festival was conceived by a talented group of young filmmakers who deeply care about their urban and rural communities and the relationship between the environment and its social concerns.
Through its diverse selection of films, it endeavours to reflect the tension between the lived environment and challenges that mount from the lack of quality access to work, policing, education and food.
Director Rae Human commented: “We enjoy the immersive, often escapist spectacle of cinema. It is an absolute honour to introduce compelling narratives into communities who would benefit from knowledge about climate change and its impact on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged”.
He added: “Growing up in Cape Town is a beautiful but tragic experience. Especially regarding the way our natural resources are used to divide and continue suffering in our communities.
“Most of the nature here is not accessible to the majority of the population and what is available is often dangerous.
“The disconnection we have experienced in this incredible city I feel is the reason why our communities are violent towards one another, because we are violent towards our environment.
“Having moved to the rural space, I feel there are similarities between urban and rural communities. The same traumas are experienced, but in the rural setting, there is an innate connection to environment that must be shared with the urban communities.”
Roots Film Festival co-ordinator Yusra Peters added: “Our people need the awareness, inspiration and spark to improve their livelihoods. This festival will bring that which is urgently needed to initiate the change needed.
The films that will be screening include “Kujichagulia” by Kagiso Molokoane and Rudi Lippert, “We Rise from the Cape Flats” by Shamier Magmoet, the Pan-African film “Le Lac” by Nyasha Kadandara as well as the feature-length film, “Mutant”, by Lebogang Rasethaba and Nthatho Mthambo.
The “Roots Film Festival” program begins at 10am and runs until 5.30pm. There is no entry fee and admission to the event are seeds that can be exchanged and eventually grown in the various communities attendees are from.
Before the master-class and screenings, an opening ceremony will kick start the day followed by a networking brunch aimed at aspiring filmmakers and activists, whose work aligns with the values of the festival, to connect with filmmakers, film industry figures as well as cultural, food sovereign, climate change and ocean conservationists.