Organisers of the 2nd Annual Joburg Film Festival have something in store for big-screen fans. The event taking place from November 9-17 aims to be about more than just showing films. It will also offer engagement with industry leaders and stakeholders.
According to the film festival director Angie Mills, the festival will be an event that evokes a whole new level of humanness and social regeneration.
Film lovers will be able to connect around visual stories, revive themselves, heal and identify with one another.
“All festivals, no matter how big or small, are important. What we are doing is focusing on showcasing African cinema in conversation with global cinema and diasporic African cinema in a way that points to excellence,” said Mills, adding that they would bring top film-makers to engage in a city that is dynamic and constantly changing.
“So for us it is an African cinematic feast, that includes Nairobi and Kenya among others. What we love about it is that films we have curated come from Tunisia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya. We have this continental richness that I think we should get to the audiences who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to see.”
The line-up of screenings will include the premiere of the documentary Dying for Gold by Catherine Meyburgh and Richard Pakleppa, Matwetwe by Kagiso Lediga and animations like Funan and Frutitoons.
Also on offer will be controversial Kenyan love story Rafiki, which sparked a furore in that country over its portrayal of same-sex relationships.
Rafiki made history as the first Kenyan movie to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
Another must-see offering is the documentary Everything Must Fall by Rehad Desai and Anita Khanna, which casts an unflinching eye on the #FeesMustFall movement. The acclaimed experimental film M by Finnish film-maker Anna Erickson is also another ace up the organisers’ sleeve.
The film engages with eros and death through the guise of Marilyn Monroe to reflect upon shifting gender power relations. Both filmmakers will be in attendance and will field questions from the audience on select dates.
Another intriguing element is the Sisters Working In Film and Television (Swift), which will be hosted at Constitution Hill on November 11 to unpack gender equality in Mzansi’s film, television and cultural landscape.
The festival is supported by the Department of Arts and Culture and the National Film and Video Foundation. In addition to screenings at The Zone, Rosebank Cinema Nouveau and Ster Kinekor Maponya Mall, there will be exhibitions at the Kings Theatre in Alexandra.
The festival is open to the public with various films to cater for moviegoers of different ages, genders and cultures.