{"id":7003,"date":"2018-06-26T17:40:14","date_gmt":"2018-06-26T15:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=7003"},"modified":"2018-06-26T17:40:14","modified_gmt":"2018-06-26T15:40:14","slug":"durban-international-film-festival-diff-announces-programme-for-2018-19-29-july","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2018\/06\/26\/durban-international-film-festival-diff-announces-programme-for-2018-19-29-july\/","title":{"rendered":"Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) Announces Programme For 2018 (19-29 July)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Durban International Film Festival Launches 39th\u00a0Edition<\/strong>
\n19 \u2013 29 July 2018 \u2013 various venues around Durban<\/strong><\/p>\n

This year, the\u00a0Durban International Film Festival, the leading event of its kind on the African continent, is once again bringing film lovers and filmmakers from across the globe to the shores of Durban for a feast of the latest and best that cinema has to offer from 19 to 29 July.<\/p>\n

In 2018, ahead of a 40th\u00a0bumper anniversary next year, the festival offers a focused fare of 180 features films, documentaries, and shorts, along with an insightful industry programme that includes Isisphethu for emerging and micro-budget filmmakers, the 11th\u00a0Talents Durban, in partnership with Berlinale Talents, for pre-selected, semi-established\u00a0 filmmakers as well as the co-production and finance forum the 9th\u00a0Durban FilmMart, the festival\u2019s partner programme with the Durban Film Office.<\/p>\n

Opening the festival is the first feature film from South African director Jerome Pikwane, the\u00a0horror flick\u00a0The Tokoloshe<\/strong>. The LGTBI love-story\u00a0Rafiki<\/strong>,\u00a0directed by Kenyan Wanuri Kahiu, will close the festival.<\/p>\n

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The Tokolosche, directed by Jerome Pikwane<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Rafiki, Sheila Munyiva and Samantha Mugatsialr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Manager of DIFF Chipo Zhou, explains the choice of these two diverse films that have women as their focus. \u201cWe wanted to book-end DIFF with films that tell stories about women, their strength and their resilience. We also want to showcase the fact that there are many ways to tell these stories from a cinematic point of view,\u201d said Zhou.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in a time of diversity, where women, racial minorities and LGBTI communities who have traditionally been underrepresented in film are having their voices brought to the fore,\u201d says Zhou. \u201cReferencing this global narrative, the films in this year\u2019s festival will reflect these new voices as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the features in competition this year are South African films\u00a0Farewell Ella Bella<\/strong>\u00a0directed by Lwazi Mvusi, which follows a young woman on a journey to bury her father;\u00a0High Fantasy<\/strong>\u00a0directed by Jenna Bass, in which\u00a0a group of young South Africans have to navigate a personal-political labyrinth when they wake up to discover they have swapped bodies; Sara Blecher\u2019s\u00a0Mayfair<\/strong>,\u00a0a gangster film about a father and son;\u00a0and\u00a0The Recce<\/strong>\u00a0by Ferdinand van Zyl, which explores the pain and suffering families endured during and after South Africa\u2019s 20-year border war.<\/p>\n

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High Fantasy – Gabriella Cchadinha<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Farewell Ella Bella<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

International features in competition include\u00a0The Tale<\/strong>\u00a0(USA) directed by Jennifer Fox, which\u00a0chronicles one woman\u2019s powerful investigation into her own childhood memories as she is forced to re-examine her first sexual experience;\u00a0Clint<\/strong>\u00a0(India) by Hari Kumar, which tells the\u00a0story of prodigious artist child who died before his seventh birthday, leaving behind 25000 pictures; and the\u00a0closing film\u00a0Rafiki\u00a0(Kenya), directed by Wanuri Kahiu, which is set in Nairobi and tells the\u00a0touching tale of two very different girls who fall in love.<\/p>\n

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The Tale, Laura Dern<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Clint<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Competition titles in the documentary section include the South African film\u00a0Silas<\/strong>,\u00a0a global tale\u00a0directed by Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman\u00a0which warns of the power of politics and celebrates the capacity of individuals to fight back, and\u00a0Whispering Truth to Power<\/strong>, directed by human rights lawyer Shameela Seedat, which\u00a0tracks Thuli Madonsela, South Africa\u2019s first female Public Protector, as she builds her second case against President Jacob Zuma.<\/p>\n

International documentaries in competition include\u00a0New Moon<\/strong>\u00a0(Kenya), directed by Phillippa Ndisi-Herrmann, who explores her\u00a0journey to Sufi Islam;\u00a0Amal\u00a0(Lebanon, Egypt, France, Germany, Norway, Denmark), directed by Mohamed Siam, which follows\u00a0a teenager as she comes to terms with her identity and sexuality in a post-revolutionary police state;\u00a0Shakedown<\/strong>\u00a0(USA) directed by Leilah Weinraub, which\u00a0chronicles explicit performances in an underground queer club in Los Angeles; and\u00a0The State Against Nelson Mandela and the Others<\/strong>\u00a0(France) by\u00a0Nicolas Champeaux and Gilles Porte, which offers\u00a0archival recordings that include Mandela\u2019s co-accused at the Rivonia Treason Trial hearings, and which transports the audience back into the courtroom battles.<\/p>\n

Other South African films on the billing include Durban filmmaker Michael Cross\u2019 award-winning\u00a0The Fun\u2019s Not Over<\/strong>,\u00a0about the life of musician James Philips, and Eubulus Timothy\u2019s warm, coming-of-age surf love story\u00a0Deepend.\u00a0Sisters of the Wilderness<\/strong>\u00a0is\u00a0Karin Slater\u2019s inspiring film which is set in the iMfolozi Wilderness and follows five young Zulu women on a journey of self-discovery. Then there is Oscar-nominated director Darrel Roodt\u2019s horror\u00a0Siembamba,\u00a0Stephina Zwane\u2019s comedy\u00a0Baby Mamas<\/strong>, which\u00a0revolves around the daily lives and loves of four women and their own real-life baby mama drama, Leli Maki\u2019s comedy\u00a0Table Manners<\/strong>, in which \u00a0a wife and mother finds\u00a0solace and hope in cooking, learning that all she needs is life\u2019s three courses – family, food and love.<\/p>\n

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The Fun_s Not Over -James Phillips at home in 1994 by Ruvan Boschoff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Baby Mamas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prior to each screening, public service announcements will be shown. These are themed around an industry campaign #thatsnotok created by SWIFT (Sisters Working in Film and Television), the SA-based non-profit that works to\u00a0protect and advance the cause of women in the industry.<\/p>\n

In 2018 DIFF continues its endeavours to grow cinema audiences and this year free community-based screenings will take place at Solomon Mahlangu Hall (New Germany\/Clermont), KwaMashu Fan Park, Umlazi W Section Library and The Workshop Amphitheatre. Other screenings take place at Community ZA (formerly Artspace Gallery in Umgeni) and KZNSA Gallery, Musgrave Ster Kinekor, Suncoast Cine Centre and Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, as well as Ushaka Marine World, where the popular free ocean-focused film festival\u00a0Wavescapeswill take place in the public area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith about 400 film-makers in attendance, the public can look forward to a feast of film and some fascinating insights into the world of cinema,\u201d concludes Zhou.<\/p>\n

The DIFF is organised by the University of KwaZulu-Natal\u2019s Centre for Creative Arts in partnership with the eThekwini Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, National Film and Video Foundation, Durban Film Office and other valuable partners.<\/p>\n

DIFF opens at The Playhouse on July 19 and runs until July 29. The closing film will be screened on July 28, after the competition awards.<\/p>\n

For more information visit\u00a0www.durbanfilmfest.co.za<\/a> \u00a0or any one of DIFF\u2019s social media pages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Durban International Film Festival Launches 39th\u00a0Edition 19 \u2013 29 July 2018 \u2013 various venues around Durban This year, the\u00a0Durban International Film Festival, the leading event of its kind on the African continent, is once again bringing film lovers and filmmakers from across the globe to the shores of Durban for a feast of the latest… Continue reading Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) Announces Programme For 2018 (19-29 July)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[183],"class_list":["post-7003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-festival","tag-diff","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7003\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}