The Durban International Film Festival has announced that
the opening night film of the 37th edition will be the World Premiere of the
South African documentary, The Journeymen,
the latest instalment in the Twenty Journey project. The documentary has been
directed by Sean Metelerkamp and produced by filmmaker Jolynn Minnaar whose
film, Unearthed, was one of the big
hits at DIFF 2014.
Filmed as part of the Twenty Journey project in 2014, the
year in which South Africa celebrated 20 years of democracy and mourned Nelson
Mandela’s death, The Journeymen
chronicles the journey of three young South African photographers, Wikus de
Wet, Sipho Mpongo and Sean Metelerkamp, as they travel 24,000km in a motorhome
throughout South Africa, with GoPro cameras strapped to their chests, to
explore the mood and feel the pulse of contemporary South Africa. From urban
sprawls to dusty rural roads, the trio were driven by the question “Has
Mandela’s vision of equality in a rainbow nation been achieved?”
The film answers this with a kaleidoscopic set of responses
that are disturbing, beautiful, thought-provoking and, more than anything,
movingly surreal.
Said Acting Festival Director, Peter Machen: "It is
highly appropriate that this intersectional portrait of our strange and
beautiful country will screen on the fortieth anniversary of 16th June, 1976.
The film is a portrait of a nation that was forever changed by the actions of
the youth of Soweto, and screening it on this day will act as a tribute to the
bravery of the tens of thousands of unnamed young people who helped build the
road to our liberation."
Machen continued, "The film shows the underlying demons
of our troubled national soul but also its deep and profound beauty. Made with
technology that is widely accessible, the film is also a vibrant call to arms
for new modes of filmmaking and fresh approaches to narrative. We are very
happy to be screening the world premiere of The
Journeymen on the opening night of the 37th Edition of DIFF.”
Director, Sean Metelerkamp said, “While we never set out to
make a feature length documentary, looking back, through embracing new
technology, we were able to capture our promising, contentious and confusing
country as we went about exploring our respective photographic themes. We hope
that this collaboration - between three guys from different cultural and racial
backgrounds, united simply by a duty to set out and discover truly authentic
South African stories - kickstarts conversations and interactions. As luck
would have it, our film features a chance encounter with Sam Nzima, who
photographed Hector Pietersen. We can’t think of a better way to honour Youth
Day than to share our film with the country. “
The Twenty Project was made possible by many generous
Kickstarter backers. The documentary is executive-produced by Dylan Voogt and
made possible with the support of Stage 5 Films, Priest Post Production, 744
Digital and Mothership Studio.
The Durban International Film Festival takes place from June
16 to 26, 2016. The Festival includes nearly 200 theatrical screenings, as well
as the Wavescape Film Festival and various industry initiatives, including the
9th Talents Durban programme (in cooperation with the Berlin Talent Campus) and
the 7th Durban FilmMart co-production market (in partnership with the Durban
Film Office).
For more information go to www.durbanfilmfestival.co.za
#DIFF2016 @DIFFest
The 37th Durban
International Film Festival is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts at the
University of KwaZulu-Natal, with support from the National Film and Video
Foundation, Durban Film Office, KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, eThekwini
Municipality, German Embassy, Goethe Institut, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts
and Culture and a range of other valued partners.
Posts
