A thriller/horror film and a LGTBI
love-story have been selected respectively as the opening- and closing films of
the 39th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), which takes place from July
19 to 29, 2018.
In a bold move to shift perceptions of how
African stories can be told cinematically across genres, the DIFF has selected
a South African debut thriller/horror feature The Tokoloshe, directed by Jerome Pikwane, for opening night and
Kenyan director, Wanuri Kahiu’s tender story of lesbian love, Rafiki as its closing film.
“With the current global focus on giving
womxn a voice in a world dominated by masculinity and systemic misogyny, we
wanted to book-end the festival with films that tell stories about womxn, their
strength and their survival. We also want to showcase, from a cinematic point
of view, that there are many ways to tell these stories,” says Manager of DIFF,
Chipo Zhou.
(Jerome
Pikwane, director of “The Tokoloshe”)
The
Tokoloshe is directed by Jerome Pikwane, co-written
with novelist Richard Kunzmann and produced by Dumi Gumbi and Cati Weinek of
The Ergo Company.
In The
Tokoloshe, which stars Petronella Tshuma, Dawid Minnaar, Kwande Nkosi,
Harriet Manamela and Yule Masiteng, a young womxn, crippled by suppressed
emotions, must find the courage to face an insatiable demon, wrought in her own
childhood, when she tries to save the life of a girl-child abandoned in a
rundown Johannesburg hospital.
“Using the horror genre I wanted to
investigate how we suppress trauma, and what happens when the trauma comes to
the surface. In effect, the Tokoloshe in South African mythology has become a foil
for abuse that is ingrained in our society,” says director Jerome Pikwane. “And
the characters, their journey, their relationships are the focus and not the
beautiful shots nor the CGI, although we have that too.
“The film is not quite what one expects
from its title, so I dare audiences to see beneath the surface,” says Zhou. “It
is a horror film, crafted so intricately, unveiling the menace that is our
everyday burden as womxn in this country. But the film depicts the story of a
survivor, not a victim. It is a chilling story, one that needs to be told now
and is particularly relevant as it gives voice to the voiceless.”
(Wanuri
Kahiu, director of “Rafiki”)
Closing film Rafiki, directed by Wanuri Kahiu, produced by Steven Markovitz (SA)
and starring Samantha Mugatsia and Sheila Munyiva, is a touching tale of two
very different girls living in Nairobi, who fall in love. Co-written with Jenna
Bass (SA), the film was the first Kenyan feature film to be invited to Cannes
Film Festival 2018 as part of the Official Un Certain Regard selection, and was
a project in the 2012 Durban FilmMart.
“Over the years of developing this film, we
have seen worrying developments in the anti-LGBTI climate in East Africa,” says
director Wanuri Kahiu. “Local films and international TV shows have been banned
because of LGBTI content. This has muffled conversations about LGBTI rights and
narrowed the parameters of freedom of speech. My hope is that the film is
viewed as an ode to love, whose course is never smooth, and as a message of
love and support to the ones among us who are asked to choose between love and
safety. May this film shout where voices have been silenced.”
DIFF Manager Zhou adds: “We are delighted
to be able to screen Rafiki at DIFF. The
film speaks to the issues of patriarchy that has led the film to be banned in
its own country, and closes a festival with a programme packed with films
dealing with a host of current challenges that those marginalised in our
society, and especially womxn, are “loudly” grappling with.
“At this time alongside the #MeToo and,
closer to home, the “#ItsNotOk campaigns, that seek to expose the perpetrators
of violence against womxn, these films bookend a conscious and carefully
curated selection of cinematic themes that also run as threads through the
Durban FilmMart and through our new Isiphethu industry programme for emerging
and micro-budget filmmakers.”
The DIFF is organised by the University of
KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts. The Festival also offers an industry
programme and outreach activities that include screenings in townships areas,
where cinemas are non-existent. Alongside the DIFF is the Durban FilmMart, a
co-production market in partnership with Ethekwini Municipality’s Durban Film
Office, Talents Durban, in cooperation with the Berlinale Talent Campus and the
Wavescape Surf Film Festival.
DIFF opens at The Playhouse on July 19 and
runs until July 29. The closing film is on July 28.
For more information visit
www.durbanfilmfest.co.za or any one of the DIFF’s social media pages, Durban
International Film Festival.
Posts
