(Sean Cameron Michael)
The acclaimed South African feature film The Last Victims will screen on Friday,
19 and Wednesday, 24 July at the 2019 Durban International Film Festival
(DIFF), which this year takes place from July 18 to 28.
The Last Victims had its world premiere in
February this year at the Pan African Film & Arts Festival in Los Angeles
and opened the Rapid Lion International Film Festival in March, where it was
nominated for Best Film, Best Cinematography (Meekaaeel Adam) and Best Actor in
a Leading Role (Sean Cameron Michael).
Directed by Maynard Kraak (Finders Keepers, Vrou Soek Boer) and written by Sean Robert
Daniels, the film tells the story of a former member of South Africa's infamous
death squad (Sean Cameron Michael) who must atone for his past when he helps
one survivor (Kurt Egelhof), search for the bodies of a missing anti-apartheid
cell. Unaware that, as they hunt for answers, they too are being hunted.
“Notwithstanding that this film is based on real
events, it is definitely a uniquely South African story because it’s about a
fractured search for reconciliation in the face of a harrowing past that
refuses to die out,” said Rapid Lion festival director, Eric Miyeni,”It is a
great metaphor for today’s South Africa”.
The Last Victims was filmed on location in
KwaZulu-Natal with funding from The National Empowerment Fund, the Department
of Arts & Culture, the KZN Film Commission, Utkarsh Entertainment and West
Five Films.
Celebrating its 40th edition this year, the
DIFF, organised by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts,
takes place from July 18 to 28 in venues around Durban, South Africa. It holds
the record of being one of the oldest and largest festivals in Africa,
presenting over 150 films, while also offering workshops, industry seminars,
discussion forums and outreach activities that include screenings in townships
areas, where cinemas are non-existent.
For more information about DIFF go to
http://ccadiff.ukzn.ac.za/