The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts (CCA), will host the Durban International Festival (DIFF) from September 10 to 20 2020. Now celebrating its landmark 41st year, this prestigious South African international film festival is a unique phenomenon on the African cultural calendar. This year, the festival will screen selected films, host seminars and workshops virtually and include screenings drive-in cinema screenings in Durban, Port Shepstone, Newcastle and Zululand.
Opening Film
Mary Twala opens DIFF 2020 as leading actress in the film This is not a Burial, but a Resurrection by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese. The film is co-production between South Africa, Lesotho and Italy that features predominantly South African actors.
“This film was specifically selected to open the festival, because it sheds some light onto the land issues in Lesotho by telling a very personal story through the journey of one woman. Its sophisticated imagery, the stunning, haunting landscapes that appreciate the depth of the magnificence that is the African landscape and how this was intertwined so effortlessly into the narrative is a true homage to African folklore.” says Head of Programming Chipo Zhou.
Closing
Film
The thriller Dust, directed by Pieter du Plessis, and with actress Shana Mans in the lead role, is the closing film for the festival. A story of female oppression and emancipation, a contemporary look at the current global discourse on women’s rights. This film is apt on the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic whose effects will be seen and felt globally for years to come.
This year’s opening and closing film selections are narratives that push boundaries and open up dialogue to contemporary challenges being faced in society today. Both films celebrate unparalleled performances by two South African leading ladies.
“Both narratives are about finding strength and resilience in the face of seemingly insurmountable injustice and speak very much on the human emotional need to connect, belong and be a part of something much greater than themselves. Set in two very different worlds, and centred on seemingly unconnected issues, both films tackle loss and trauma delicately and uniquely.” Says Zhou
isiPhethu
Community film screenings, school programmes and engagements with various community organisations around the city of Durban and the province of KwaZulu Natal will be the pulse of this year’s Isiphethu industry-focused programme at DIFF.
The isiPhethu programme remains a backbone of DIFF and act as a centre stage for the industry role players to showcase their work, talents, and network in the film industry. The vibrant programme aims to entertain, educate, train and up-skill, instil confidence to young aspirant film-makers and share information that is relevant to the film industry to empower young people.
A range of top facilitators, guest speakers and participants will be featured. They will headline several of these programmes as the DIFF continues to position itself as one of the biggest and most significant festivals on the continent.
Curators
As a festival, the DIFF prides itself on
inclusivity and a celebration of diversity as is shown by the riveting
selection of films, which has been curated by a small group of talented and
diverse individuals, headed by DIFF head of programming, Chipo Zhou. Nataleah
Hunter- Young, a Canadian writer, film curator, and PhD candidate in
Communication and Culture, Lisa Ogdie, an American short film programmer who
works with Sundance Film Festival and Mitchel Harper a South African freelance
curator and cultural programmer specializing in the arts in areas of film,
music, literature, visual and performing arts.
Programme and tickets
The full programme, alongside all the films
that will be screening, will be announced by DIFF on Monday August 31, 2020.
Closer to the opening, the festival will also open for ticket sales. Tickets
for the virtual screenings are free and available through a booking system.
Tickets for the drive-in screenings will be for sale, however at limited
capacity.
The 41st edition of the festival is organised by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts, in partnerships and with the support of Durban Film Office, eThekwini Municipality, National Film and Video Foundation, KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, KZN Department of Arts and Culture and other valued funders and partners.
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