The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts (CCA) will host the Durban International Festival (DIFF) from July 21 to 30, 2022. This year, for its 43rd edition, the festival presents a hybrid programme of close to 200 feature films, documentaries and short films alongside an exciting community and student programme: Isiphethu.
On July 21, the festival opens with the virtual and live screening of the film 1960. From July 22, all other films will be rolled out. The festival launched its website: www.durbanfilmfest.com on which audiences can browse through films, watch trailers and start compiling wish lists for when the festival kicks off. Also, the live screening programme, taking place at CineCentre at Suncoast Casino in Durban, in partnership with Avalon Group, opened its ticket sales on www.cinecentre.co.za
Shorts
DIFF believes short films are a powerful
medium for expression and contribute significantly to the film industry. As
part of the programme, the festival offers almost 75 short films that are
diverse but have a common thread of all being thought-provoking stories. Covering
shorts from a wide variety of fascinating topics, DIFF is making sure no-one is
left behind. The films draw on the power of film in a way that challenges,
stimulates, and empowers.
The shorts selection includes a range of short dramas, but what stands out is the large number of short documentaries, such as 1961, directed by Stella Tchuisse about the ongoing war between two regions in Cameroon, and Beauty for Ashes, directed by Kurt Otabenga Orderson, which delves into the abandoned diamond mines on the border between South Africa and Namibia.
What is also noticeable about the short programme is the number of films featuring talented child actors that appear in short films such as Burros, directed by Jefferson Stein, in which a six-year-old girl discovers a Hispanic migrant her age at the border between the USA and Mexico and Salvador Dali directed by Eldiar Makadim from Kyrgystan in which a little boy has to cross a river and walk a long distance each day to get to school.
Features
Three feature films are exclusively shown
in cinema as part of some of the many partnerships that DIFF knows. In
collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Culture and Controluce, DIFF
presents the drama Nostalgia, directed by Mario Martone, a drama about
Felice, who returns to his hometown Naples after 40 years of absence. As part
of the same partnership, DIFF will present an Italian focus on feature films
online, which are soon to be announced.
In collaboration with VideoVision, DIFF brings exclusive cinema screenings of French films Eiffel and Notre-Dame on Fire. The romantic drama Eiffel, directed by Martin Bourboulon, follows the fictionalised romance between Eiffel and his childhood sweetheart. Notre-Dame on Fire, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, is a blow-by-blow recreation of the gripping events in 2019 when the cathedral suffered its biggest fire in history.
Programme and details
DIFF 2022 will be presented in a hybrid edition with online screenings at www.durbanfilmfest.com and a diverse live programme offered at Suncoast CineCentre, Durban. The live screening schedule is accessible on ccadiff.ukzn.ac.za
Tickets for the live screenings will be available directly at the Suncoast CineCentre www.cinecentre.co.za.
The virtual festival programme is available on www.durbanfilmfest.com
The 43rd edition of the festival is produced by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts, in partnership and with the support of KZN Film Commission, the National Film and Video Foundation, KZN Department of Arts & Culture, Avalon Group and other valued funders and partners.
See the full programme on https://www.durbanfilmfest.com
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