EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL IN ESWATINI AND LESOTHO

 

(An image from “This Is Not A Burial, It’s a Resurrection”)

As part of the European Film Festival in South Africa a three-day film programme will take place at the Alliance Française in Mbabane between October 21 and 23, and at the Alliance Française in Maseru between October 28 and 30.

 

Films for eSwatini and Lesotho

This year’s extension to Lesotho and eSwatini is an opportunity for new audiences to see award-winning films that are unlikely to reach local screens in these countries. Due to technical conditions, the Alliance Française line-up is different from that in South Africa.

A cornerstone of the programme is the presentation of two landmark films that have emerged out of both countries in recent years. The multi-award-winning Sotho film, This Is Not A Burial, It’s a Resurrection is the only film ever submitted to the Academy Awards by Lesotho. Directed by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, it is the story of an 80-year old widow who ignites the spirit of resilience within her community when her village is threatened with forced resettlement due to the building of a dam.

(Left: Image from “Liyana”)

In the exceptional Swazi story Liyana, five orphaned children under the guidance of story-teller Gcina Mhlophe, transform past personal trauma into an original tale about a girl named Liyana. Directed by Aaron and Amanda Kopp, this well-crafted mix of animation and documentary has won awards all over the world for Liyana.

This Is Not A Burial, It’s a Resurrection and Liyana demonstrate the exciting potential for filmmaking that exists in Lesotho and eSwatini.

Migration is a way of life for many in Lesotho and eSwatini who travel to South Africa and other destinations searching for work or a new life. Three of the films in the festival look at migration from different perspectives.

(Right: An image from “As Far As I Can Walk”)

As Far As I Can Walk, the Serbian/ French/ Luxembourgian/ Bulgarian/ Lithuanian co-production directed by Stefan Arsenijević, highlights that it’s not just securing a roof over one’s head but also the challenges of emotional and intellectual deprivation that young migrants in Europe face today.

The Oscar-nominated film The Man Who Sold His Skin directed by Kaouther Ben Hania is a unique co-production between Tunisia, France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Turkey and Cyprus that uses the tension between art and commerce as fuel for a sobering story about a Syrian refugee who allows his back to become a canvas for a famous tattoo artist.

Austrian Arash T Riahi’s Oskar and Lilli: Where No-one Knows Us focuses on two Chechen refugee children living in Austria who are separated from their mother and how their hopes of being reunited with her sustain their lives in challenging circumstances.

Completing the programme at the Alliance Française, in both eSwatini and Lesotho, are the films France and Supa Modo. The high-paced France by French filmmaker Bruno Dumont takes a satirical look at modern media through the life of a celebrity journalist who loses confidence as she experiences an identity crisis. A choice for families and younger audiences alike is Likarion Wainaina’s German-Kenyan production Supa Modo, the heart-warming story of a young girl whose dream of becoming a superhero is threatened by terminal illness, and how her village rallies together to make her dream come true.

Film screenings will be free, visit the Screenings page of https://www.eurofilmfest.co.za for more information on the programmes in eSwatini and Lesotho.

Accessing the South African online programme

Good news for film-lovers is that films from the South African programme will be available online in both eSwatini and Lesotho between October 13 and 23, 2022.

The European Film Festival 2022 is a partnership project of the Delegation of the European Union to South Africa and 14 European embassies and cultural agencies in South Africa: the Embassies of Austria, Belgium, Georgia, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the British Council, Camoes Institute of Portugal, French Institute in South Africa, Goethe-Institut, Italian Cultural Institute and Wallonie-Bruxelles International. The festival is organised in cooperation with Cineuropa and coordinated by Creative WorkZone.

The 2022 festival in Lesotho is presented in partnership with the EU Delegation to Lesotho and the Alliance Française.

For more information on The European Film Festival 2022, click on the EFF logo to the right of this article.