R22.80 June 2011 www.thecallsheet.co.za
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32ND DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FILM FESTIVAL
Mama Africa
THE 32ND Annual Durban International Film Festival will be hosting several excellent feature films and documentaries this year.
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IGHLIGHTS of the Festival include Terence Malick’s The Tree of Life, The South African premiere of Oliver Hermanus’s Skoonheid and Paula van der Oest’s Black Butterflies. On the documentary side Ryley Grunewald’s The Dawn of a New Day and Leonard RetelHelmrich’s Position Among the Stars are the ones to watch out for. The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) runs from 21–31 July 2011 at venues all over Durban, including selected township venues. With more than 250 screenings over ten days as well as workshops, master classes and seminars for filmmakers, this event is a must attend for the film industry. The 32nd Durban International Film Festival kicks off on 21 July 2011 with the world premiere of the South African film Otelo Burning, directed by Sara Blecher. This entertaining and heart warming film about a group of South African township kids who discover surfing as a way of overcoming the pressures of life, will surely prove a
fantastic start to the festival. The festival will be crammed with great films from around the world. Skoonheid, Oliver Hermanus’s groundbreaking film which was not only the first Afrikaans language film to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival but was also selected in the Un Certain Regard section, will have its first South African screening at the festival. DIFF will also present the world premieres of Charlie Vundla’s noir film How To Steal 2 Million, John Barker’s thrilling heist flick 31 Million Reasons, Faith Isiakpere’s
crime drama The Algiers Murders, Eldorado by new talents Shaldon Ferris and Lorreal Ferris, the hilarious comedy Taka Takata by Damir Radonic, and The Dream by Zuko Nodada. Making their African premieres are Mukunda Michael Dewil’s psychological thriller Retribution and Paula van der Oest’s moving film about Ingrid Jonker, Black Butterflies. DIFF 2011 includes the African premiere of the year’s most anticipated film – the reclusive Terrence Malick’s The Tree Of Life, which just won the
Palme d’Or in Cannes. Other highlights include Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris, which will close the festival, Bela Tarr’s The Turin Horse, Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Elena, Jose Padilha’s Elite Squad 2 – The Enemy Within, Takeshi Kitano’s Outrage, Michel Ocelot’s Tales Of The Night, SJ Clarkson’s Toast, Lee Chang-dong’s Poetry, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. African cinema will also be well-represented by Djo Tunda Wa Munga’s striking and unique
Viva Riva!, Nigerian director Andrew Donsunmu’s visually beautiful Restless City, Justin Chadwick’s uplifting Kenya-set film The First Grader, and Ebrahim El Batout’s Hawi which first appeared in Durban as a project at the inaugural Durban FilmMart in 2010. DIFF will focus on two national cinemas this year: India and Canada. Six films from highly regarded Indian director Satyajit Ray will be presented, alongside exciting new works by talented new Indian filmmakers. Leena Manimekelai will present the world premiere of her film The Dead Sea and other Indian films include Onir’s I Am, Sanjoy Nag’s Memories In March, Kaushik Mukherjee’s Bengali hip hop film Asshole, and Aamir Bashir’s Autumn. In a very strong year for Canadian cinema, DIFF will present Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar-nominated Incendies, the gritty drama Jo For Jonathan, Ed GassDonnelly’s Small Town Murder Songs, Xavier Dolan’s ravishing Heartbeats, and the quirky Familiar Ground by Stephane Lafleur. Canadian documentaries include Barry Steven’s The Prosecutor, a fascinating look at the International Criminal Court, and Shannon Walsh’s St. Henri, The 26th Of August. Continued on page six