Exciting new South African feature films star at the festival, backing 2003’s Standard Bank Young Artist award-winner Dumisani Phakhati’s major retrospective. This is only the third time in the long history of the awards that one has gone to a filmmaker.
Eubulus Timothy’s frenetically paced rave generation Othello, with Sello Maake Ka Ncube, Candice Hillebrand and Hakeem Ka Kazeem takes Shakespeare to Cape Town locations.
Cinéastes can attend the world première of Liza Key’s Karoo Kitaar Blues — a documentary on the guitar players ‘discovered’ by David Kramer. (Is this South Africa’s Buena Vista Social Club?)
Norman Maake’s long awaited Soldiers of the Rock starring Ken Gampu will have its South African première at the festival. Showings from the international front include Werner Herzog‘s latest film Invincible as well as his classic Aguirre the Wrath of God.
The work of ethno-musicologist/filmmakers Harry Smith and Maya Deren will be honoured with three of Maya Deren’s silent short films screened to the live performance of new scores by South African composers Michael Blake, Carlo Mombelli and Jurgen Breuninger.
A new art house première from Ster-Kinekor will open the programme, which includes a selection of the cream of recent art house releases.
Popular film critic Leon van Nierop will be back to put his entertaining spin on several of the wide variety of screenings.
And based once again at Nombulelo Hall, the Film Resource Unit from Johannesburg will present a full programme of fascinating films from Africa.
Information supplied by National Arts Festival