The third Annual 3 Continents Film Festival hits South Africa’s shores again this September. The 3 Continents Film Festival is an initiative of various organisations including Lawyers for Human Rights, Uhuru Productions and Southern African Communications for Development. The festival showcases outstanding political cinema including documentary, feature and short narrative films from the three continents of Latin America, Africa and Asia.
This year’s festival has a strong emphasis on children, their struggles, and their courage, with a vast array of stories from Africa, including Mauritania, Liberia, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and closer to home Kenya, Tanzania, DRC, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. The numerous South African films featured in this year’s festival include: Rehad Desai’s Born into Struggle (Winner of the 6th Encounters International Documentary Festival Audience Award), Akiedah Mohammed’s Freedom is a Personal Journey, Teboho Edkins’ Ask me, I am Positive, and Meg Rickard’s Azure. The opening night film, Original Child Bomb, from South African Carey Schonegevel, is a poetic and contemplative film about the nuclear bomb and its cost to humanity. Also featured is Zimbabwe Countdown, a hard-hitting controversial documentary, from Cape Town based director Michael Raeburn. Visiting Latin American directors, Miguel Mirra from Argentina and Adelaida Trujillo Caicedo from Columbia, will also be in attendance at this year’s festival.
The 3 Continents Film Festival is committed to promoting human rights culture in South Africa by showcasing cinema that highlights the plight and perseverance of ordinary people who triumph over injustice and discrimination. The 3 Continents is also a festival of global significance. In December 2004, the festival travels to various cities in India for the first time. Next year, a 3 Continents Filmmakers Congress is scheduled to take place in Brazil.
It is hoped that these initiatives will expand the festival, sustain an international vision of solidarity, and provide the highest quality political cinema for local audiences. The festival also works in unison with local social movements that give voice to the silenced and promote culture in the global South that recognises our common humanity and aspirations for social justice. In this regard, numerous cinema screenings will be held in cooperation with local activists such as IndiMedia, the Anti-War Coalition, the Palestinian Solidarity Committee and Cosatu. Further, outreach screenings will be held across the country at universities and community halls.
The details:
Cape Town Cinema Nouveau, V&A Waterfront, Thursday September 2- 12
Johannesburg Cinema Nouveau, Rosebank Mall, Thursday 9 -19
For more information, visit www.3continentsfestival.co.za