The second instalment of the three-part Out in Africa Gay and Lesbian Film Festival opens on August 12.
? This season’s short programme of 11 works is, surprisingly, more meaningful than the preceding season that took place in February. Highlights include Kareem J Mortimer’s Children of God, made entirely in the Bahamas. This angst-ridden black-boy-meets-white-boy love story is fraught with the guilt of coming out in a religious backwoods. Spain’s Jose Goenaga engages with the rare subject of lesbian senior citizens in For 80 Days, and the erotic gets an art-house makeover in Christophe Honore’s ground-breaking Man at Bath, which stars real-life porn icon François Sagat.
Nu Metro, Hyde Park. From August 12 to 21. For schedules and info visit : www.oia .co.za.
? Celebrate one of the founding fathers of modern cinema with The French Institute of South Africa, iMPAC and the French embassy. The works of early filmmaker Georges Méliès are whacky, dreamy and artistically surreal, and it is a real treat to be able to enjoy them on a bigger screen. This programme of short films includes the famous Voyage sur la lune (Trip to the Moon) and will be accompanied by live music courtesy of the Rotoscope Orchestra under the direction of local artist Magalela Mtshali. iMPAC is an initiative aimed at fostering exploration in the motion picture industry on the African continent.
Open Window Campus, John Vorster Drive, Centurion. On August 14 at 6.30pm. The cover charge is R60. Tel: 011 727 5106.