The 10th Durban FilmMart, the industry development program of the Durban International Film Festival closed in style with its awards ceremony.
Durban International Film Festival
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10th Durban FilmMart Announces Winners
Durban FilmMart Awards 2019 Winners
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Durban International Film Festival 2019 Winners – LES MISÉRABLES and FOR SAMA Win Top Prizes
Nicole Schafer, director of Buddha in Africa accepts her award for Best South African Documentary at the 40th Durban International Film Festival The 40th Durban International Film Festival announced its winner at its awards ceremony with Les Misérables directed by Ladj Ly, winning Best Feature Film, and Back of the Moon directed by Angus Gibson winning for Best South African Feature Film.
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BUDDHA IN AFRICA to South African Premiere at Durban International Film Festival
Buddha in Africa, directed by Nicole Schafer Buddha in Africa, directed by KwaZulu-Natal-based filmmaker, Nicole Schafer, will make its South African Premier in the International Documentary Competition at the 40th Durban International Film Festival (18 to 28 July).
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Wavescape Surf and Ocean Festival Unveils 2019 Lineup for Durban International Film Festival
How to Learn How to Surf The Wavescape Surf and Ocean Festival will feature a lineup of 19 films at the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF). Wavecape will also bring Slide Night, featuring talks by ocean thought leaders on a wide range of topics – including science, sustainability, adventure and activism – to its program of films to be screened at DIFF from July 21 to 26, 2019.
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South Africa-meets-Bollywood BHAI’S CAFE to Close Durban International Film Festival 2019
Bhai’s Cafe directed by Maynard Kraak The South Africa-meets-Bollywood Bhai’s Cafe, directed by Maynard Kraak, and described as a “poignant little gem of a film about family, love and urban gentrification” will officially close this year’s 40th Durban International Film Festival on Saturday July 27.
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Jahmil X. T. Qubeka’s KNUCKLE CITY will Open Durban International Film Festival 2019
Knuckle City directed by Jahmil X. T. Qubeka Jahmil X. T. Qubeka’s Knuckle City much anticipated fourth feature film will be the opening film for the 40th edition of the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF). Dissecting notions of inherited toxic masculinity and the underbelly of the fighting world, Knuckle City is a riveting exploration of the psychology of a fighter from the Mdantsane township known as the boxing mecca of South Africa.
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Durban International Film Festival Announces 2019 Jury incl. Directors Mohammed Siam and CJ Obasi
Durban International Film Festival 2019 Jury With just under two months until the start of the renowned South African film festival, the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) announced it jury members for its 40th edition.
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10 Docs Selected to Compete for Best Documentary at Durban International Film Festival 2019
A Girl in Return directed by Katrine W.Kjaer Ten insightful and impactful documentaries have been selected to compete at the 40th anniversary edition of the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) which takes place in Durban, South Africa, from July 18 to 28, 2019.
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2018 Durban International Film Festival Awards: THE REPORTS ON SARAH AND SALEEM Wins Best Film
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The Reports on Sarah and Saleem[/caption]
The 39th Durban International Film Festival held its awards ceremony on Saturday and awarded the Best Feature Film prize to The Reports on Sarah and Saleem, directed by Muayad Alayan. Maisa Abd Elhadi was awarded Best Actress prize the for her role as Bisan in the film. A total of 17 awards were given out at the ceremony.
DIFF has recently been included as a Documentary Feature Qualifying Festival by the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences, which means that both the winners of the Best Documentary, New Moon and Best SA Documentary Sisters of the Wilderness, will now automatically qualify for consideration for an Oscar nomination.
39th Durban International Film Festival Awards
Best Feature Film: The Reports on Sarah and Saleem, directed by Muayad Alayan, and produced by Muayad Alayan, Rami Alayan, Hans de Wolf, Hanneke Niens, Rebekka Garrido, Rodrigo Iturralde, Georgina Gonzalez, and Alejandro Duran. Best South African Feature Film: High Fantasy, directed by Jenna Bass and produced by David Horler and Steven Markovitz. Best Documentary: New Moon, produced and directed by Philippa Ndisi-Hermann. Best South African Documentary: Sisters of the Wilderness, directed by Karin Slater and produced by Ronit Shapiro. Best Direction: Constantin Popescu for Pororoca Best Cinematography: Liviu Marghidan for Pororoca Best Screenplay: Jennifer Fox for The Tale Best Actor: Bogdan Dumitrache for his role as Tudor in Pororoca, directed by Constantin Popescu Best Actress: Maisa Abd Elhadi for her role as Bisan in The Reports on Sarah and Saleem Best Editing: Anne Fabini, Alex Hall and Gary Level for The Tale Artistic Bravery: was won jointly by High Fantasy, directed by Jenna Bass and Supa Modo directed by Likarion Wainaina. Best South African Short Film: Stillborn, directed by Jahmil X. T. Qubeka and produced by Huanxi Media Group, Xstream Pictures, and Yellowbone Entertainment. Best African Short Film: Aya, directed by Moufida Fedhila and produced by Appel d’Air Films. Best Short Film: The Patience of Water (La Paciencia Del Agua), directed by Guillem Almirall. Audience Choice Award: The State Against Mandela and the Others, directed by Nicolas Champeaux and Gilles Porte. Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award: Silas, directed by Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman and produced by Appian Way, Big World Cinema and Ink & Pepper Productions. Best Wavescape Film: Heavy Water, directed by Michael Oblowitz
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Durban FilmMart Awards 2018: CHEESE GIRL Wins Most Promising Documentary
Award winners at 2018 Durban FilmMart Durban FilmMart (DFM) – the industry development program of the Durban Film Office and Durban International Film Festival – ended the 2018 edition with an awards ceremony.
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Leli Maki Esq.’s TABLE MANNERS to World Premiere at Durban International Film Festival [Trailer]
Leli Maki Esq.’s Table Manners will World Premiere at this year’s Durban International Film Festival on July 23. Table Manners is a film about loss, love and finding oneself through one’s passion. Megan (Diaan Lawrenson) loses everything when her husband, Lloyd (Neels Van Jaarsveld), gets arrested for tax fraud and has to rebuild herself by rediscovering her love for cooking and the flavors of life. With the help of her best friend Lindiwe (Renate Stuurman), she learns that the path back home begins with realizing that she is enough and all she needs is her family, food and love. Life’s 3 courses made easy.
The script was written and produced by SAFTA Award winning writer and actress Nkuli Sibeko who drew from her own love of cooking and family as the inspiration for the script. This is the director’s theatrical debut, and Leli Maki Esq. drew inspiration for the film’s visual aesthetic from the connection that food has to emotions.
“In Table Manners the challenge was to channel Megan’s emotions through her relationship with the food; visually representing the sensation of her anger through burnt chocolate proved a challenge for us which my team and I met head on and with gusto. We’re proud of our film” says Maki.
Diaan Lawrenson and Renate Stuurman headline this visual feast for all the senses. Neels Van Jaarsveld, Thabo Malema, Fiona Ramsey and John Lata round off the strong cast as they all take turns tasting and learning from Diaan’s tasty yet wise creations.
Table Manners is the third film from the Jack&Jill Productions company which has had past successes at both Durban International Film Festival and the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles. The company self-funded its first two feature length projects: Freedom Mixtape, a documentary which was Durban International Film Festival 2014 and Winsome, a romantic comedy which was in competition in the Best First Feature Narrative category at the Pan African Film Festival 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kWzAqlWDXM
Table Manners will screen on July 23 at Suncoast, with further screenings on July 24, at Gateway and on July 27 at Suncoast.
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Durban International Film Festival to Celebrate 100th Anniversary of President Nelson Mandela’s Birth
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An Act Of Defiance[/caption]
2018 marks the 100th anniversary celebrations around the globe of President Nelson Mandela’s birthday, and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) will present three films that provide fascinating insights into one of the most celebrated statesmen to have ever lived.
The DIFF, which is organised by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts and takes place from July 19 to 29, will feature Celebrating Mandela One Hundred, An Act Of Defiance and The State Against Mandela and the Others.
Celebrating Mandela One Hundred, is a documentary feature produced and conceptualised by Anant Singh, and made with the support and endorsement of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. The film traces Mandela’s life from his roots in the rural village of Mveso, to becoming one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen. Celebrating Mandela One Hundred takes us beyond the political and into the personal, and features exclusive interviews with family members, close friends, comrades, politicians and international celebrities, telling us the story of a man who became an international icon.
An Act Of Defiance directed by Jean Van De Velde, tells the story of Bram Fischer who managed to reconcile his white Afrikaner roots with his desire for justice, joining the struggle against apartheid out of principle. He defended Nelson Mandela and his comrades in the Rivonia Trial of 1963 and 1964 – playing a crucial role in preventing the ANC-leaders being sentenced to death – and was an underground guerrilla at the same time.
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The State Against Mandela and the Others[/caption]
Linking in with this film The State Against Mandela and the Others directed by Nicolas Champeaux, Gilles Porte, is a documentary based on recently recovered archival recordings of the Rivonia Trial hearings. Although Mandela took centre stage during the historic trial, there were nine others who, like him, faced the death sentence and were subject to pitiless cross-examinations. The film transports us back into the thick of the courtroom battles and attempts to redress the historic balance by putting Mandela’s comrades centre stage. State Against Mandela and the Others is a reminder, says co-director Gilles Porte, “that all great things that happen in this world are achieved collectively.”