In addition, the festival offers free filmmaker workshops, industry seminars and public discussion forums for professionals, aspirants and interested public. DIFF will also host the 3rd edition of Talent Campus Durban.
This year marks the launch of the Durban FilmMart (DFM), a joint programme of the Durban International Film Festival and the Durban Film Office (DFO) where African project representatives will meet international financiers in specialised Finance and Producer forums. DIFF presents a series of Africa in Focus workshops and seminars tailor-made for film professionals.
The festival programmers have scoured the globe for films that excite, thrill, raise awareness and provoke. These films will be presented in over 200 screenings at venues across Durban and in surrounding communities.
The festival will open with the world premiere of Khalo Matabane's State Of Violence, a powerful tale of revenge, history and memory. The closing film is Josh Appignanesi's hilarious comedy, The Infidel, about a British Muslim who discovers that he was born Jewish.
This year the festival will present a focus on the cinema of Sweden, made up of five contemporary Swedish films under the banner Swedish Film Is Here, and five films by the great Ingmar Bergman in the section Swedish Film Is Bergman.
DIFF's documentary programme provides sharp insight into a spectrum of African realities, such as the inner city conflicts and concerns dramatically addressed in the world premiere of Rehad Desai's The Battle for Johannesburg, and inside stories from Cape Town informal settlements in When The Mountain Meets Its Shadow.
Filmmakers are key agents in keeping a watchful eye on threats to human ecology and environmental balance in films such as Scientists Under Attack, and South African Carlos Franciso's American Foulbrood.
Recognising short films not only as an all-important stepping stone for filmmakers who wish to venture into documentary or feature film making but also as a valid art form in their own right, this year's DIFF offers 58 short films with a strong focus on films made in Africa and films about Africa. 22 are from South Africa and 19 have been made in African countries.
Optimising the presence of filmmakers and industry experts, DIFF offers a packed programme of seminars and workshops aimed at both aspirant filmmakers and professionals. An open, free workshop programme takes place daily at The Royal Hotel. Closed programmes include the 3rd Talent Campus Durban which brings together 40 filmmakers from 20 different African countries, the 9th UKZN Audio Visual's week-long workshop for first-time filmmakers, and the inaugural edition of the Durban FilmMart, a film financing and co-production initiative in partnership with the Durban Film Office.
Involving local and international producers and film financiers, the Durban FilmMart's Finance Forum and Producers Forum will provide capacity-building programmes and business networking opportunities to stimulate industry development and filmmaking in Africa. Allied to industry stimulation are DIFF audience development initiatives to broaden public access in community based venues and a Film Literacy programme for schools in the Inanda-Ntuzuma-KwaMashu area of Durban.
The Durban International Film Festival is organised by the Centre For Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal). The festival organisers are particularly pleased that, in a difficult funding climate, the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) has come aboard as a principal funder. Others include National Film and Video Foundation, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism, HIVOS, City Of Durban, German Embassy, Goethe Institut, Industrial Development Corporation, Commonwealth Foundation, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture and a range of other valued partners.
Principal screening venues of the festival are the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre; Nu Metro Cinecentre - Suncoast; Ster Kinekor Junction - Musgrave; Cinema Nouveau - Gateway; Ekhaya Multi-Arts Centre in KwaMashu and The Royal Hotel, with further screenings in township areas where cinemas are non-existent.
See all film synopses, screening schedules and workshop programme at www.cca.ukzn.ac.za or tel +27 (0)31 2602506 for further details.
