Discoveries from South Africa World Cinema

American journalists in Sudan are confronted with the dilemma of whether to return home to report on the atrocities they have seen, or to stay behind and help some of the victims they have encountered.

South African producer / director JON DAY spent the last 5 years making a documentary about the mysterious rap-rave group, DIE ANTWOORD. Art directed by surrealist photographer, ROGER BALLEN. Narrated by NINJA & ¥O-LANDI'S daughter, 16 JONES.

Power couple Jaci and JP find themselves in a bumpy predicament when a new work pitch for a baby brand forces them to play the perfect pretend parents.

Rescued from poachers, an endangered baby pangolin embarks on a journey back to the wild with help from a devoted human guardian in this documentary.

Tim holds Dave, the man that he loved in school when they were teenagers, captive in a motel room - the same man who as a boy betrayed and humiliated him. Tim's aim: To understand Dave's motivations, to humiliate, degrade and kill him... But will he be able to go through with turning his dark fantasy into reality?

A young law student, grieving for his dying mother, struggles to decide whether he should kill his unfaithful step-father.

This South African movie tracks the rise of a once-petty criminal to the heights of the criminal underworld. After cutting his teeth on hijacking, before moving onto bigger game, an ambitious man hits a setback when most of his gang are shot.

Two brothers — one a narcotics agent and the other a general — finally discover the identity of the drug lord who murdered their parents decades ago. They may kill each other before capturing the bad guys.

Two moms — once best friends, now arch-enemies — start a neighborhood war against each other when they find out their kids are head-over-heels in love.

A group of homeless misfits must fight for survival when they discover a plot to exterminate every homeless person in the city.

Through never-before-seen archival footage and first-hand accounts of those who knew him best, the film traces Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s rise as the voice of the oppressed, guided by faith, hope and an understanding of the power of forgiveness.

Years ago, the young Five Fingers fought for the rural town of Marseilles against brutal police oppression. Now, after fleeing in disgrace, Tau, one of them, returns to Marseilles, seeking only a peaceful life. When he finds the town under new threat, he must reluctantly fight to free it.

An elderly goat herder falls victim to a scam promising long-awaited reparations for her father's WWII service. Structured as a series of recurring visual 'variations', Variations on a Theme is a portrait of endurance and loss.

When an American plantation owner's wife and her sister interrupt an African death ritual to save the sacrificial goat, the witch doctor places a curse on them, summoning a god from the sea to slaughter them and anyone in its way with a panga, a curved, African machete.

First Officer John Carter is aboard a cruise ship hijacked by terrorists who plan to steal gold bullion from a U.S. Treasury ship, using a nuclear bomb as leverage

Kanarie (Afrikaans for 'Canary') is a coming-of-age musical war drama. Drafted into the South African army during apartheid, a young soldier joins the military's traveling choir, and romance on the battlefield causes him to deal with his long-repressed sexual identity through hardship, camaraderie, first love, and the liberating freedom of music, the true self can be discovered.

The Jungle Beat animals think it’s the best thing ever when an alien arrives in the jungle bringing with him the power of speech. They also surprisingly think it’s the best thing ever when they find out that he’s been sent to conquer them.

An old man, fated to collect souls for eternity, seeks atonement after trading his daughter's soul.

A teenager tries to cope with the loss of her twin sister by running away to boarding school. There, she finds a monster not too different from the one she was escaping – but way more powerful. Will she keep running, or defeat it?

Black Burns Fast is a queer and quirky coming of age film set in at a prestigious boarding school in South Africa. 17-year-old adorkable Luthando is on track for a normal academic year, until Ayanda arrives at the school and forces her to rethink everything. In the aftermath, Luthando struggles with juggling multiple identities to avoid rejection from her mother and her schoolmates as she comes to terms with her sexuality.

Hosted by Val Kilmer, the documentary follows playwright Nicholas Ellenbogen as he travels to remote communities in six different African countries. In each community, the residents have taken an holistic and somewhat controversial approach to managed wildlife care.

Timeless tale of Beauty and the Beast set in the period of the Vikings. Freya, a warrior and the beautiful daughter of a Viking king, is held prisoner on an island castle by a Beast whom has been cursed by his god Odin.

A young documentary filmmaker working for a struggling television station travels to South Africa for work.

Three friends come together to defend their valuable mining company from…aliens?! What could possibly go wrong?

Eight-year-old Bobo grows up on her family farm in Rhodesia in 1980 during the final days of the Bush War to end British colonial rule. Her eyes see conflict, the family's bond to the land, and the lasting wounds that war imprints on those who live through it.

A coming-of-age historical fiction story about Pierre Joubert, a diver with depth recovery unit and the first recorded diver to salvage gold off the ship, The Birkenhead.

Through a year of 30th birthdays, four best friends navigate relationships, heartbreak and a shocking situation that threatens to tear them apart.

Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.

When Hanky Pranky (alias Schucks), star of a candid camera TV show, loses his job to affirmative action, he applies for a job at a stress academy. It´s not long before Schucks discovers his new boss, Jack Paddaman, is as crooked as they come, but it´s too late: the employment contract is signed and sealed.A year passes, and Schucks is no better off. However, his candid camera videos, which poke fun at all sectors of post-1994 South Africa, prove a big hit with stressed-out government ministers. When the president asks Paddaman to make a movie to benefit street children, Schucks and his pals do all the hard work while Paddaman plans how he can get hold of the profits from the video sales. Add a scatterbrained secretary, a lovelorn traffic cop and a cunning street child and you have a roll-in-the aisles comedy with a distinctly South African flavour.

A mother and her three daughters — romantic Bee, sensible Evie, and child of nature Daisy — occupy the titular glass building, which has been completely sealed off to protect its occupants from a dementia-inducing toxin called the Shred that’s poisoning the air outside. Fearful of becoming like the lost souls who wander the abyss outside, the family keep a grasp on their past by performing sacred rituals. When Bee breaks the rules and lets an injured stranger into their midst, the family dynamic is shattered forever, as hidden truths upend the illusions the women have worked so hard to protect.

Nine friends, all harboring a dark secret, go camping in the woods. After a wild night of partying, they wake up with suicide bombs strapped to their chests, all with varying times on their countdown clocks. They decide to work out how to disarm the bombs or find help - until they discover they can 'take' one another's time by killing each other.

Frank Rautenbach leads a strong cast as Angus Buchan, a Zambian farmer of Scottish heritage, who leaves his farm in the midst of political unrest and racially charged land reclaims and travels south with his family to start a better life in KwaZulu Natal,South Africa.

When Chili Ncgobo, an honest but ambitious undercover cop, is cheated out of a major reward by his corrupt superiors, he infiltrates a cash-in-transit heist gang, and instead of busting them, he decides to participate in a one off score. He must face off against his partner who refuses to let him do it and one of the gang members who recognizes him as a cop.

Teboho Edkins and his father journey to Ethiopia, joining a community in mourning both his brother and victims of a plane crash.

An idealistic British drama school teacher, Jodi Rutherford, persuades a cynical South African farmer to prepare her for a role in a major film as an Afrikaans war heroine. In return Jodi undertakes to direct the annual concert on the Willemse farm. Jodi's interaction with the quirky small town citizens and the stubborn Kobus, teaches her that: "there is more to life than lights... camera... and action!"

A South African family comedy about three primary school girls and their obsessed mothers who share the same desire: for their girls to become Head Girl of their junior school. When things go badly for one of them, she becomes mean in her attempts to win, but after sacrificing the good qualities in her personality she finally learns what a true leader should be.

Intense love and hate bring a man and woman through personal tragedy.

After Paola is matched with a handsome online suitor, she arrives for a first date to discover a house full of dark and terrifying secrets.

The president of an African country wants to boost his economy with a new dam. He ignores the protests of the tribes in the flooded region, so they declare rebellion. To avoid bad publicity, the president doesn't use his army, but hires four international mercenaries, who shall find tribes leader Kuruba and smother the protest. However after learning about the tribes motivation, the Vietnam veterans T.J. and Cliff realize how they're being used and reconsider.

On a dead-end night shift at a remote fast food diner, three co-workers suspect a customer is a serial killer. After digging for proof, they quickly realize they're in over their heads.

Two sworn enemies, Boetie (Leon Schuster) and Beast (Kenneth Nkosi) are forced to do a road trip together on foot, only to discover that they have been conned into being part of a TV reality show.

A prodigious young soccer player from rural Queenstown must face the return of his washed-up, pro-footballer father, and navigate the choice between his team's success and his own dreams.

This is an alien invasion film like no other – the aliens are miniature but still want to take over the world!

Diary of an Elephant Orphan takes us through the struggles and turmoils of orphaned baby elephants and the people who have made it their life's mission to save them. Khanyisa is the newest addition to the elephant sanctuary.

After Paola is matched with a handsome online suitor, she arrives for a first date to discover a house full of dark and terrifying secrets.

A drifter and his pet puma stand up against a motorcycle gang in a small American town.

Years ago, the young Five Fingers fought for the rural town of Marseilles against brutal police oppression. Now, after fleeing in disgrace, Tau, one of them, returns to Marseilles, seeking only a peaceful life. When he finds the town under new threat, he must reluctantly fight to free it.

A motorcycle racer falls in love with a blind girl.

MEAT-THING is a absurdist comedy about Jo, a quiet butcher whose routine unravels when a slab of meat begins to speak to her. As the meat—strangely alive and deeply self-aware—forces Jo to confront questions of existence, shame, and meaning, she spirals through a city that continues without noticing. Haunted but unwilling to accept what’s happening, Jo carries the talking flesh to a friend’s ramen shop, where, under the weight of his own denial, he gives it up. The meat is chopped and served without protest. A deadpan exploration of guilt, disconnection, and the absurd comfort of pretending nothing’s wrong.

When Chili Ncgobo, an honest but ambitious undercover cop, is cheated out of a major reward by his corrupt superiors, he infiltrates a cash-in-transit heist gang, and instead of busting them, he decides to participate in a one off score. He must face off against his partner who refuses to let him do it and one of the gang members who recognizes him as a cop.

South Africa, Free State region, isolated stronghold to the Afrikaans white ethnic minority culture. In this conservative farming territory obsessed with strength and masculinity, Janno is different, secretive, emotionally frail. One day his mother, fiercely religious, brings home Pieter, a hardened street orphan she wants to save, and asks Janno to make this stranger into his brother. The two boys start a fight for power, heritage and parental love.

Random people are terrorized by a malevolent man who brings their worst fears to life.

Eleven-year-old Thabo wants to become a private detective like in the movies. If only his home, the small African village of Hlatikulu, was not the most peaceful savannah paradise. But things take a sudden turn when a rhino is murdered in the neighboring safari park because of its precious horn.

Over the course of one fateful day, a corrupt businessman and his socialite wife race to save their daughter from a notorious crime lord.

Sixty years ago, in an obscure corner of Africa, the only survivor of a light aircraft crash was a baby boy. Perhaps it was the miracle of his survival that gave him the gift of “sight,” and he became a Sangoma, the seer of the Kuvuki tribe, interpreting the wishes of The Great One through the throwing of the bones. Hence his name, “Bones.” Today, at an advanced age but still fit in mind and body, his mission is to pass on his wisdom to his son, Mathambo, and guide him into manhood – a mission doomed to fail because of both of their obsessive personalities.

Through a year of 30th birthdays, four best friends navigate relationships, heartbreak and a shocking situation that threatens to tear them apart.

Timeless tale of Beauty and the Beast set in the period of the Vikings. Freya, a warrior and the beautiful daughter of a Viking king, is held prisoner on an island castle by a Beast whom has been cursed by his god Odin.

On the anniversary of the Kivu massacre, a risk-averse ride-share driver, Didier Mulegwa, a war refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, experiences the ride of his life when Sandile, a seven-year-old deaf child, escapes his kidnapper and jumps into his car.

A schoolteacher tells his students the story of his life before he found success, navigating betrayal, financial hardship and selling drugs.

When Hanky Pranky (alias Schucks), star of a candid camera TV show, loses his job to affirmative action, he applies for a job at a stress academy. It´s not long before Schucks discovers his new boss, Jack Paddaman, is as crooked as they come, but it´s too late: the employment contract is signed and sealed.A year passes, and Schucks is no better off. However, his candid camera videos, which poke fun at all sectors of post-1994 South Africa, prove a big hit with stressed-out government ministers. When the president asks Paddaman to make a movie to benefit street children, Schucks and his pals do all the hard work while Paddaman plans how he can get hold of the profits from the video sales. Add a scatterbrained secretary, a lovelorn traffic cop and a cunning street child and you have a roll-in-the aisles comedy with a distinctly South African flavour.