Discoveries from South Africa World Cinema

At the age of one, Hakim is found at the side of his dead mother by an old man who sends him to a children's village for AIDS orphans.

Anna Ronquillo (29), a French-Moroccan émigré, is caught working illegally in a Cape Town restaurant. She has 48 hours to find a husband to avoid having to leave the country.

In the fictional town of Spoggenpoelville, Mr. Spog and Mr. Poel rule supreme. Though not particularly bright, they run and own everything. To boot, they are the town’s mayor and deputy mayor. But one day two men from Johannesburg throw a spanner in the works. Mr. Brand and Mr. Borelli want to buy a piece of Spoggenpoelville, complete with mineral rights. Spog and Poel say no. To retaliate, the two speculators decide to run for mayor and deputy mayor. Suddenly Spog and Poel must learn how to become politicians, charm the ladies and outwit the villains, all the while trying to evade a clown-like figure who wants to sell them a goldmine.

Die groot twis, an Afrikaans kung fu comedy short film featuring puppets, is set in a landscape that stretches from the vast plains of the Karoo to the slopes of the Drakensberg. The teaser of writer and director Johann Vermaak’s satire promises “Pop, skiet en donder” in the story that turns the history of The Great Trek on its head. The short film is described as an Afrikaans Western with a retro approach, containing a strong dose of feminism to boot.

In a world of constant motion, whether our movements are inspired or incidental, we must be reminded to occasionally find out what we might find in stillness.

"Sando to Samantha" is the true story of Sando Willemse, aka Samantha Fox, a black drag queen turned soldier in the South African Defence Force. Sando perfected the art of 'dikvel' - a real thick skinned queen who never let life's challenges get the better of him.

2024 South African film

“Wathinta abafazi, Wathin’imbokodo” (you strike a woman, you strike a rock) is a phrase commonly used to describe the strength of a woman. It is used to describe the epitome of strength found in women. Sizani, an eight-year-old girl, uses ukuqoqisa – a storytelling form where rocks are used as characters in a story – to tell the story of how she was sexually violated.

A teenage girl is kidnapped. Her friends and police try to find her.

The first ever DVD release of a live performance by Natanil features his acclaimed stage production, CATHEDRAL, filmed from 18 to 21 March 2010 at Theatre of Marcellus, Emperors Palace. Natanil transports his audience on a journey through time, taking a unique look at the age-old phenomenon of mankind being captured, seduced, threatened and destroyed by his own creations. With original music ranging from pop, rock and soul to old-world torch songs and jazz, the show also includes a collection of typical Natanil monologues in English and Afrikaans! Fantastical, hysterical, honest, different, truly funny and always entertaining, this is the world according to Natanil. Includes Nataniel monologues in English & Afrikaans!

Within neglected multi-storey hostels, Sonder explores Black Zulu queer masculinities shaped by surveillance, violence, and desire, where fragile performances of masculinity, intimacy, and survival are constantly negotiated.

The Hour After Midnight investigates the contested death of Dr Neil Aggett under apartheid detention, uncovering state surveillance, torture, and decades-long struggles for truth, justice, and accountability in South Africa.

Made in the 1970s, a time when South Africans were constantly being reminded about the communist onslaught, this features Hank (originally English-speaking) and Hennery (Afrikaans-speaking), two very laid-back secret agents who, together with a black colleague (Vriend), manage to foil a terrorist plot to take over the country. They are introduced as beach bums and for at least the first half the film comes across as a not very good buddy movie. For much of the time we're not too certain of just who they are and from whom they get their orders, though once in a while they speak to someone in Pretoria. On the way into the mountains of Lesotho, they pick up a girl (a communist agent who switches sides without any qualms when she falls in love with Hennery). The unlikely baddies are an Afrikaans-speaking group of communists, disguised as members of a monastic order. Interestingly, the agents' black comrade is treated throughout as an equal and the race question doesn't really come into it.

The story centers on Arnold, a rugged, opportunistic adventurer traveling through the wilderness of southern Africa. While exploring Swaziland, he hits the ultimate jackpot: discovering a hidden, untapped diamond mine. However, keeping the fortune for himself proves complicated as he becomes entangled in a web of sensuality, greed, and local power dynamics. Arnold begins a passionate affair with Verona, a sophisticated and sharp-witted woman who serves as the director of a prominent magazine. At the same time, his attention is fiercely divided by his attraction to Peggy, an alluring local woman. As Arnold tries to secure his newly found diamond wealth, the boundaries between business, survival, and raw sexual desire blur in the heat of the African landscape.

The story of Sara Baartman’s final repatriation to South Africa in 2002, which was catalysed by a 1998 poem, “I’ve Come To Take You Home” by writer and activist Diana Ferrus.

Muizenberg, a suburb of Cape Town, in the late 1940s. Meshet, a solitary man lives beside Cecil Rhodes’ decaying estate. He unofficially maintains the house and grounds, his days shaped by quiet rituals of care and survival. When the City Council announces plans to convert the property into a museum and appoint a »proper« caretaker, Meshet faces eviction.

When Enkai, the curious daughter of a powerful creator figure, ventures prematurely to Earth, she witnesses the exploitation of a sacred mountain in Kirinyaga by a Euro-Kenyan corporation. As resistance brews among marginalized communities, Shiro intervenes to protect her daughter; while silently battling a deep internal fracture of her own.

An enthralling documentary delving into the life and career of Johan "Rassie" Erasmus, one of rugby's most iconic figures. Divided into chronological chapters — from a young boy dreaming of playing for Despatch, through his Springbok playing career, to his groundbreaking tenure as coach and Director of Rugby — the film traces a maverick whose unorthodox approach transformed player selection and tactics. Exploring Rassie's upbringing during apartheid, the seeds of his rugby obsession, and personal struggles along the way, it chronicles how he turned down Springbok captaincy, worked his way up through coaching ranks, and ultimately summoned all his knowledge to address self-belief, patriotism, transformation and meritocracy — delivering South Africa's third Rugby World Cup victory in 2019. Featuring footage, photos and interviews with coaches, journalists and media personalities, this compelling biopic offers a window into the proud South African's life story and hard-earned fairytale.

In a quiet 1920s home, a self-possessed woman invites a mysterious stranger inside for a drink, and through a charged encounter discovers that being truly seen may reveal more about herself than she ever intended.

An ex A-list South African actress has been relegated to the sideline of the theater community due the fact that she's reached a "certain age". This is her struggle to regain her audience and claw her way back into the limelight.

In South Africa, many cultures revere the ocean as the realm in which their ancestor's dwell. When a child asks their teacher Nowandle, "How do the ancestors get into the sea?", a mystical adventure unfolds in Nowandle's loving narration against an African operatic choral score.

In a college, Clay Lwazi, the only son of an Awol Priest Steven Lwazi) is in love with Miriam, daughter of Mr. Leozora-a well-known wealthy man. As their love grows, Clay's friend, Rebecca comes across scheming to be in love with Clay as well.

Part of the series Project 10 - Real Stories from a Free South Africa.

The ocean speaks about how humans treat it. On a deserted beach, a woman becomes drawn to the shoreline, where she witnesses something strange.

Helena Steenkamp, a Khomani - San woman from the Kalahari, South Africa joins one of the last Elders of her people to revive their endangered N!uu language.

GHAM! is an intimate look inside the world of The Temple Boys from Ravensmead, whose viral Afrikaans hits in the Gqom genre once promised an escape from the Cape Flats. Three years after their TikTok fame, the group grapples with fading dreams, identity and adulthood. Intimate and raw, the documentary captures their resilience, humour and DIY spirit as they fight to keep their dream alive.

A young man with blackened skin, dressed in formal attire reminiscent of blackface, approaches a piano simply drawn on a white wall. Unable to play it, he attempts to destroy it—with blows, weapons, and then fire.

A feature-length documentary on energy, inequality, and the uneven terrain of the climate transition, focused on three communities in South Africa, Kenya, and Western Sahara.

A poetic portrait of Albie Sachs, anti-apartheid icon and constitutional court judge, whose experiences under the apartheid regime and visionary ideals helped forge South Africa’s path to justice and transformation.

On a failed romantic island getaway, straight-laced orthodontist, Dr Shaloba Molefe decides to kidnap her unravelling family and won’t let them leave until they love her again…Brace Yourself!

Sihle reluctantly offers to drive his DJ friends to their gigs, but the night turns upside down when they get a call about a lifeless body in an apartment.

A group of YouTubers explore an abandoned hospital, but something sinister lurks within

After a dramatic evening, Jana (Kotze) and Chris (Wilhelm van der Walt) face a new day, each occupied by their own thoughts. Something serious and unspoken hangs in the air between them. As they follow their morning routine, the events of the previous night are gradually revealed. Emma and Philip developed the story and concept together, and Philip wrote the screenplay. He also directed the film with its intimate exploration of how life proceeds unabatedly, despite tragedy, pain and joy. They answered some questions about the film.

A little boy’s tears bring a tiny man, made of modelling clay, to life in Paul Crafford’s short film, Die boodskapper, this year in the Shotgun Shorts category of the Silwerskerm Festival. Single frame animation is combined with traditional filmmaking in this 12-minute movie that tells the story of a young boy, Jake (Liam Kruger), who finds himself caught in the middle of a ferocious conflict between his parents, Susan (Izaan du Toit) and Frank (Emile Hager).

The film shows Port Louis, the capital; workers on sugar plantations and road mending as well as colonial life in the then British dependency.

Father’s Day is a short film about Alakhe a 12-year-old boy who is raised by a single mother. Being the class nerd, Alakhe is selected to give a speech for a Father’s Day school event. He decides to go against his mother’s word and sets out to find the father he’s never met which opens a can of worms. Eventually, he discovers who his real father is.

In October 2020, Malungelo ’s world came crashing down. Her mother, a tough but big-hearted woman with a bellowing singing voice was murdered. She was shot 6 times as she enjoyed afternoon tea at her kitchen table. Malungelo’s son, 13-year-old Buyile witnessed the murder. As is customary, when a visitor arrives at a Zulu homestead, the children can be asked to restrain the family dogs. Buyile and a friend were playing in the front yard when 3 strangers came to the house. As instructed by the men, the youngsters held the growling dogs back so the trio could greet Mam’Fikile inside. But, within minutes of entering the home, the assassins opened fire. What could the 63-year-old grandmother possibly have done to warrant such a violent death? Malungelo believes it is because she refused to move off her land to make way for a coalmine. Mam’Fikile had a voice, and she used it.

An animated documentary celebrating the end of Apartheid and a unique cultural collaboration between artists and animators in South Africa.

Looks at a group of homeless people, the Bergies, in Cape Town, South Africa. Through a series of interviews, the film traces the Bergie community back to their Khoisan roots, outlines colonial dispossession, and looks at problems with alcohol dependency. It also gives the community a chance to tell their story, by zooming in on the daily life of two couples

When Dorothy is sitting under the tree to throw out her father's ashes, her memories of him return to teach her something. She has to face some demons in her grief, and can only be free after she manages these emotions.

Through Godide, Phumulani Ntuli invites the viewer to a visual exploration where animation and collages collide, while skilfully navigating the convergence of documentary and fiction.

Spike is a rhino with enormous horns. And as such, is alpha to the herd. But after being dehorned, everything he ever knew about being a man is turned on its head, as he is forced to negotiate the unknown wilds of the savannah and save his kids.

Cloud Migration presents a body of work by the talented South African artist Phumulani Ntuli whose diverse practice delves into contemporary themes, exploring complex issues of identity, migration and the human condition.

A hermit, living in a mini-museum of South African 'glory days' is forced to face reality and shed his naive 'Rainbow Nation' idealism after he finds out his hero Nelson Mandela has passed away.

During the COVID pandemic, everyone withdrew into their homes, and social interaction came to a virtual standstill. But in the neighborhood in Durban, South Africa, where filmmaker Jethro Westraad comes from, this was hardly any different from the normal situation.

Patches, a ragdoll, finds himself damaged in a bin. He notices a needle and thread on a desk above him, but in order to get there, he'll need to face some challenges.