The Joburg Film Festival brought to you in partnership with MultiChoice, will kick off its six-day celebration of filmmaking and storytelling excellence on Tuesday 31st January 2023, with over 60 films that will be screened at the coveted festival.
The festival organisers announced the return of this leading film festival to take place this year, following a two-year hiatus. Joburg Film Festival is set to showcase some of the finest films from over 35 countries across the globe, including 20 African premieres and 27 South African premieres, and will run from Tuesday, 31st January 2023 to Sunday, 5th February 2023 at various locations across the city. This exceptional line-up includes films from South Africa, Tunisia, Brazil, Seoul, USA, Japan, Morocco, and more, with a mix of feature films and documentaries showcasing stories that cross cultural boundaries.
Here’s a long list of titles to look forward to this year:
Surviving Gaza
This multi-award-winning feature follows the life and struggles of Phuzi and his friends living in the lawless Gaza, who dream of Kwaito stardom.
Music Is My Life
A South African doccie that offers an engaging account of the life of Joseph Shabalala and his rise to international fame with his band Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Time Spent With Cats Is Never Wasted
Another highlight will be the Premiere of the locally produced feature film. This 172 min long feature is a stark piece of slow cinema that captures one man’s battle with the world around him. Joe, a small-town abattoir worker, leads us on an allegorical journey as his dream to fly compelled him to construct his own helicopter. It’s a ramshackle assembly of scrap and found objects and when an art buyer offers to purchase the flamboyant creation, it is a mixed blessing that has caused chaos in his small community that unjustifiably demands a stake in the potential spoils.
Under The Fig Trees
Shot in 5 countries including Tunisia, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Qatar, follows the lives of young women working the summer harvest.
Oink
An animated Dutch feature film about 9-year-old Babs who receives a pig named Oink as a present from her grandfather. She manages to convince her parents to allow her to keep it, however, her grandfather has an ulterior motive and is secretly taking part in the sausage competition.
Utuma
The multi-award-winning 2022 feature film, is set in the Bolivian highlands and tenderly portrays an elderly Quechua couple going through the difficulties of everyday life.
Miss Usaka
The 2021 feature, is shot in Denmark, Norway, and Japan and with a touching storyline that follows a young lady as she searches for the answers to life and finds herself along the way.
A Far Shore
This 2022 Japanese film is a true coming-of-age story about a poverty-stricken, underage mother dealing with an abusive husband.
Role
A South American documentary tells the story of ongoing Brazilian protests that have taken place in malls across the country as young people protest against the violence of security guards and shopping mall employees.
Also included for the first time this year, the Exploring VR Experience will include South features Azibuye and Container, The Soloist, and The Man Who Couldn’t Leave (Taiwan).
For a full listing of the films to be screened at the upcoming Joburg Film Festival, visit www.joburgfilmfestival.co.za.
The Joburg Film Festival once again boasts a well-known and globally respected team including Zimbabwean-born internationally renowned Festival Curator Keith Shiri and Film Festival Programmer, the equally established and known industry expert Jack Chiang.
The festival will also play host to a number of stars, producers, and directors, who will participate in Q&A sessions after select screenings across the programme, with daily red-carpet premieres giving fans the opportunity to meet the stars themselves.
The Joburg Film Fest will also include a selection of films from the Africa Film Heritage Project, a partnership between the Federation of Pan African Filmmakers (FEPACI), Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project along with its affiliate archive, the Cineteca di Bologna, and UNESCO. The aim of the project has been to restore and preserve 50 African films with historical, cultural, and artistic significance.
Joburg Film Festival Executive Director Timothy Mangwedi has this to say on the announcement of the confirmed festival line-up, “The Joburg Film Festival offers a multicultural international standard cinema experience for film lovers young and old, right in the heart of Joburg. Not only does the festival showcase thought-provoking and debate-stoking films from around the world, but also brings back the nostalgic storytelling from yesteryear via this selection of films being screened. Everyone is welcome to join the celebration.”
Affirming MultiChoice’s ongoing support of the Joburg Film Festival, Collen Dlamini Group Executive Corporate Affairs stated, “We pride ourselves in propelling the art of storytelling to our audiences. Not only do we showcase the best of local and international films on our platforms, but we also get behind programmes and initiatives like the Joburg Film Festival to further support the dissemination of quality content, further feeding our audience’s love for film and television”.
Festival screenings will take place in cinemas in Soweto, Maboneng, Sandton, and Rosebank. Tickets will be on sale from 9th January 2023 via Quicket.
