For the seventh year running, the South African public supported the Annual Tri Continental Film Festival which took place through September and October in Soweto, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban. Tri Continental screens engaging and thought provoking films that encourage dialogue and debate amongst the audience.
Audience awards were presented this year to four films out of a total 53 films screened at Cinema Nouveau and Sterk-Kinekor cinemas. Holly Lubbock’s Fezeka’s Voice was voted as the Best International Documentary. This inspirational film tells the story of the Fezeka High School choir and their journey of a lifetime from Gugulethu in Cape Town to England to take part in the Salisbury Arts Festival. Resonating with audiences around the country, Fezeka’s Voice received an overwhelming number of votes.
Once again, local documentary films about music and musicians also proved popular with the festival audience. This year, Lloyd Ross’s The Silver Fez about the world of Cape Malay choirs and the personalities that compete to be crowned champions, was chosen as the Best South African Documentary.
The Best Feature Film award was unanimously awarded to Skin, the compelling and moving true story of Sandra Laing, a black woman born to a white family in South Africa during the height of Apartheid. Skin premiered at the Johannesburg leg of the Tri Continental Film Festival at which Laing herself was a guest.
In the category Best Short Film, audiences selected Father Christmas Doesn’t Come Here by Bhekumuzi Sibiya, one of a number of emerging filmmakers featured at the Tri Continental Film Festival.
“The Tri Continental Film Festival features would not have been possible without the funding of The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, SABC, The National Film and Video Foundation, The Goethe Institut, The French Embassy, French Institute of South Africa, The Cape Film Commission and Timberland,’ said festival director Zivia Desai. “Our heartfelt thanks to these funders and our partner organizations.’
