About 80 submissions were received for this year’s Jozi Film Festival (JFF), which
takes place from 15 to 17 February 2013.
The festival opens with the international premiere of Fanie Fourie’s Lobola on
Friday 15 February at Villa Arcadia.
“Last year 27 films were screened over three days and approximately 800
people attended the festival. We received about 80 submissions this time, which
is not bad for our second year. JFF enjoys support from Business Arts South
Africa (BASA), Jo’burg Tourism, the National Film and Video Foundation, Radio
Today, SAFM and Gauteng Tourism, to name a few,’ says Lisa Henry, festival
founder.
In a groundbreaking move JFF recently announced its mobile film category,
sponsored by Vodacom. “We are the only festival in the country to have such a
competition,’ says Henry. “Our motto at JFF is that “we love Jozi, we love film’
and so we came up with this idea to get people out into the streets and tell us
their diverse stories and experiences.’ According to Henry, JFF received some
excellent films, mostly based on filmmakers’ experiences on living in Jozi.
The finalists’ videos went online on
www.jozifilmfestival.co.za from 26 January 2013 and the public are able to vote
via sms (49488) for their top three entries.
Films that make a difference
In an effort to raise public awareness about wildlife and social and political
issues, JFF will screen several documentaries about controversial matters that
affect the way we live and also the preservation of the natural world that is
essential to our survival.
As the demand for rhino horn soars, the slaughter continues. With rhino horn
now worth more than gold, poachers are relentless in their pursuit of these
animals, virtually on the brink of extinction.
However, filmmakers employ equal measures of persistence and tenacity when
making movies that address the atrocities that greed inflicts on the natural
world. One such revolutionary movie is the documentary, The Last Rhino, which
examines the poaching industry from Africa to Asia.
Jonah Hull from Al Jazeera English, who produced The Last Rhino with South
African filmmaker Clifford Bestall, will be available for Q & A sessions (dates to be
confirmed) at the festival.
The Last Rhino will screen at Villa Arcadia on Saturday 16 February.
JFF will feature other thought-provoking documentaries such as All the
President’s Elephants, about Sharon Pincott and the 400-strong herd of
presidential elephants in Zimbabwe, which has been described as “one of the
most remarkable relationships between humans and wild elephants ever
documented’; You, Me, Mankosi, which premieres at the festival and is about life
in the rural Transkei from three very different perspectives; and Orania, a 2012
documentary film written and directed by Tobias Lindner that gives insight into
the segregated town of Orania in the northern Cape.
Feature films such as Jozi Kings and Zama Zama will also be shown.
JFF will rely on technical support from The Film and TV Department at Wits.
Unique venues
Villa Arcadia in Parktown, nestled in the magnificent urban forest of
Johannesburg, is a beautiful Herbert Baker building with stunning views of Jozi,
and a new venue for JFF screenings. Films will also be shown at the innovative
city venue, The Bioscope in the Maboneng Precinct, while audiences can enjoy
open-air screenings in Kliptown, Soweto.
Everyone’s festival
Movie tickets cost only R20 each to make the festival as accessible as possible to
the public. Free screenings will be held too.
Visit: www.jozifilmfestival.co.za for more information.
