From 21 to 23 February Johannesburg cinema audiences can once again enjoy a
wide variety of quality films at Jozi Film Festival (JFF2014), now in its third year.
“Jozi is well represented at JFF2014,’ says Lisa Henry, founder and organiser of
the festival.
“Our opening night film, iNumber Number by Donovan Marsh, is an action heist
movie with Johannesburg as the backdrop.
Shotgun Garfunkel, The Fastest Film Ever Made, will also screen, which is
another real Jo’burg film about 30-somethings trying to relive their glory days.
Director Andrew Worsdale’s “killer romance’, Durban Poison, is also included in
the line-up.’
Continues Henry: “Our short fiction entries, both local and international, offer
some serious, funny, quirky and bittersweet moments on film. Some run for a
few minutes, some just under half an hour.’
International and national line-up
“We think South African entries Scapegoat and The Morning After Spill will have
audiences laughing out loud while the beautifully shot Afrikaans-language entry,
Die Lang Kat is a poignant, tense, well-acted and unique production with
incredible attention to detail,’ comments Henry.
Other South African productions Past Tense and Security screens, while Love at
First Sight and The Possum Drop from the UK and US respectively will also show.
Feature-length doccies are strong and cover a wide range of topics. Riaan
Hendrick’s The Devil’s Lair (SA) will screen alongside Much Ado About Knotting
(India) with Finding Hillywoood (Rwanda / SA) and Le Savoir est Une Lumiere
(Burkina Faso) also part of the line-up.
Conservation films this year include Unfair Game: The Politics of Poaching
(Zambia / Swaziland / USA) as well as Guardians of the Wild.
Henry says: “It’s exciting to have international films in our line-up for the first
time but what never fails to keep us motivated is the support we get from local
filmmakers who need this platform to get their works screened.’
Panel discussions
Warwick Allan of Mushroom Media in Johannesburg has come on board to help to
run a panel discussion around the post production side of the film industry. He
will be tailoring a seminar that covers cinematography, grading, online editing
and music, and what it takes to achieve an international standard in the overall
look and finish of a film. And once again, Trish Malone will be talking scriptwriting
and script development. As was the case in previous years, Q&A sessions are
lined up post screenings.
Venues
JFF2014 screenings take place at The Bioscope Independent Cinema in the
Maboneng Precinct in downtown Johannesburg, CineCentre at Killarney Mall and
The Rand Club, which will open its doors to Jozi film fanatics on Sunday 23
February. Moviegoers can enjoy lunch, followed by a choice of two screenings.
Jahmil X.T. Qubeka’s Of Good Report will screen as well as a wrap of the best
short fiction films from the festival.
JFF2014 Mobile Competition
Adding another opportunity for creativity, enjoyment and accessibility for anyone
with a smart phone, the JFF2014 Mobile Competition has been announced.
Sponsored by carelnolte.com and urbanespresso, prizes on offer include five R1
000 cash prizes.
“Keeping it simple to ensure broad participation, the format this year is limited to
six-second Vine vids shot around the theme “Unexpected’,’ explains Henry.
“Finalists will be announced at the start of the festival and the winner will be
selected at the awards ceremony.’
Promoting local filmmakers
“As always, we continue to offer a huge variety of films which reflect our diverse
city, the people living in it and their wide range of interests. We will continue to
support and promote our local filmmakers as a priority but are pleased to be
able to offer some international gems, which we hope broaden our audiences’
horizons and offer a different voice on issues that affect us all as human beings,’
concludes Henry.
