DIFF is turning six years old this year. Here are some of the fictional works that will
be shown at the festival.
Cactus Flower
Producer: Hossam Elouan
Director: Hala Elkoussy
Egypt
Aida (35) is a struggling actress living in Cairo. She struggles to make ends meet
while nurturing her dream of the theatre. One night, she and her neighbour Samiha
(55), are kicked out on the street. With no money and nowhere to go, the two
women, aided by Yassin (21), a street savvy youth from their area, embark on a
journey across physical and mental mine-loaded terrains.
Inkabi the Hitman
Producer: Anco Henning
Director: Norman Maake
South Africa
In a ruthless city gripped by moral decay, where there is no glory for heroism, a
retired hitman has chosen to disappear and start his life all over again as a private
taxi driver. Frank wants only to live out the rest of his life as quietly as possible,
and different from his past. He has one rule, “Never get involved’, but deep down he
needs redemption. He is haunted by his past and the cruelty of his true nature.
Laughter is the Best Colour
Producer: Mohammed Musulumi
Director: Chike Ibekwe
Nigeria
The story is about Aishat (11), who against the desire of her dreams and
aspirations, is married off by her father Hassan to his creditor Kabiru (52). Finding
herself in a new, strange and seemingly unwelcoming place without the love and
warmth of her mother, and faced with an uncouth husband, she nevertheless finds
comfort in a new friend.
On the Way to Paradise
Producer: Imraan Jeeva
Director: Sara Blecher
South Africa
On the Way to Paradise is The Godfather… in Mayfair. It is the story of a young
man, the son of a white collar criminal, who tries to save his family when his
father’s money laundering scheme goes awry – at the cost of his soul.
One More Night in Lagos
Producer: Tosin Coker
Director: Marina Niava
Cote d’Ivoire
One More Night in Lagos is a romance inspired by Niava’s first trip to Lagos, Nigeria
in 2012. The story is set in three countries: the US, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. The
story draws together two characters – Deji, a Nigerian and Alice, an Ivorian-
American. As Alice’s love affair with Deji develops, so does her rekindled romance
with the African continent, to which she returns after a long absence.
Riot Waif
Producer: Jean Meeran
Director: Zinaid Meeran
Team Tarbaby
South Africa
Brother and sister Seb and Deli are a pair of downtown Mowglis who brought each
other up when their mother ran away to join the revolution. Deli is a singer in an
electropunk band, Seb her DJ. Their near-incestuous relationship is severely
challenged when both fall in love with other people. At the same time, a chance
encounter leads them to believe they have found their long-lost mother and sister.
Selma and Charlize
Producer: Helena Spring and Junaid Ahmed
Director: Robyn Aronstam
South Africa
Selma Jacobs is desperate to be a “somebody’ in this new South Africa.
Born on the wrong side of the tracks, supporting her mother Gloria, and 12-year-old
son Tyrone, she’s inspired by her hero, Charlize Theron, to never give up. Her
efforts to make something of herself throw her into the dangerous world of rhino
poaching.
Sunflowers Behind a Dirty Fence
Producer: Nathan Magoola
Director: Simon “Se’ydou’ Mukali
Uganda
Sunflowers behind a Dirty Fence is a dramatic adventure story about Yakobo (12), a
sheltered boy, who takes an ill-advised trip to Kampala city unaware that obstacles
and certain danger await a young boy alone. Help comes in the form of a shrewd
street urchin called Toni (12), whom Yakobo befriends on the way.
The Tall Assassin
Producer: Nicola Martin
Director: Roy Zetisky and Carolyn Crew
South Africa
This is a story about political awakening, as a conservative young Afrikaans woman,
Hanna Steyn digs to find the truth about her father’s death in an apparent air crash.
What she finds is a conspiracy that reaches right into the heart of the Afrikaans
establishment and a secret cabal of fanatical ideologies whose hold on power is
based on the systematic murder of opponents.
Unbalanced
Producer: Akosua Adoma Owusu
Director: P. Sam Kessie
Ghana
In Sunyani, Ghana 40-something Obiyaa Yamoah strives to be an ideal wife and
mother in her community. Living up to everyone’s expectations, she is sexually
frustrated. Her husband’s unexpected illness moves them to a secluded facility,
where she is forced to perform “wifely’ duties. Obiyaa begins hallucinating and is
forced to confront a suppressed childhood memory, which breaks down a wall
separating her traditional values and vivid imagination.
