South Africa will be a main focus at the African Film Festival of Cordoba (FCAT), a
festival devoted to African cinema which runs from 20 to 27 July in Spain. This year
seven South African films will participate in three sections of the festival: Long-
sightedness, a competitive category featuring 16 feature films; Shortly, a selection
of 11 fiction and documentary African short films which stand out for their reflection
about the language of cinema; Tales from the Past, a non-competitive section of the
festival which aims to present the journey of film in South Africa and Angola.
The Boda Boda Thieves by the Yes! That’s Us collective, Love
the One You Love by Jenna Cato Bass and Stories of our Lives
by Jim Chuchu, are the South African films participating in the Long-sightedness
category. Beyond the topics, the films of this section are notable for their intention
of search, reflexion and innovation in the cinema medium.
Security by Marc Middlewick features in the Shortly section and tells
the story of a relationship between a security guard and a storefront mannequin.
The following South African productions feature in the Tales from the
Past category: Angola, saudades de quem te ama by Richard
Pakleppa (co-produced with Namibia), a documentary that reflects the social
inequality of Angola after 27 years of civil war; Behind the rainbow by
Jihan El Tahri, which reflects the history of the ANC through the relationship
between Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma; and Nelson Mandela, the Myth &
Me by Khalo Matabane, which questions the meaning of freedom,
reconciliation, and forgiveness—and challenges Mandela’s legacy in today’s world of
conflict and inequality.
