The rich programme of films from elsewhere on the continent includes a number of strong directorial talents. From South Africa’s Mpumelelo Mcata comes the challenging documentary-hybrid Black President. Philippe Lacôte’s Run is a left-field masterpiece from Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda delivers the goods with The Boda Boda Thieves, the latest title from vivacious creative co-operative Yes! That’s Us.
African documentaries include the powerful Beats of the Antonov which portrays the musical lives of a war-torn community in Sudan, the remarkable Sembene! which documents the life and career of African master Ousmane Sembene and Paths to Freedom, which explores the genesis of Namibia’s armed struggle against South Africa.
Africa’s Lost Classics is a selection providing a rare opportunity for viewers to catch some of the most powerful and idiosyncratic works from the continent’s rich film history. The selection comprises the previously lost masterpiece Come Back, Africa, the seminal Mapantsula from Oliver Schmitz and The Blue Eyes of Yonta by pioneering Guinea-Bissau filmmaker Flora Gomes, as well as Badou Boy and Touki Bouki, both from African master Djibril Diop Mambety.
Tickets should be acquired through the respective venues. Prices range from R20 to R40, except at Luthuli Museum, Ekhaya, Elangeni Hotel, the Denis Hurley Centre, Sizakala Centre in Clermont, the Durban Music School and Bay of Plenty lawns, which are free of charge.
