Don't let the rain keep you away from a week of African creativity and insights, as the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival lights up screens across the city.
This is the festival's 27th edition, and it runs until Saturday 29 June with screenings across the city taking place at The Labia Theatre (this year voted one of the world's most beautiful cinemas!), V&A Waterfront Ster-Kinekor and The Bertha Movie House in Khayelitsha
"In 2024, Encounters presented three of the five documentaries later nominated for Oscars, including the winner 'No Other Land'," explains Mandisa Zitha, Director of Encounters. "This year we're raising the bar even higher with an excellent selection of films that speak to the role of the documentary and impact filmmaker in 2025."
The 2025 program features close on 70 documentaries, spanning everything from intimate local stories to global social justice narratives. Certainly don't miss 'Fitting In', which takes a hard look at tradition and transformation at Stellenbosch University's Eendrag men's residence. Or Normal To Me, a tender, honest portrait of life at Fish Hoek's Joyce Chevalier Center for adults with intellectual disabilities.
From abroad, How to Build a Library opened the festival with a poetic lens on Nairobi's iconic public library, tracing Kenya's complex colonial past while imagining futures for its youth. You'll find the full schedule for the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival over here.
But it's not just about the films. The festival's final week also features a stellar lineup of panel talks and masterclasses, diving into themes as wide-ranging as memory and trauma (Wounds and Whispers), the role of AI in learning (Rewiring Knowledge), and women's voices in resistance movements (Rise and Resist).
Tickets are selling out fast, so you better get booking. Head on over to encounters.co.za to secure your seat.
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