The second leg of the 7th edition of the Africa Human Rights Film Festival is set to take place in Cape Town on October 4 – 5 October 2024.
With the partnership of the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa and Oxfam, the first event took place in the Kalahari Desert on September 12 -14 on the border village of Rietfontein near Namibia. The event brought together indigenous Khoi and San people from the surrounding communities for a showcase of films, workshops and dialogue.
The Cape Town event, set to take place at Bertha Movie House in Mowbray and at the Isivivana Community Centre in Khayelitsha will also comprise film screenings and workshops and panel discussions.
“We are thrilled to be back in Cape Town and this year we will focus on environment and climate issues with a special focus on rights defenders that put their lives at risk,” said Davison Mudzingwa, the festival manager.
Over 20 films drawn from Africa and South America among other parts of the world are set to be screened, with major themes touching on climate change, environment and human rights.
A number of local non profit organisations, activists, academics and documentary lovers are set to attend the event. Panel discussions will include filmmakers, environmental and human rights activists. Jacqueline van Meygaarden, film maker and climate justice activist will lead a 2 day workshop of creatives and activists. Jacqueline is currently producing and directing on HOTSPOT, a series of documentary feature films about climate justice in Southern Africa.
Films that will form part of the screening programme include:
Zambezia: A Well For Change, In Your Eyes, Cocoon of Pain, The Soil Of The Namib, In The Language Of Our Mothers, Blood For Oil, The River Is Not A Country, We Women Survivors.
The programming will also include films made by young people from the Kalahari, in the Northern Cape. These are young people that have been empowered by the Africa Human Rights Film Festival with support from the National Film and Video Foundation.
“The festival is about bridging the gap and our work over the years testify to that. Young people in the Kalahari are able to use storytelling tools due to the support we have offered. We hope to extend the same skills to young people in marginalised communities within the Western Cape,” added Mudzingwa.
