‘Ayanda’ to open RomAfrica Film Festival in Rome

Terry Pheto is set to have her movie, Ayanda, open the second edition of the RomAfrica Film Festival (RAFF) which is set to take place at the Casa del Cinema in Rome’s Villa Borghese park tonight

Pheto arrived in Rome this morning and will be in attendance for the opening tonight at this prestigious film festival.

“It’s always such an privilege to have Ayanda screened at film festivals across the globe and to still have it feature at film festivals almost 2 years on speaks volumes to the relevance of content coming out of Africa and for that I’m extremely proud. Having Ayanda open up the RomAfrica Film Festival is such an honour and I’m looking forward to attending the opening screening tonight,” shares Pheto.

Ayanda also opened the Durban International Film Festival 2015, the most important showcase of independent African cinema, and won the Jury Prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival 2015.

The movie premiered at the LA Film Festival last year and has been picked up for US distribution by Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY. Ayanda’s success also saw its leading lady, Fulufhelo Mugovhani, winning an award for the role.

The four-day RAFF, which is part of the Italy-Africa Initiative, was presented at the Italian Foreign Ministry in the presence of the Italian deputy director general for Globalisation, Raffaele De Lutio, and diplomatic representatives of many African countries. The aim is to use cinema to leverage a fruitful synergy that might help Italians to get better acquainted with the African continent and its potential, by revealing Africa’s valuable cultural diversity through cinema. The aim is to promote integration and mutual understanding.

Pheto is no stranger to the international scene. Her debut film in 2006, Tsotsi, won an Oscar; in 2008 she became the first South African face for L’Oreal Paris. In 2011 she landed a recurring role on the American soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful; and in 2013 she starred alongside Idris Elba in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. 

She also represented South Africa on the jury for the 2015 International Emmy Awards last November.

Terry Pheto will be next seen in Amma Asante’s A United Kingdom, which will have its international release in September this year.