Doccies and films vying for Oscar’s automatic qualification at Durban International Film Festival

Films that will win best documentary and best short film at this year’s Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) will automatically qualify to enter the Oscar’s.

“The stakes are high, the competition is tough, and no matter who walks away with the coveted awards, the real winners will be audiences who will be able to experience the awe, delight, and wonder of the many films on offer,” said Head of Programming & Manager of the festival Andrea Voges.

Films in contention for the Best Feature Film include Terrence Aphane’s Sonti, Dear Jassi by Tarsem Singh Dhandwar and Payal Kapadi’s All We Imagine As Light among the long list.

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Judges

Heidi Zwicker, Sean Drummond and Pape Boye as jurors will award the sought after honours for the Best Feature Film and the Best South African Feature Film.

Zwicker is a senior programmer for the Sundance Film Festival where she has contributed to various Sundance Institute programmes for over fifteen years.

She was a programmer at the Palm Springs International Shortfest from 2011 to 2014 and is a senior programmer at the Provincetown International Film Festival.

Pape Boye co-founded the sales company Funny Balloons in 2002 and co-founded Versatile, a subsidiary of Wild Bunch.

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After more than 20 years in sales, in 2022 he decided in to get closer to the filmmakers and launched, Black Mic Mac (BMM), a production and packaging company focused on the African continent.

Drummond is a writer and producer best known for multi-awarded films Five Fingers for Marseilles, Apocalypse Now Now, Netflix hit series Unseen, and for his 10 years as the founding festival manager of shnit Worldwide Shortfilmfestival’s South African chapter and as its global coordinator.  

As an in-demand story consultant, his roster of projects has garnered accolades and awards at festivals the world over and found commercial success.

In addition to awards for the best film in each category, Amnesty International Durban will present the Human Rights Award, and audiences will have an opportunity to vote for the Audience Choice Award.

South African films are also eligible for the Best South African Film in each of the categories – feature, documentary, short, and student.

Winners will be announced at the closing ceremony on the 27th of July. “Whilst we are superbly proud about our distinguished jury assembled for this year’s festival, we are equally excited to see how the audiences take up the opportunity to vote for the Audience Choice Award,” added Andrea Voges.

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