African short films to premiere abroad
JOBURG - Six short films about life in African metropolises will premiere at film festivals in Europe and America.
The African Metropolis Short Film Project, an initiative of the Goethe-Institut South Africa and local executive producer Steven Markovitz, focuses on urban tales about life in six sprawling cities.
The first of the festivals to include the programme is the International Film Festival Rotterdam, from 26 January.
This will be followed by the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in California.
Goethe-Institut spokesperson Benjamin Keuffel said, “Besides the screenings and a panel discussion in Rotterdam, Marie Ka, one of the African Metropolis directors, will talk about her experiences at Berlinale Talents 2014, the Berlin International Film Festival’s annual platform for the most promising emerging filmmakers.”
He added that the filmmakers’ works showed the face of a modern and cosmopolitan Africa, and challenged long-standing cliches about the continent.
The films are set in Lagos, directed by Folasakin Iwajomo; Abidjan, directed by Phillipe Lacote; Dakar, directed by Ka; Johannesburg, directed by Vincent Moloi; Cairo, directed by Ahmed Ghoneimy; and Nairobi, directed by Jim Chuchu.
The Rotterdam film festival’s international programmer Gertjan Zuilhof said, “Big city films from African big cities is just what we have been waiting for. It is about time we move on from pre-colonial nostalgia. The best would be if this project could work as a model for the future.”
The project was supported by Guaranty Trust Bank and the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Details: www.africanmetropolis.com
