The European Film Festival, which opened nationwide on 5 May and runs until 14 May, invites audiences to rate each film according to their liking. The winning film will be announced after the festival.
This feature ties into an increased level of audience interaction, including a competition where the public was invited to pick their potential favourites, and the offer of personalized movie recommendations by the Festival Director online. The 2017 edition of the festival has also seen local personalities, including authors Mandla Langa and Zukiswa Wanner, comedian Kagiso Lediga and actress Quanita Adams, engage with the selection by sharing their personal reflections on selected films.
As a festival finale, after the Joburg screening on 14 May, the audience will get a chance to meet Rory O’Neill, the main character of the acclaimed documentary The Queen Of Ireland by Conor Horgan. The film traces the activism of charismatic O’Neill – a.k.a. Pandora Panti Bliss – who played a crucial role in the lead-up to the successful campaign ahead of the world’s first popular vote on whether to legalise same-sex marriage.
“There are few better ways to put a message across without preaching, than through film – a medium with visceral super-powers. I hope that the selection of amazing, award-winning comedies, biopics, slice-of-life stories, animal-right thrillers, road-movies and documentaries will stimulate imagination and inspire new ways of being, seeing, thinking and creating”, said Festival Director Katarina Hedrén at the Festival Opening Night.
Take your pick
The 2017 selection is a bit of a fruit salad in terms of themes. The film line-up represents 12 countries, including Ireland and Croatia for the first time. Each film reflects the skills and takes on the world of filmmakers not limited by national borders. American Honey, an award-winning British-made road movie set in America’s mid-west, is as much a magical mystery tour into Americana as it is a coming-of-age drama.
King of the Belgians is a comedic piece coming out of Belgium, which sees the Belgian king and his entourage crossing the Balkans in a madcap adventure, after learning of a coup back home. Acknowledged by the Rotterdam International Film Festival, this movie is a road trip with a difference, at once thoughtful, hilarious and wild.
Strike a Pose is a Dutch doccie which explores “Madonna’s men”, the male dancers who served to consolidate the pop icon’s status as an outspoken advocate for LGBT-rights. This winner of a jury award at the Key West Film Festival is an unrelenting documentary which exposes new aspects of a well-known story. Germany’s Toni Erdmann is the outlandish tale of how the passing of a family dog sets off a series of events with a major impact on a father-daughter relationship. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2017.
Different textures and moods
Hedrén adds: “With this year’s selection which includes films of different genres, textures and moods, the aim is to entertain, amuse and offer opportunities for reflection, new discoveries and recognition,” she says. “The theme binding the films together is cinematic excellence through acclaimed and award-winning films from 12 European countries.”
“European filmmaking has seen another year of highly creative output, and filmmakers continue to produce works that challenge and uproot. We are happy that Festival Director Katarina Hedrén’s 2017 film selection has given even more variety to the European Film Festival.”, says Norbert Spitz, Director of the Goethe-Institut, on behalf of the European partners.
So what’s the line up:
-Stefan Zweig: Farewell To Europe (Austria), drama, directed by Maria Schrader and starring Tómas Lemarquis, Barbara Sukowa and Josef Hader. German, English, Portuguese, French and Spanish with English subtitles. 106min (2016).
-King Of The Belgians (Belgium), comedy, directed by Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth and starring Peter Van den Begin, Lucie Debay, Bruno Georis and Pieter van der Houwen. Flemish, French, English and Bulgarian with English subtitles. 94min (2016).
-The High Sun (Croatia), drama, directed by Dalibor Matanic and starring Tihana Lazovic, Goran Markovic and Nives Ivankovic. Croatian with English subtitles. 123min (2015).
-Things To Come (France), drama, directed by Mia Hansen-Love, with Isabelle Huppert, André Marcon, Roman Kolinka. French, German, English. English subtitles. 102min (2016).
-Toni Erdmann (Germany), drama, directed by Maren Ade and starring Sandra Hüller, Peter Simonischek and Michael Wittenborn. German, English subtitles. 162min (2016).
-The Queen Of Ireland (Ireland), documentary, directed by Conor Horgan and starring Declan Buckley, Phillip McMahon and Una Mullally. English. 86 min (2015).
-Sweet Dreams (Italy), drama, directed by Marco Bellocchio and starring Bérénice Bejo, Valerio Mastandrea and Fabrizio Gifuni. Italian with English subtitles. 134min (2016).
-Strike A Pose (Netherlands), documentary, directed by Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan and starring Luis Camacho, Oliver S. Crumes III, Salim Gauwloos, Jose Gutierez, Kevin Stea, Carlton Wilborn and Gabriel Trupin. English. 83min (2016).
-Spoor (Poland), drama, directed by Agnieszka Holland and Kasia Adamik and starring Agnieszka Mandat-Grabka, Wiktor Zborowski and Jakub Gierszal. Polish with English subtitles. 128min (2017).
-Game Of Checkers (Portugal), drama, directed by Patrícia Sequeira and starring Ana Nave, Ana Padrão, Fátima Belo, Maria João Luís and Rita Blanco. Portuguese, English subtitles. 87min (2016).
-Zip & Zap and the Captain’s Island (Spain), drama (children’s adventure), directed by Oskar Santos, starring Elena Anaya, Carolina Lapausa, Teo Planell, Tom Wilton, and Toni Gómez. Spanish, English subtitles. 105min: PG 8+ (2016).
-American Honey (UK), drama, directed by Andrea Arnold and starring Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf and Riley Keough. 163min: English (2016)
What: European Film Festival 2017
Where :
Johannesburg: Nouveau – Rosebank Mall, Rosebank Mall, Bath & Baker Streets
Pretoria: Nouveau – Brooklyn Mall, Bronkhorst St, New Muckleneuk
Cape Town: Nouveau – V&A Waterfront, King Warehouse, Red Shed, V&A Waterfront
Durban: Ster-Kinekor Nouveau – Gateway 1 Palm Blvd, Umhlanga Rocks
When: 5 to 14 May, 2017
Tickets: R64
Book: www.cinemanouveau.co.za, www.sterkinekor.com
Info: Ticketline on 0861 Movies (668 437). Normal benefits/discounts
Info: www.eurofilmfest.co.za
Social media: Twitter/Facebook #EuroFilmFestSA
WS
