Must-see movies at the Durban International Film Festival

SALT your popcorn and turn down the lights, South Africa’s longest-running film festival, the Durban International Film Festival has started and runs until August 1.

For the second year, the festival is taking place virtually due to the Covid19 pandemic. However, it still boasts a programme of close to 140 feature films, documentaries and shorts.

The festival opened with the action-thriller The Eagle’s Nest, a migration and poverty story by award-winning Cameroonian-born, British-based Olivier Assoua.

The closing film is Threshold, an autobiographical documentary made by Brazilian director Coraci Ruiz. It tells the story of a mother who follows the gender transition of her adolescent son between 2016 and 2019.

At the same time, the mother also goes through a process of transformation by breaking old paradigms, facing fears and dismantling prejudices.

Other must-watch films during the festival include:

Nandi: Directed by Khalid EL-Jelailati, the film follows the spiralling journey of Nandi and Carl in the underbelly of the criminal world.

The two meth addicts struggle to make ends meet and are forced to turn to prostitution to feed their habits. They find themselves encroaching on the territory of Moth, an ambitious and violent pimp, soon to be the most dominant meth dealer in town.

Valentina: A 17-year-old girl moves to the countryside of Brazil with her mother. To avoid being bullied at her new school, Valentina tries to enrol with her new name, and hopes to keep her gender history private. Valentina is a reflection of the real-life hardships that society forces a strong young woman to endure.

The Last Shelter: This documentary recently won an award at the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival. Director Ousmane Samassekou journeys to the infamous House of Migrants in the Malian city of Goa, where Esther and Kady meet a migrant. The trio find a semblance of family life, sharing moments of joy, hope and tenderness. But the girls can’t shake the dream of a future abroad.

Pusha Pressa Phanda: Directed by Dick d’vLz Reubïn, the story follows the story of street youth Mandisa as she struggles to obtain medication and sanitary pads for her sister, who is under her care. Faced with numerous obstacles, Mandisa represents the struggle inherently facing women in their relentless pursuit for survival.