Countdown to the European Film Festival (13-23 Oct)
The 9th European Film Festival comprises of 16 European films screened over 10 days, kicking off on 13 October and running until 23 October, 2022. This year’s hybrid festival can be watched online by booking via eurofilmfest.co.za or in cinema for each of the single screenings happening at The Labia Theatre in Cape Town or at Ster-Kinekor’s The Zone in Joburg. Tickets are limited, so don’t hesitate in signing up for free online screenings or get your big screen movie tickets ranging from R70-R80.
This years theme is Innocence and Beyond. Set against the backdrop of an ongoing war, the broad thematic nucleus comes to encompass the perspective of children and adults. This exploration extends to the pure innocence of children in the modern fairy tale Petite Maman and their vulnerability in elementary school and susceptibility to bullying in Playground.
The precarious relationship between an innocent child and young conscripts is examined in Do Not Hesitate while a family find themselves dislocated, strangers in a new land in The Emigrants. A parent-child relationship becomes central to Brighton 4th, while Small Body finds a mother on a mythological quest to save her daughter.
Then the sensitively handled documentary-style drama, Olga, follows the trials of a 15-year-old Ukrainian gymnast separated from her home country in a timely character portrait. Innocence extends to the purportedly altruistic motives of a The Good Boss ahead of a prestigious award, taking the theme to occupy the chasm between innocence and guilt in prison drama, Great Freedom.
Find out more about the films, what’s showing and see trailers for all sixteen of this year’s selection.
Spanning all 16 multi-award winning films on offer at this year’s festival, moviegoers are in for a treat, getting a chance to view films before they’ve been officially released in South Africa. This year’s selection makes it worth seeing as many of these fine films as you can, whether you watch from the comfort of your own living room or enjoy a fuller cinematic experience at The Zone or Labia Theatre.
Special Events
As part of the European Film Festival, a 3-day film programme will take place at the Alliance Française in Mbabane between 21 and 23 October, and at the Alliance Française in Maseru between 28 and 30 October.
This extension includes screenings for two landmark films that have emerged from Lesotho and eSwatini in recent years, This Is Not A Burial, It’s a Resurrection and Liyana. As Far As I Can Walk, The Man Who Sold His Skin, Oskar and Lilli: Where No-one Knows Us, France and Supa Modo round off the selection. What’s more, moviegoers in Lesotho and eSwatini will also be able access the South African festival selection online.
