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Film Festival NEWS 

3rd annual Joburg Film Festival

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The third annual Joburg Film Festival will be held at venues across Johannesburg from 19 to 24 November 2019. The Nelson Mandela Square and Sandton City will be the hub of the festival with screenings at the Auto & General Theatre on the Square and Ster-Kinekor Sandton. Other venues include Bioscope in Maboneng, Constitution Hill, Cinema Nouveau Rosebank and Kings Cinema in Alexandra.This year’s film festival is set to showcase 60 curated films from 16 countries around the world. The extended Joburg Film Festival programme centres around three important elements: the film programme, industry programme and youth and audience development programme.
The six-day film programme includes all the excitement and Hollywood pizzazz associated with two red carpet premieres a day, screenings and awards as celebrities rub shoulders with serious filmgoers in a rich display of filmmaking at its very best. A lineup of local and international films will be curated by an expert team of curators, led by Pedro Pimenta, a respected filmmaker and member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

A panel of five industry-leading experts has been constituted to judge the films presented at the festival. The films will be judged on elements such as storyline, direction, creativity, cinematography, relevance, execution and technical application.

The jury includes storyteller and South African novelist, Zakes Mda; award-winning actress famous for her role in NCIS New Orleans, CCH Pounder; and Femi Odugbemi, West Africa MultiChoice Talent Factory academy director.

Industry programme: As part of the industry programme, Discop, the continent’s leading market for content, production, acquisition and distribution, provides an opportunity for more than 15,000 like-minded entertainment and media players to connect and share experiences about current best practice trends. Seasoned and well-known industry professionals from the continent and abroad will participate in the industry programme, this year, through a series of masterclasses and panel discussions that will cover important aspects of the filmmaking craft.

Youth and audience development programme: To create strong links between young people and the growing film, TV and new digital media industries on the African continent, the youth and audience development programme will offer young self-taught filmmakers and those new to the world of filmmaking an opportunity to interact with leading industry players.

The 2019 Joburg Film Festival also marks the establishment and launch of the Joburg Film Festival film club. A lifestyle centred club of people gathered for the enjoyment and appreciation of the cinematic arts. The film club will bring film lovers together online and in specially designed experiences and screenings of classic and contemporary films.

“We see the film festival as a critical catalyst for social cohesion, showcasing a special collection of films that celebrate Africa’s beauty, people, creativity and reflect the continent’s bold spirit and talent. We are confident that, in collaboration with the MultiChoice Group, we can build a world-class annual film festival that becomes entrenched on the international film circuit and positions Joburg as a prime destination for local and international filmmakers,” says Joburg Film Festival executive director Tim Mangwedi.

Limited tickets available from Sunday, 10 November 2019 at the various venues for R60 while screenings at Kings Cinema will be free. This will work on a free-come-first-serve basis.