8th annual Jozi Film Festival

The 8th annual Jozi Film Festival (JFF) kicks off on Thursday, 3 October with a private screening of Ernest Nkosi’s new documentary, An Ordinary People. It will screen at both Hyde Park’s Nu Metro (at 6pm, by invitation only) and at 8pm at The Bioscope in Maboneng, as a free screening. Tickets will still need to be reserved through The Bioscope’s website. The film is an adrenaline-pumping documentary about the sport of car spinning, where hustlers and dreamers of modest means become heroes. This film is hot out of the edit suite and JFF is offering audiences a first look.

Over three days, the JFF will screen local and international films at Hyde Park Corner’s Nu Metro, The Bioscope and for the first time at Delta Park’s art deco theatre. The festival culminates with an awards event on the evening of 6 October, where winners in each category will be announced alongside the winner of our JFF and Discovery Network’s Real Time competition.

Hyde Park Highlights:

TIN SOLDIERS, 3pm, 5 October (South Africa) WORLD PREMIERE

Tin Soldiers is the deeply personal story of people afflicted with one of the world’s most rare diseases that slowly turns connective tissue into bone. A compelling tale of courage set against a backdrop of medical science, this is the story of real life Tin Soldiers overcoming human frailty to show that within a ravaged body can exist the spirit of a survivor.

The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, 3pm, 6 October (Canada) AFRICA PREMIERE

This moving documentary tells the story of Dr. Anne Innis Dagg and re-traces the steps of her ground-breaking 1956 journey to South Africa to study giraffes in the wild. Now, at 85 years old, Anne sees a startling contrast between the world of giraffes she once knew and the one it has become. Weaving through the past and present, her harrowing journey gives us an intimate look into the factors that destroyed her career and the forces that brought her back. 

Bookings for Nu Metro.

Delta Park Environmental Centre Highlights:

RUN AS ONE, 4pm, 5 October (1 hour) WORLD PREMIERE

The inspiring history of how an ultra-marathon, that started with 26 white male runners, now brings more than 25 000 South Africans together each year. The film features the untold stories of some of the race’s legends competing against all odds in South Africa during the 70’s and 80’s. From Vincent Rakabaele’s nail-biting finish in 1976 to Frith Van Der Merwe’s still unbeaten record-breaking time in 1989, the heroic feats of our former stars will inspire the new generation to even greater heights of achievement. 

THE RHINO CUP, 5:30pm, 5 October (1 hour) AFRICA PREMIERE

Filmed over the last three years in South Africa and Mozambique, a documentary about rhino poaching and football. Called the ‘The Rhino Cup’, it is a film that not only explains the current severity of poaching in Africa but also follows a unique way of tackling the problem. Through football, communities and villagers in Mozambique are being uplifted. The Rhino Cup has been created, giving the younger generation something to engage in, improving community spirit, creating jobs and building new infrastructure.

OUR OCEANS: A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY, 7:30pm, 5 October (1 hour 30 mins) WORLD PREMIERE

A team of scientists, divers and photographers set out on a journey of discovery along the South African coastline, one of the longest and richest in the world. Along the way, they unveil three incredible natural events whilst highlighting the impending threats and promoting the protection of our oceans.

Bookings for Delta Park.

Additionally, an extensive selection of short fiction films, features and documentaries will be screened. From the multi-award winning doccie Golden Fish, African Fish (Senegal) that examines the artisanal fishing industry, to a short fiction film about a zombie who eats his boss in Life’s A Drag (South Africa).

Visit the festival website and click on Schedule for more info.