The Sixth Annual Vancouver South African Film Festival will shine a light on South Africa April 8-10. South Africa, with its diverse population, rich tradition of struggle for democracy and equity, and complex political and economic reality, has produced numerous outstanding films.
This year the Festival will open on Friday evening, April 8 with a full-length documentary – The Shore Break – about an Eastern Cape community and tension over a possible mining development.
Featuring stunning cinematography and sensational original music, The Shore Break delivers a visually and emotionally riveting experience that echoes almost exactly struggles over development in Canada – many of them in First Nations Communities. The Shore Break has been nominated for 3 SAFTA Awards – the South African Oscars – including Best Full Length Documentary.
Saturday evening, April 9 VSAFF will screen the Ethiopian film Difret, from executive producer Angelina Jolie. Difret based on the true story of a young Ethiopian girl and a tenacious lawyer embroiled in a clash between cultural traditions and equal rights.
Eleven other South African Films, features and documentaries, will be presented over the weekend at Simon Fraser Woodwards in downtown Vancouver.
For tickets and more information please see:
vsaff.org
All proceeds from the Festival, which is presented entirely by voluinteers, go to the important education development work done by Education without Borders – much of it in Gugulethu and township just outside Cape Town. For more information on EwB see:
http://www.educationwithoutborders.ca
By Herman Ruth
