Afghan Star and the Age of Stupid Introduce Controversy into Encounters 2009

An Afghan Women Becomes an Music Idol and Nature Issues another Warning at Encounters tonight

Encounters Documentary Festival is South Africa’s premier film festival – each year the festival brings you world premiers, award winning films, and once-off screenings you can’t afford to miss. So grab a program, make your picks and head down to the Fest today!

For a complete outline of the Encounters events taking place in Cape Town, read our overview of the 2009 Encounters Documentary Film Festival.

18:30 – Fokofpolisiekar “Forgive them for they know not what they do”
South Africa 2009 108min
Dir: Bryan Little

A frustrated generation, disillusioned with the lies of the church and state, finding a space for expression.

In-your-face progressive punk rock band Fokofpolisiekar are the subject of Little’s spirited look at both the contemporary Afrikaans music industry and the shifting cultural sands of morphing white Afrikaans culture.

Told in interview and through original video of their first tour and album, the film focuses on how the Bellville band came to be a voice for the dislocated youth straddling the before-and-after of 1994.

Little and Producer, Filipa Domingues, will attend the Première screening of their film on 3 & 9 July.

18:30 - The Age of Stupid
UK 2009 90min
Dir: Franny Armstrong

The environment warned us – but we refused to listen.

The year is 2055. Deep in the not-so-frozen wastes of Norway’s northern sea a fortress protects the astonishing achievements of soon-to-be-extinct Mankind.

In this captivating, powerful and intentionally portentous film, the lone Archivist compiles footage of the warning signs that we collectively ignored, through the eyes of seven likeable, well-meaning people.

There is nothing so chilling as death-knell and this film might just be the one for mankind.

20:30 – Afghan Star
UK / Afghanistan 2009 87min
Dir: Havana Marking

This timely and inspired film is both an account of a nation torn between tradition and modernity and the moving stories of four young contestants, each the pride of each of the ethnic communities they represent, each looking for a new life.

But their journeys take a terrifying turn as one young woman dances on stage, threatening her own safety and the future of the show itself. In Afghanistan you risk your life to sing.

20:30 - Music From The Inside Out
USA 2008 90min
Dir: Daniel Anker

Nominated for an Academy Award in 2000 (Scottsboro: An American Tragedy - Best Feature Documentary), Anker’s point in this beautifully crafted ode to music is simple – what is the essence of music and how does its powerful driving force shape and influence the people who make up the Philadelphia Orchestra?

The film follows the company on tour through Europe and China and, through a number of pivotal symphonies, draws out an explanation about the transcendental power of music.

*Tickets can be purchased online on the Encounters website or at the V&A Waterfront box office

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