Political Intrigue Takes Centre Stage on Encounters Screens Tonight

Learn to Waltz with Bashir and Discover Royal Truths in the Queen and I at Encounters 2009

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!

15:30 – The Queen and I (Drottningen och jag)
Sweden 2008 90min
Dir: Nahid Persson Sarvestani

A tale of a Queen and the filmmaker who awed, hated, and aimed to expose her.

16:00 – Tribes & Clans + The Pioneer of Paraguay

Tribes and Clans
South Africa 2008 53min
Dir: Ntokozo Mahlalela

The film deconstructs the complexities of self, culture and identity using the voices of some of the continent’s more radical thinkers. Not for the faint-hearted.

Mahlalela is a guest of the Festival and will attend the Première screening of his film on 5 July.

The Pioneer of Paraguay
South Africa 2009 15min
Dir: Lisa Swart

A somber look at what happens when you can’t let go of an antiquated regime.

Swart is a guest of the Festival and will attend the South African Première screening on 12 July.

17h30 – The Last Voyage + Freddy llanga

The Last Voyage
South Africa 2009 48min
Dir: Riaan Hendricks

Independent filmmaker, Genadendal-born Hendricks takes a journey back into his past as his present becomes a complicated place.

18:00 – Defamation (Hashmatsa)
Israel / Denmark / Austria / USA 2009 91min
Dir: Yoav Shamir

Throughout Shamir’s controversial and balanced film you know that only an Israeli could have the chutzpah to unpack the delicate subject of anti-Semitism.

Shamir is a guest of the Festival. He will attend screenings on 9 July and 12 July.

20:15 – Nature of Life
South Africa 2009 52min
Dir: Craig & Damon Foster

The film’s intention is not simply to look for solutions though, but rather to suggest a shift in behaviour and consciousness – towards a more sustainable, nature-based sense of life in balance.

20:30 – Waltz with Bashir + Slaves

Waltz with Bashir (Vals im Bashir)
Israel | Germany | France | USA | Finland | Switzerland | Belgium | Australia 2008 90min
Dir: Ari Folman

Nominated for the Best Foreign Film at the 2009 Academy Awards, this atypical animated ‘memoir’ subtly explores the brain’s ability - both individual and collective - to suppress a horrifying incident conducted under the guise of war.

Slaves (Slavar)
Sweden 2008 15min
Dirs: David Aronowitsch & Hanna Heilborn

Based on a 2003 interview of liberated children this is the director’s second immensely powerful, animated films, with and about children in difficult situations.

Aronowitsch & Heilborn are guests of the Festival and will attend screenings of their film.

Encounters South African International Documentary Festival 2009:

Date: 12 July 2009
Venue: Nu Metro Cinema
Location: V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
Time: 15:30 - 20:30
Price: R33 p/p*
Contact: +27(0)21 465 4686
Website: www.encounters.co.za

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

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

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