Joburg Film Festival Pays Tribute to ‘Art of Storytelling’ While Looking to Amplify African Voices, ‘Unearth New Talent’

variety.com:

Christopher Vourlias The Joburg Film Festival returns to the heart of South Africa’s entertainment industry from March 11 – 16, with a seventh edition that organizers say is designed to celebrate “the shared experiences and emotions that unite us through the art of storytelling.” Building on Johannesburg’s reputation as the “city of gold,” the festival is organized around the theme of a “golden thread” running through its selection of nearly 100 feature-length and short films and documentaries.

Among them is a mix that includes festival hits from the likes of Sundance, Berlin and Cannes, alongside films from the host nation and the African continent that will be reaching audiences for the first time. “I wanted to find films that would resonate on an emotional and sympathetic level,” says Joburg Film Festival curator Nhlanhla Ndaba, “to remind us that we are a global village and to spread a little love whilst we face the reality of what is happening globally.” The festival kicks off with the African premiere of “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found,” Raoul Peck’s Cannes prize-winning documentary about the trailblazing South Africa photographer who fearlessly chronicled the evils of apartheid before moving to New York in the 1960s.

Ndaba, who was inspired by Cole’s powerful images as a boy and credits the photographer with awakening his “political consciousness,” tells Variety he jumped at the chance “to bring this incredible film back home to complete [Cole’s] journey, by allowing South African audiences to immerse themselves in his life story told through his own words.” Among the screenings taking place over the course of the six-day event will be 28 African premieres and 12 world premieres.