The X Fest Film Festival returns to Cape Town and Joburg

The festival features movies, documentaries and short films going beyond the norm, and won't be seen at any other South African cinema. This edition fuses with two other Flamedrop movie events, the Sound On Screen Music Film Festival and Daring Doccies Documentary Film Festival.

The flagship title of the event is the African premiere of the anticipated and controversial documentary As The Palaces Burn, a film that started out looking at popular American heavy metal band Lamb Of God, their music and fans, but took a serious turn when the vocalist was arrested in connection with the death of an audience member at a Czech Republic show. This global cinema release of the documentary includes an additional exclusive band Q&A, and there are Lamb Of God CDs up for grabs, as well as autographed movie posters. (This will screen in both Cape Town and Joburg.)

March Of The Gods: Botswana Metalheads is an intriguing documentary focussing on the very unlikely but burgeoning and passionate metal/hard rock scene in Botswana (focusing on the band Wrust). This will be the South African premiere and director Raffaele Mosca is flying in from Europe to attend a screening in both Cape Town and Joburg.
www.marchofthegods.com

Intense, wild, thought provoking and unbridled

Blood Tokoloshe: Dawn Of The Beast is a locally made B horror movie dealing with the indigenous bogeyman of the title (Cape Town premiere).

The X Flix short film collection features an exciting array of intense, wild, thought-provoking and unbridled shorts from around the world, including some locally made premieres.

Tight is a "mockumentary" on the trials and tribulations of the world's first all-girl rock band consisting of porn stars. Howard Stern XXX factor approved! (SA premiere.)

Zombie Island adds another new perspective to a genre that doesn't seem to lose its staying power. (SA premiere.)

For a fun, gory trip through Grindhouse horror madness, House Of Forbidden Secrets is just the ticket. (SA premiere.)

All these movies will screen at The Labia Theatre in Cape Town (68 Orange Street) across 3 to 6 April, while that Lamb Of God's As The Palaces Burn and March f The Gods will screen across 4 to 7 and 12 April, and 1 May at The Bioscope in Joburg (286 Fox Street).

No under 16s. Both venues are licensed and your choice of drink can be taken into the cinemas. Expect Monster Energy and Sailor Jerry specials.

Cape Town tickets: R35 online from www.quicket.co.za/xfest, R40 at the box office (book at +27 (0)21 424 5927).
Joburg tickets: R45. Book online at www.thebioscope.co.za.

All info, updates, trailers and ticket links at www.xfest.org.