4th Encounters Documentary Festival

Catch the Festival in Cape Town at Cinema Nouveau, V&A Waterfront from Sunday 21 July - Monday 29th July 2002.

Following the 2001 success of Encounters' first fringe festival in Johannesburg, we're delighted return Friday 2nd - Wednesday 7th August at Cinema Nouveau Rosebank Mall where a choice selection from the main Encounters Festival programme will screen.

Fostering the development, visibility and success of South African and international documentary filmmakers is the remit of this entertaining event. Enthusiastic response by the public and filmmakers at home and abroad continues to make Encounters the premiere documentary film festival on the African continent.

In its launch year 1999, 23 titles were screened at Encounters. In 2000, 32 titles; in 2001, 44 titles. This year, Encounters presents 47 hot docs for your delectation.

Encounters is made possible with the kind support of the filmmakers, distributors, film institutes, sponsors in kind and advertisers. Encounters is a Flagship Programme of the European Union's Conference Workshop & Cultural Initiative Fund. We thank our principle sponsors for their dedicated support: Pro Helvetia, The Royal Netherlands Embassy, The Jan Vrijman Fund, the Swiss Agency For Development Cooperation, and The British Council.

This year, the scene is set to prove even more popular with South African and international guest filmmakers in attendance.

From South Africa we're proud to welcome: Brian Tilley (Close Encounters Laboratory Tutor). Nicky Newman (Simon & I). Dumisani Phakathi (Wa 'N Wina). Cliff Bestall & Pearlie Joubert (The Dark Heart). Rehad Desai (My Land My Life). Mpumi Njinge & Jill Kruger (My Son The Bride). François Verster (When The War Is Over). Xoliswa Sithole (Shouting Silent), Penny Gaines (Strong Enough). Tracey Collis (Girlhood). Andy Spitz (Voices Across The Fence). Gairoonisa Paleker (Cissie Gool). Miki Redlinghuys & Lauren Groenewald (Gangsters & Bioscope), Catherine Muller (Very Fast Guys). Bearthur Baker (Very Fast Girls). Mandilakhe Mjekula (Reporting Live From The Concrete Jungle).

We're delighted to be host to a bevy of renowned international guest filmmakers from: Switzerland, the 2002 Oscar nominated director Christian Frei (War Photographer / Ricardo, Miriam & Fidel). The Netherlands, producer Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich (The Eye Of The Day / Broken Silence). The United Kingdom: Oscar winning producer Vikram Jayanti (James Ellroy's Feast Of Death / The Man Who Bought Mustique). And from the USA, Thomas Allen Harris (That's My Face), Lee Hirsch (Amandla! A Revolution In Four Part Harmony), Judith Helfand & Daniel B. Gold (Blue Vinyl).

Festival Highlights

World Premières:

* The Dark Heart (Cliff Bestall & Pearlie Joubert). A harrowing account of the recent spate of baby rapes that has shocked South Africa and the world.
* My Land My Life (Rehad Desai) Traces the calculus of Zimbabwe's rapid decline into civil chaos, economic disaster and starvation.
* When The War Is Over (François Verster). The after-effects of the fight against Apartheid as experienced by survivors active in a militant self-defence unit active in the mid-1980s.

Special Screenings:

* Amandla! A Revolution In Four Part Harmony: Lee Hirsch's tribute to the role that music played in South Africa's liberation from Apartheid.
* Gambling, Gods & LSD: Peter Mettler's dazzling and epic exploration of the meaning of life.

Closing Night Feature in Cape Town & Johannesburg:

* Blind Spot. Hitler's Secretary. After more than 50 years of self-imposed silence, Träudl Junge unburdens herself with a detailed and fascinating account of her demonic boss: Adolf Hitler.

Close Encounters Documentary Laboratory Films:

We are very pleased to be screening the 2001 Close Encounters films - three of nine films commissioned by e.tv since 1999 and four films made by Laboratory Alumni since their time with us.

* Girlhood (Tracy Collis) a devastating look at life on the streets in the Cape Flats, focusing on Kashiefa and her friends.

* Strong Enough (Penny Gaines) a gritty portrait of a fishing community enduring the ravages of poverty.

* Voices Across The Fence (Andy Spitz) a remarkable video greeting project - in which messages from Mozambican refugees living in South Africa were recorded then shown to relatives in remote villages back home.

Simunye SABC 1 Laboratory & Media Partner:

* We're proud to announce that Simunye SABC 1 is our new broadcast partner and Close Encounters Laboratory partner. Simunye SABC 1 intend to commission three one-hour films from proposals developed at the Laboratory which will run in Cape Town from Sunday 21st - Saturday 27th July 2002.

* 55 proposals were received from South African documentary filmmakers for the 2002 Close Encounters Laboratory. We are pleased to announce that the following have been selected to take part in the Laboratory:
- Bearthur Baker
- Sara Blecher
- Shelva Carstens
- Annelie de Wet
- Khalo Matabane
- Mandilakhe Mjekula
- Catherine Muller
- Madoda Ncayiyana

Panels & Panelists:

The Encounters Documentary Festival is a live and lively event. In addition to the filmmakers attending screenings and talking about their films, many Panel Discussions will be held in Cape Town. Experts, academics, people in the know and people in the films will be at Cinema Nouveau to comment and participate in Q&A sessions with the public:

* A Mere Grain Of Nothing Is My Death -- Wednesday 24 July, 6pm
* Account Of A Catastrophe Foretold -- Thursday 25 July, 8.15pm
* Gangsters & Bioscope + Cissy Gool -- Wednesday 24 July, 6.15pm
* The Dark Heart -- Wednesday 24 July, 8.15pm
* Offspring -- Wednesday 24th July, 8.30pm
* Sex: The Annabel Chong Story -- Monday 29 July, 8pm
* That's My Face -- Saturday 27 July, 8pm

Jameson Audience Award:

Cast your vote in Cape Town for the Best Documentary and Best South African Documentary screening at Encounters with the Jameson Audience Award. The winning film(s) will screen in Johannesburg at the Jameson Audience Award ceremony to coincide with the close of the festival.

ENCOUNTERS BOOKING INFORMATION

All shows R18. No discounts apply. Advance bookings recommended as seating is limited.

* Cape Town:
Cinema Nouveau V&A Waterfront
Tel 021 425 2223

* Johannesburg:
Cinema Nouveau Rosebank Mall
Tel 011 447 4590

* Ster-Kinekor Call Centre:
0860 300 2222

* Computicket telephone bookings:
011 340 8000 or 083 915 8000

* Programmes available at Cinema Nouveau & Computicket

* Opening Nights in Cape Town and Johannesburg are by invitation only.

Encounters is a Flagship Programme of the European Union's CWCI Fund.