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20 Jun 2025





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Tragedy strikes Durban construction site: One dead, four injured in structural collapse

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The Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated Virunga is an eco-thriller set in the DRC's national park, a World Heritage Site that is home to the world's last mountain gorillas. Only two days before the film's premiere, park warden Emmanuel de Merode was gunned down after delivered damning evidence that Virunga is in grave danger. With the Congo's fragile peace crumbling, the park and its gorillas are under threat not just from the rebel army, but also from a corrupt mining company that has found oil there.
Winner of Best Documentary at Tribeca, Democrats follows Paul Mangwana of ZANU-PF and Douglas Mwonzora of the opposition MDC-T, as they consult Zimbabweans across the country as part of leading the process of drafting a new constitution. With tension crackling between Mangwana's joker and Mwonzora's straight guy, these two unlikeliest of collaborators must cling together if they're to weather what is about to be a massive political storm.
That Sugar Film is a funny and frightening look at what protagonist Damon Gameau believes is the greatest danger to his young family's healthy future: sugar. Swearing to a two-month diet of only hidden sugars - those secreted in supposedly 'healthy' foods - Gameau assembles a crack team to monitor the effect on his body and mind. With cameos from Stephen Fry and Hugh Jackman, this entertaining film is sure to spark the most dietary debates since Tim Noakes first used the term 'banting'.
Encounters will also host the world premiere of Jazz Heart, festival favourite Steve Kwena Mokwena's moving documentary about reconnecting with his father, jazz musician Andrew 'Bra Pat' Mokwena.
African additions
New additions from across the continent include:
International additions
Late international additions include:
These films complete a line-up that already included 2015 Oscar-winner CitizenFour; some of the most talked about international documentaries, like Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, Salt of the Earth and The Look of Silence; award winners from across Africa, including Beats of the Antonov, The Dream of Shahrazad, and The Shore Break; and the world premiere of Wild Dog and Mrs Heart, a tender observational documentary about two inspectors from Animal Welfare Helderberg, who dare to care despite having to euthanize healthy dogs and cats every day, from festival favourite Riaan Hendricks (The Devil's Lair).
Go to www.encounters.co.za to browse the full programme.