2020 Joburg Film Festival to take place over 2 days with screenings, development workshops

The Joburg Film Festival is anchored by three main pillars, which drive and direct all activities and engagements related to the delivery of the festival. These three pillars are the Film Programme, the Industry Programme and the Youth and Audience Development Programme.

Film screenings 

This year, three specially-curated films will be featured and celebrated at a local cinema over the two days of the 2020 instalment, with an opportunity for the general public to attend the screenings of these films.

The focus of the 2020 targeted films places the spotlight on ‘displacement’, an apt theme during the global pandemic.

With the huge impact of Covid-19, globally, the pandemic has amplified bullying, harassment and murder across the African continent. Whilst the films may not address these issues directly, they do explore the lives of people who are marginalised, some by choice and others by circumstances they find themselves in, which motivates their decision to find a new place to call home.

The Joburg Film Festival opening film This is Not A Burial It’s a Resurrection features the late legendary Joburg born actress Mary Twala just before it’s Oscar run post the festival.

Making it’s global screening debut at the Joburg Film Fest this year, LGBTI film There's Power In the Collar will also be shown over the festival. The last addition to this year’s schedule includes Canadian/South Africa film Beyond Moving.

Screenings will be held at Cinema Nouveau in the Rosebank Mall and the Bioscope at 22 Stanley in Milpark. Limited tickets will be sold at the door of each of the respective venues.

Development programmes 

The Youth and Audience Development Programme is a skill-sharing platform that allows young aspiring filmmakers to learn from and engage with industry professionals, hosted in partnership with the Gauteng Film Commission (GFC) and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF).

Due to the pandemic, the programme will be delivered as well as a structured one-day workshop that incorporates the province’s youth from different regions at a central location and is also recorded for virtual streaming and broadcast.

Black youth who are students or aspirant filmmakers between the ages of 18 and 30 years with a matric or an alternative equivalent as a minimum participating criterion will be selected for the workshop.

A total of 20 youth from each of the five of Gauteng’s regions will be selected to attend the physical one-day workshop on Saturday, 28 November that will be held at the Lesedi Theatre @ Joburg Theatre, bringing the total attendees and participants to 100/150 pax.

The five regions have been identified as:

• Ekurhuleni
• Mogale City
• Sedibeng
• Tshwane
• City of Joburg

Interested participants can send their details (full name and age) to either of the contact details:

Whatsapp line: 067 770 1574 | Email:

The workshop will be screened and made available via the JFF website post the event to reach and impact an even broader audience than the one that attended physically.

The Industry Programme will not take place this year due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.

The focus of the 2020 festival will be on the third pillar of the festival which emphasizes JFF’s commitment to developing, empowering and skilling the youth whilst contributing to the development of the cinema culture and growing audience appreciation for local films,” stated Joburg Film Festival executive director Tim Mangwedi.

For more information on the Joburg Film Festival, go to www.joburgfilmfestival.co.za