Film festival gives global context

Now in its fourth consecutive year, the festival was initiated in South Africa to "create a platform for film and documentary as a tool for the intellectual and social development of the country," says Rehad Desai, one of the founding directors, along with Karam Singh and Zivia Desai-Keiper.

"The festival also aims to forge links between those engaged in cinematic production from the Americas, Africa and Asia; as well as promote the use of audio-visual medium as a communication tool that encourages and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom."

Compelling

Audiences will be able to take an in-depth look at some of the most compelling human rights and social justice stories facing our planet today.

Journey to the mountainous western end of the Amazon Basin in Eastern Ecuador in the film "Between Midnight and the Roosters Crow" and discover the dark side of living in an oil rich environment. Directed by Nadja Drost, the film tells the story of how the Canadian oil giant EnCana trampled all over the rainforest and the people of Ecuador in its haste to turn the oilfields into cash.

While on this journey, cross the Atlantic Ocean to visit the women of Rwanda, a country that endured a horrific genocide in 1994 that the world hardly paid attention to. Nominated last year for an Academy Award for Best Short Documentary, "God Sleeps in Rwanda" tells the moving story of how the Rwandan genocide left the country nearly 70% female, handing Rwanda's women an extraordinary burden and an unprecedented opportunity.

Inspiring

But, the festival does not only look at the horrors and hardships of a people. "Favela Rising" (Best Documentary Latino Film Festival 2005), gives us a hopeful and inspiring story of a man and a movement, a city divided and a favela united.

Directed by Matt Mochary and Jeff Zimbalist, "Favela Rising" tells the story of Anderson Sá, a man haunted by an infamous police massacre in his community in one of Rio de Janeiro's most feared slums. Through music, the rhythms of the street and Afro-Brazilian dance, he rallies the community and forges a movement that brings hope to the ghettos and its forgotten youth.

Other award-winning films on the festival are:

• Liberace Of Baghdad (Best Documentary - The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) 2005);
  
• Zen & Zero (Surf Film Festival, St Jean de Luz, France 2006 - Best Film);
  
• State Of Fear (Best of the Festival, U.N. Documentary Film Festival, 2006);
  
• The Boys of Baraka (Newport International Film Festival, Best Documentary 2005);
  
• The Refugee All Stars (AFI Festival, 2005 - Grand Jury Award, Best Documentary);
  
• Bushman's Secret;
  
• and Ongeriewe (Finalist Best Short Film Cannes 2006)

A number of the 37 films screened at the festival are South African films, exploring issues specific to the country. Festival co-ordinator and spokesperson Ntsiki Anderson adds that one of the beauties of this festival is that it gives South Africans the opportunity to contextualise their problems in a more global context.

"This is a global festival in South Africa," says Anderson. "that draws attention to the fact that our struggles are global struggles, and it raises awareness about how other nations are trying to address the same issues."

The festival starts in Johannesburg, 8 - 17 September 2006, at Cinema Nouveau, screened by Jameson Rosebank Mall, and then in Cape Town, 15 - 24 September at Cinema Nouveau, screened by Jameson V&A Waterfront. Tickets can be purchased at cinema box offices, cinema self-service Terminals, by calling TicketLine 082 16789 or at www.sterkinekor.com.

For programme details, schedules and more information go to www.3continentsfestival.co.za or www.sterkinekor.com.