Dedicated to the celebration and growth of South African arts and culture, the French Institute’s strong relationships with various partners encourages cultural diversity and exchanges between South Africa, France and the rest of the African continent. Our projects range from visual arts to animation, poetry to gaming, and fashion to music. Notable projects in the audiovisual and creative industries have developed long-term partnerships between our respective cultural sectors to exchange knowledge, experience and ideas.

Visual Arts

Art and football unite at Exhibition Match Maseru

The 7th edition of the Exhibition Match took place in Maseru, Lesotho, on 12 and...

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Literature

Discover Dibuka Library

Dibuka is a Francophone multimedia library which aims to promote the French language and French-speaking...

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Performing Arts

Live Music Lab Maseru: Empowering Lesotho’s next generation of music talent

Live Music Lab, a transformative platform for aspiring musicians, made its debut in Maseru, Lesotho,...

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Film and Animation

Stand a chance to win 10GB of data to enjoy the 15th MyFrenchFilmFestival!

CONTEST RULES: Article 1 – Organising company FRENCH INSTITUTE OF SOUTH AFRICA, Public Establishment with...

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Creative Industries

Stand a chance to win 10GB of data to enjoy the 15th MyFrenchFilmFestival!

CONTEST RULES: Article 1 – Organising company FRENCH INSTITUTE OF SOUTH AFRICA, Public Establishment with...

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Dibuka Francophone Library

Dibuka: A new chapter in 2025

After more than 20 years at the Alliance Française of Johannesburg, Dibuka is embarking on...

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Arts and Creative Industries

IFAS and South African partners launch IQOQO: A new interface to enhance Cultural Industries collaboration

During an official visit to South Africa by the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ms Catherine Colonna inaugurated the French Institute of South Africa’s (IFAS) revamped campus in […]

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Calls for Applications
Arts and Creative Industries

Job offer: Cultural Projects Officer at IFAS

The position of Cultural Projects Officer is based at the French Institute of South...

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Arts and Creative Industries

Call for applications: Live Music Lab Maseru

Are you a young artist passionate about launching your music career? Live Music Lab:...

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Arts and Creative Industries

ICC Immersion programme

Submit your innovative French entreprise to the ICC Immersion programme! The ICC Immersion programme...

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Arts and Creative Industries

La Fabrique Cinéma 2025

The call for applications for La Fabrique Cinéma 2025 is open! La Fabrique Cinéma...

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Friends of the French Institute

Friends of the French Institute of South Africa

In 2014, former French Ambassador Elisabeth Barbier created the Friends of the French Institute Committee to offer strategic advice to the French Institute of South Africa regarding mainly arts and culture, as well as creative industries and research. The committee meets quarterly with representatives from the French Embassy and the French Institute. Read more about the committee members here.
Key Partners

The French Institute has a range of successful partnerships with educational and research institutions, non-governmental organisations, governmental organisations, cultural organisations and esteemed multinational organisations. We are committed to building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with partners who provide a vital mutual transfer of ideas and support to help us reach our shared cooperation goals between France, South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi. Partner with us today.

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MyFrenchFilmFestival, the original 100% online festival of French-language cinema, is back for its 15th edition from January 17 – February 17, 2025: a unique opportunity for movie buffs around the world to discover the best of French-language cinema from the comfort of their own home. This year, all films in the selection will be available for viewing in their original French version, or with subtitles in one of eight languages: Arabic, English, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese and Spanish. The official selection includes the following films: - A Real Job - Alarms - Alexx196 & The Pink Sand Beach - All to Play For - Along Came Love - Blood Ties - Changing Rooms - GiGi - No Love Lost - Making Of - Mars Express - Montsouris Park - NUBE - Sweet Tooth - The Apprentices - The Dreamer - The Man with a Thousand Faces - The Mysterious Adventures of Claude Conseil - Through The Night - Winter Tune into the festival: https://www.myfrenchfilmfestival.com/ MyFrenchFilmFestival is initiated by Unifrance and proudly supported by the Institut français in Paris and the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS).
Organised by SAGES Africa (Services for Africa Gaming & Esports), the Mzansi Esports Champions is a key part of the Tekken Africa Queens Challenge, an innovative initiative which aims to spotlight and empower women’s talent in esports, promoting inclusivity and equality within the gaming industry. The 2024 players were: – eSwatini: Setsabile Shabangu, Sugar – Kenya: Sylvia Wahome, QueenArrow – Lesotho: Liteboho Thebe, EL – Madagascar: Safidy Andrianisoa, Sentaku – Malawi: Matimbe Gweyneth Edina, Gwyn Stacy – Namibia: Asante-Sana Maruwasa, ATMBYTES – South Africa: Zahraa Khan, Iron-Fist – Zambia: Bwalia Nkumbula, LiaRose The Mzansi Esports Champions event is part of a larger strategy by SAGES Africa to build a strong esports ecosystem across the continent. Through strategic partnerships, SAGES continues to empower African players and enhance their competitiveness on the global stage. This project is a collaboration of the French Institute of South Africa, SAGES and rAge Expo. It is made possible thanks to funding from the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. --- Credits: Music: Chipego Producer: Junayd Bradlow Creative Director: Tasmin Jacobs Post-Production: Umar Bradlow Creative Studios: The Magic Pixel & The Ultimate Gaming Champions South Africa
The Occupying The Gallery / Occupying IFAS project, with an artist collective led by internationally acclaimed visual artists, Mary Sibande and Lawrence Lemoana, transforms art galleries into mentoring spaces for a dozen young creatives, offering a platform where artistic creation and learning come together. Their two occupations of IFAS were joined by Mosa Anita Kaiser, Hoek Swaratlhe, Lungile Ngcobo, Sphatho Mzantsi, Bongani Ndlovu, Tatenda Maisa, and Mlondi Magubane. From 16 April to 16 May and 22 to 30 July 2024, the creative platform on the first floor of IFAS was transformed into an artists' residency, positioning the Institute as a veritable creative hub for emerging artists and responding to the desire to support mentoring and training activities – a key focus of Occupying’s transformational agenda. In the first phase, the artists worked over a month-long residency to collectively produce artworks and prints, in collaboration with Artist Proof Studios, which were later presented at the RMB Latitudes Art Fair in Johannesburg from 23 to 26 May 2024. Upon their return to IFAS for a 10-day residency led by French visual artist, Hugues Anhēs, and independent exhibition coordinator and curator, Camille Gajate, joining from Paris through the support of Institut français in Paris and IFAS, the occupants produced Fahla Fahla!. ‘Fahla Fahla!’ is a colloquialism of the act of putting together, a touch, touch here and there, in bits and pieces. A drop of something short and sweet: adding and subtracting when needed to make a whole.
For a closer look at the Création Africa journey, watch the testimonial video featuring the entrepreneurs in their own words. Hear firsthand how the programme has shaped their ventures, opened up international connections, and provided a platform to bring Southern African creativity to the global stage.
For a closer look at the Création Africa journey, watch the short testimonial video featuring the entrepreneurs in their own words. Hear firsthand how the programme has shaped their ventures, opened up international connections, and provided a platform to bring Southern African creativity to the global stage.
THEBE MAGUGU is a luxury fashion brand that offers ready-to-wear collections and explores parallel concepts through multidisciplinary capsule projects. The brand is rooted in education: informing the world about stories and crafts, with each collection named after a university subject. The goal is to purchase premises in Johannesburg that will be used as an incubation, workshop, library, events and café venue.
Terry Made Designs is a contemporary luxury clothing brand specialising in ready-to-wear and custom clothes, accessories, and professional styling services. The brand focuses on sustainability by repurposing second-hand clothes and pre-loved fabrics.
Tendalo Trading specialises in repurposing rubber tubes from cars, trucks, and tractors into eco-friendly, durable, waterproof, and ethically sourced bags. The focus is on recycling and upcycling to mitigate environmental pollution and align with Sustainable Development Goals.
SourceCode Motion Pictures specialises in innovative visual storytelling through 3D animation, VFX, and cutting-edge technologies like Unreal Engine. Services include film production, web series, TV shows, and ad campaigns.
Renaissance Design is a Pan-African multidisciplinary creative agency specialising in conceptualising and designing modern ancient African-inspired patterns. The business extends its services to interiors, fashion, product design, and custom design for corporate and hospitality brands. It aims to reflect ancient Africa in modern living.
Pineapple on Pizza Studios is a games and digital arts studio that focuses on game development and gamification projects. ‘Moya’ is the flagship project: a 2D narrative puzzle set in an apocalyptic African landscape.
Moodswing is the world's first platform that allows businesses and individuals to enhance their conversations with personalised AI-generated playlists of background instrumental music based on their mood. It is creating job opportunities for talented individuals who are passionate about music.
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