Encounters Returns for 26th Edition

The Encounters South African International Documentary Festival is the country’s formative documentary event, screening contemporary South African and International features and short documentaries. 

We are excited to support this event again this year, which will screen several features co-produced with France. Between 20 and 30 June around Cape Town and Johannesburg, make time to see some of these extraordinary works in cinema:

Love Me True (France), directed by Inés Sedan, is a groundbreaking short documentary using animation to depict a weekend in the dating life of Laurence, a French woman navigating the challenges of dating apps and modern romance.

Ballaké Sissoko, Kora Tales (France/Mali/Senegal), directed by Lucy Durán & Laurent Benhamou , tells the story of the kora, a 21-stringed instrument integral to West African culture. The documentary features modern master Ballaké Sissoko and highlights the kora’s global influence over the past 50 years.

Al Djanat, the Original Paradise (France/Burkina Faso/Benin/Germany), directed by Chloé Aïcha Boro, follows Boro as she returns to Burkina Faso after her uncle’s death during a pilgrimage to Mecca. She documents the familial disputes surrounding the inheritance of the Coulibaly estate.

Bye Bye Tiberias (France/Palestine/Belgium/Qatar), directed by Lina Soualem , is an intimate portrayal of the life and family history of Palestinian actress Hiam Abbas. The film, directed and narrated by her daughter, explores Abbas’ complex identity and the existential threat to her birthplace.

Soundtrack to a Coup d’État  (Belgium/France/The Netherlands), directed by Johan Grimonprez, examines how the CIA used African American musicians during the Cold War to extend American dominance, focusing on the resource-rich Belgian Congo and featuring key cultural talents of the era.

A Fidai Film  (Palestine/Germany/Qatar/Brazil/France), directed by Kamal Aljafari, is an experimental film that reclaims images stolen by the Israeli Defense Force from Beirut’s Palestine Research Center during the 1982 invasion of Southern Lebanon.

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