When The Jozi Film Festival started two years ago, it was created as a platform for Joburg filmmakers and to showcase films about the city and as co-founder Lisa Henry points out that in that time they did screen international films, as long as they had something to do with Joburg. By Theresa Smith
But the Joburg film scene being what it is, it's not like they are churning out the features, so expanding the line-up to include other international and local films makes sense.
Specifically they looked for films which dealt with the same issues Joburg audiences would deal with, or which would give a different perspective on a familiar problem.
Joburg films are still given a priority, like iNumber Number which is our opening film, said Henry.
We just don't have a theme as such, we're a multi-genre slate. We select on the basis of what we think the Jozi audience will respond to.
to ForgottenKingdom
The Forgotten Kingdom
.
The third annual Jozi Film Festival runs this weekend at venues throughout the city, including The Bioscope Independent Cinema in the Maboneng Precinct and the CineCentre in Killarney Mall.
The festival offers Q&A sessions with attending film directors, awards for the best films and masterclasses for filmmakers and other interested audience members on Saturday at Goethe On Main.
Crime drama iNumber Number, directed by Donovan Marsh, is a vehicle for S'dumo Mtshali, who won the reality TV series Class Act competition. It tells the story of an honest undercover cop who, after being cheated out of a promotion, decides to cross over to the dark side and join a cash-in-transit heist gang.
The film opens on the local circuit on April 25, but Joburg audiences will get a first glimpse tonight at The Bioscope.
iNumber Number will receive a limited US release later this year, but it has also been optioned for a Hollywood remake by Universal Pictures produced by Chris Morgan, the writer of the Fast & Furious movies, and his partner Emile Gladstone.
In a coup for the festival, they will also screen Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel at Ster-Kinekor's Rosebank Nouveau on Saturday night at 8.15pm, prior to the film's local circuit release on March 21.
Since the Joburg film audience has proven to be rather diverse, Henry says they have gone for a mix of short fiction, heavy drama, light comedy and documentaries; something for everyone.
Features to look out for are the Joburg premiere of The Forgotten Kingdom (tomorrow at Cine Centre, Killarney), the lyrical and beautifully filmed Lesotho drama directed by Andrew Mudge; The Fastest Film Ever Made: Shotgun Garfunkel; Jahmil Qubeka's controversial Of Good Report and Andrew Worsdale's Durban Poison (tomorrow at Cine Centre, Killarney).
Starring Brandon Auret and Cara Roberts, Durban Poison is unlikely to receive a local circuit release, so this will be one of your few chances to catch the killer romance which won the Best South Africa Feature Film award at last year's Durban International Film Festival.
The festival provides a platform, the filmmakers we screen won't often enjoy a cinema release so we give them a space and invite audiences to come and watch. A lot of the local films will go out of the country and we won't see them here.
It's a small festival. We are gritty and run by volunteers. Our costs are covered by Hollard, but we don't get paid. We are supported by the people in the industry, The Bioscope and CineCentre, said Henry.
Check at: www.jozifilmfestival. co.za for the full list of films and more details about the six second Vine Mobile Competition which is based on the theme Unexpected and open to all.
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
17/07/2025
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers today introduced its Content Provenance and Authenticity (CPA) in Media Study Group (S...
17/07/2025
NEW YORK Despite widespread concerns about a soft advertising market, NBCUniversal said it closed its 2025-26 upfront negotiation cycle with a record ad sales v...
17/07/2025
NEW YORK Television advertising remains an effective means to market and influence younger baby boomer and Generation X consumers approaching retirement age, ac...
17/07/2025
ALLENTOWN, Pa. & JERSEY CITY, N.J. Service Electric Cable TV and OpenVault have announced that the operator is deploying the OpenVault Proactive Network Manage...
17/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following up on his first major policy speech just two ago, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is promising to buck the usual summ...
17/07/2025
Luxembourg, 14 July 2025 - SES received the final regulatory approvals for the SES-Intelsat transaction, including the US Federal Communications Commission.
O...
17/07/2025
Berklee Alumni Nominated for 2025 Emmy Awards Twenty-three Berklee alumni received nominations across categories in sound mixing, sound editing, and compositi...
16/07/2025
It's Emmy nominations day, and Sundance Institute storytellers are basking i...
16/07/2025
Spotify's podcast editorial team is always on the hunt for shows and episodes that spark conversation, push boundaries, and keep us coming back for more. As...
16/07/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
16/07/2025
Join us at IBC this September and take control of your content. Discover how we're bringing a new level of purpose and precision to the application of AI in...
16/07/2025
Warsaw - Poland, June 24, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has released its latest May All Screens Video Landscape...
16/07/2025
Bluey Tops Nielsen's Overall Streaming List with More Than 25 Billion Minutes Streamed from January through June 2025
Big June Vaults Squid Game into Top O...
16/07/2025
TV SIM, the SBT affiliate serving Esp rito Santo state in Brazil, has launched a transmitter upgrade initiative with the installation of a Rohde & Schwarz R&S T...
16/07/2025
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, is turning its vision to the future of automation with its demonstrations ...
16/07/2025
Ikegami announces a new addition to its UNICAM-XE product range with the introduction of the UHK-X700RF wireless portable camera: The new version has the same f...
16/07/2025
Today, Amazon Web Services added TwelveLabs as a new model provider to Amazon Bedrock, delivering what could be the most significant breakthrough in enterprise ...
16/07/2025
NEW YORK Streaming platforms continued to dominate TV viewing patterns in June, with data from Nielsen's 50th monthly report of The Gauge showing that strea...
16/07/2025
MAHWAH, NJ Ikegami has introduced the the UHK-X700RF wireless portable camera, a new addition to its UNICAM-XE product range with the same feature set, operatio...
16/07/2025
LONDON IBC2025 organizers said global attendees will have access to a new feature that will integrate Amsterdam's GVB public transport pass into the officia...
16/07/2025
July 16th, 2025
Tribeca Films to Release the Acclaimed LARPing Doc WE CAN BE HEROES by Carina Mia Wong and Alex Simmons, Alongside a Slate of Festival-Favori...
16/07/2025
Deltatre Acquires Endeavor Streaming in Major Streaming Industry Move The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025 By Brandon Costa, Direc...
16/07/2025
SVG Regional Sports Production Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch ...
16/07/2025
Wednesday 16 July 2025
Sky and ITV today announced an extension of their long-standing partnership, which will see ITV's content and services remain seamle...
16/07/2025
Sky Sports lifts the lid on Lions life with hilarious behind-the-scenes mockumentaryWednesday 16 July 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cooki...
16/07/2025
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA Apple TV+ today earned a record-breaking 81 Emmy Award nominations across 14 hit Apple Original titles for this year's 77th Emmy Awa...
15/07/2025
Independent media outlets in Brazil and Colombia are invited to apply for a new programme aimed at strengthening the long-term resilience of journalism in the f...
15/07/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
15/07/2025
Spotify une fuerzas con DiDi, la app l der en servicios de movilidad, delivery y...
15/07/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
15/07/2025
L3Harris put its CORVUS-RAVEN counter-small UAS capability into the hands of soldiers at VANAHEIM, showcasing its ability to provide passive signal detect, enha...
15/07/2025
Netflix Viewing Up 13.5% vs. May, Represents 42% of Monthly Gain for Streaming
...
15/07/2025
SAN FRANCISCO and BENGALARU, India Sangeeta Chakraborty has been named chief revenue officer at Amagi, a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology pro...
15/07/2025
As part of its mandate, the Advanced Television Systems Committee the U.S. organization tasked with developing advanced broadcast TV standards promotes ATSC 3.0...
15/07/2025
QuickLink, the leading global provider of multi-camera video productions and remote contributions, announces the launch of two innovative control panels Studi...
15/07/2025
Chris Kontopanos has joined leading high-quality microphone solutions manufacturer, DPA Microphones, as the company's new Regional Sales Manager for the Mid...
15/07/2025
Magnifi by VideoVerse, a global leader in AI-powered video automation, has launched a major platform upgrade built to simplify live and archival video editing f...
15/07/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will preview its latest innovations at IBC2025, Stand 7.B21. This year's showcase highlights how...
15/07/2025
IBC2025 is set to transform the onsite experience for its global attendees with the launch of a pioneering new feature: full integration of Amsterdam's GVB ...
15/07/2025
Music, sport and technology collided in spectacular fashion as ASB GlassFloor powered the debut of Beats N Buckets, Germany's first Basketball meets Hip-Ho...
15/07/2025
The Collectv, the Emmy award-winning broadcast solutions and workflows consultancy - and winner of Broadcast Tech's Team of the Year is delighted to announc...
15/07/2025
SipRadius, the expert in secure, low latency media transport, will showcase how broadcasters and media companies can take control of fragmented IP workflows at ...
15/07/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, today announced its strategic partnership with beIN ASIA PACIFIC, a leading multi-platform sports media...
15/07/2025
Company marks 15 years of innovation at the show
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and monetization at scale, will return to IBC (Hall 1, Stand F83. RAI, Amster...
15/07/2025
New software solutions extend trusted timing measurement across broadcast, venue, and professional AV applications
Hitomi Broadcast, the market leader in audi...
15/07/2025
SHENZHEN, China Telycam has added control options for its portfolio of pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras with a new plug-in for Elgato's Stream Deck family of con...
When The Jozi Film Festival started two years ago, it was created as a platform for Joburg filmmakers and to showcase films about the city and as co-founder Lisa Henry points out that in that time they did screen international films, as long as they had something to do with Joburg. By Theresa Smith
