Project Detail

Film Festival Film

Synopsis

A movie shot over a weekend at the Durban International Film Festival, South Africa, in July 2018 by the underground South African collective Medu African Film Ensemble (aka Medu AF).
With a sense of mischief and minimal resources pooled together by its contributors, the film tells the story of Fanon - a Black female filmmaker - beset by her demons ten floors up in an oceanside hotel, gazing out over African shores during the hermetically-sealed weirdness that is the world of a film festival. Using elements of fiction and documentary, the film follows Fanon as she wrestles with what the film industry expects her to be, and not to be, as she readies herself to pitch her first film.
Fanon navigates this uncharted territory, while a supporting cast of real-world, “leading, industry professionals”, seated in her hotel room but never seeming to address her directly, dish out advice straight to camera - are they apparitions or voices in her head? Behind-the-scenes shifts to front-of-scene and back again, theory blends with praxis, as it becomes less and less clear who has the reins, unsettling the foundations of the so-called proper way of doing things.
Official Selection Berlinale 2019 - Forum Expanded - World premiere

Details

Year
2019
Type of film
Shorts
Running time
46 min
Director
Mpumelelo Mcata, Perivi Katjavivi
Producer
Anna Teeman, Mpumelelo Mcata, Perivi Katjavivi
Editor
Khalid Shamis
Director of Photography
Zen Marie
Sound
Dylan Valley; Sound Design: Joo Orecchia
Composer
Joo Orecchia
Principal cast
Lindiwe Matshikiza, Jean-Pierre Bekolo, Sara Blecher, Sarah Dawson, Rehad Desai

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

South Africa, Namibia, UK co-production

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

Spacewoman Spacewoman

Director: Hannah Berryman

Year: 2024

A landmark feature documentary about astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command the Space Shuttle.<br /> Eileen’s incredible journey starts with her smalltown beginnings, sees her smash through many glass ceilings, and culminates in four dramatic space shuttle missions, the last being possibly the most dangerous and most important of them all.<br /> At its heart the film is the moving human drama of one family, where a mother’s extraordinary career takes us straight to the big philosophical question of what is the level of acceptable risk in human endeavour? <br /> This film celebrates Commander Collins’ trailblazing NASA career which opened the way for women to become spacecraft pilots and commanders, and proved a perfect riposte to a previous generation of male astronauts who thought there was no place for women to lead the way in space. <br /> Official Selection DOC NYC 2024 - World premiere<br /> Official Selection CPH:DOX 2025 - European premiere

A hand over box of photograph slides. Behind the box is a man playing the clarinet. Jeremy, My Father

Director: Miranda Peyton Jones

Year: 2022

A film which attempts to navigate bereavement following suicide. Through animation, archival footage, and sound, director Miranda Peyton Jones guides us to the heart of her grief, love and loss. The voices of her family and her father’s music underscore this deeply personal, powerful, and poignant film. Royal Television Society Awards 2022 - Winner - Best Documentary Official Selection British Documentary Film Festival 2023 Official Selection British Animation Awards 2024

Arka Kinari ship sailing across Indonesia The Voyage of Arka Kinari

Director: Janire Najera and Matt Wright

Year: 2023

Embark on a cinematic experience where art, music, and environmental advocacy seamlessly converge.<br /> An immersive documentary film about the extraordinary journey aboard the 70-ton sailing ship, Arka Kinari, ingeniously transformed into a cultural platform to amplify the urgent call for action on the climate crisis.<br /> Delve into the inspiring voyage across oceans of musicians Filastine & Nova, connecting distant shores through the unifying language of music and art to raise awarenessabout climate resilience on a global scale.