The 13th Encounters South African International Documentary Festival
Doccie fans can explore the fest in  Cape Town and Johannesburg until June 26. This year's selection has all the hallmarks of an edgy teenager, like a fascination with sex (G-Spotting), celebrity (Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, a winner at Sundance in 2010 last year), rebellion (LennonNYC),  injustice (Black Power Mixtape, a winner at Sundance in 2011) and  Inside Job, the scathing Oscar-winning dissection of the global economic crisis, This year's selection features 37 films from 14 countries and five continents, including 11 world premieres, 19 South African films and 17 international films.
 
Eye-opening films investigate everything from Robert Mugabe's reign in Zimbabwe (Whatever happened to Robert Mugabe?) to Middle Eastern falcon traders with links to Osama Bin Laden (Feathered Cocaine) to New Zealand's preparations for this year's Rugby World Cup (Cup of Dreams) to the difference between eco-warriors and eco-terrorists in America (If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, which came second at Miami Film Festival).

Africa's not left out: When China Met Africa is an award-winning account of the impact and experiences of Africa's biggest investor.

"We've had an extraordinary number of entries this year," says Festival Director Mandisa Zitha. "Our final selection will keep audiences entertained but also make them relook at the world through new eyes."

With just over half the programme coming from within our borders, Encounters also reveals the very different worlds South Africans experience within the same country.

Simon Wood's Forerunners, winner of the Jury Award at The Pan African Film Festival in Cannes, explores South Africa's emerging black middle class, while Tim Wege's King Naki tells the story of the Seabiscuit of the Eastern Cape.

Brian Tilley's History Uncut is a rare interview with Chris Hani, who's been called the president we should have had, while Eddie Edwards' Once Upon a Day profiles Brenda Fassie, the controversial queen of African pop.

Two well-known local writers make eagerly anticipated directorial debuts at the Festival.

Lauren Beukes, whose Zoo City recently won The Arthur C. Clarke Award for the year's best science fiction novel, will première Glitterboys and Ganglands, the funny and moving story of three hopefuls of the Miss Gay Western Cape competition

Eric Miyeni, who wrote The Only Black at the Dinner Party and was famously fired by SAFM for being too controversial, will screen Mining for Change: A Story of South African Mining, which is sure to generate heated debate. Eric directed the film with Navan Chetty.

Another 10 South African films will have their world premières at Encounters: Jacques de Villiers and Laura Gamse's The Creators; Khalid Shamis' The Imam and I; Sara Gouveia and Calum MacNaughton's Mama Goema: The Cape Town Beat in Five Movements; and Matthew Kalil's Porselynnkas Dokimenter, as well as the shorts An Intersection (Karin Slater); From B-Boys to Being Men (Tanswell Jansen); Scars (Tiny Laubscher, Chris Schutte); Wellbodi Biznes (Miki Redelinghuys, Kyle O'Donoghue); Li-Xia's Salon (Omelga Mthiyane); and When We Planted Trees (Shelley Barry).
"There were more South African entries than ever this year," says Mandisa. "Our filmmakers are expanding their funding resources beyond the broadcasters, which has meant we've received better films which are more varied. It's been a relief to get fewer TV format-style documentaries and more auteur-driven independent ones."

Encounters runs until at Nu Metro V&A Waterfront and at Nu Metro Hyde Park and The Bioscope in Johannesburg. Visit the Encounters website

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A Week of German and French Thrillers for Fugard Bioscope

The inaugural season of the Fugard Theatre Bioscope Classic Winter Film Festival will showcase A Season of Award-Winning German and French Thrillers from June 20 - 25,
The four week Fugard Bioscope Winter Classic Film Festival, which is presented in Association with Thelema Mountain Vineyards, will have four different themes. The film screenings will start at 20:00 every night, with hot soup, fresh garlic bread, Thelema Wines and a warm atmosphere awaiting patrons at the Fugard Theatre from 19:00 each night. The theatre has recently been fitted with new cinema-style seats, full digital cinema quality projection and surround sound systems which will make this a unique cinematic experience inside one of the most beautiful theatres in the country. Come and re-live some of the best Classics ever made on an 8 meter wide screen! The Classic Film Festival has been programmed by Fugard Theatre founding producer Eric Abraham who also produced the Academy Award-winning film KOLYA.

On Monday 20 June the Oscar Winning movie Z (1969) will be screened. Based on true events, the film is about the assassination of a political leader and the subsequent investigation that unravels a conspiracy which reaches the highest rungs of the political and military ladder. It was the recipient of multiple Academy Awards, as well as New York Film Critics Circle and Golden Globe Awards for best Foreign Language Film and Best Film Editing. It stars Yves Montand and Irene Papas, and is directed by Costa Gavras (French).

The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008), (Oscar Nominee - Best Foreign Language Film - German) will be screened on Tuesday 21 June. This is director Uli Edel's examination of the rise and fall of the Red Army Faction who fought against what they called the new fascism of Germany's government in the 1970s. Starring Martina Gedeck and Moritz Bleibtreu.

The Lives of Others (2006) (Multi-Award Nominee and Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film), is on screen on Wednesday 22 June. In this award winning German movie, director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck mixes classic thriller elements with a character study of a man undergoing a change in philosophy and ideology, and he does so with an eye for detail that comes from a carefully constructed script which boils slowly to an ending of unflinching honesty. Starring Ulrich Muhe and Martina Gedeck.

Golden Globe Winner Carlos (2009) will be screened on Thursday 23 June. This multi award nominee also won a Golden Globe winner for Best Motion Picture made for TV. The French film stars Edgar Ramirez and Alexander Scheer. It tells the story of Venezuelan revolutionary Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, better known as Carlos, or Carlos The Jackal, brought to life by French director Olivier Assayas. The film straddles the fine lines between biopic, thriller and political drama with stunning effectiveness.

Friday 24 June will show Academy Award Nominee for Best Foreign Film A Prophet (2009) - French, starring Tahar Rahim and Niels Arestrup, directed by Jacques Audiard. A young, illiterate Arab man enters prison and begins to navigate his way through a labyrinth of violence, loyalty, attempted reform and personal survival.

Mesrine Part 1 & 2, will be screened on Saturday 25 June. This film won winner French Cesars (French Oscars) for Best Actor, Best Director and Best Sound, after being nominated for 10 Cesar Awards. It stars Vincent Cassel and Ludivine Sagnier, directed by Jean-Francois Richet. This is a classic gangster movie for anyone with a cursory interest in history, crime and the cult of celebrity. Part 1 will be screened at 17h00 and part 2 at 20h00.

Tickets for the screenings are R40 per night, and bookings can be made on Computicket or by phoning the Fugard Theatre Box Office on 021 461 4554. Friends of the Fugard qualify for a 25% discount

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