Twelve South African films are among the 65 from 32 countries being screened at the two-week African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) that opens in New York City on Friday.
Death of a Whistleblower, directed by award-winning filmmaker Ian Gabriel, is the opening night choice for the 32nd annual iteration of the festival.
The political thriller is about investigative journalist Luyanda Masinda, played by Noxolo Dlamini, who seeks to expose corruption in South Africa’s military.
Gabriel took 15 years to research Death of a Whistleblower.
“The biggest challenge was that many [of the actors] were still children or not yet born when apartheid ended, so to draw a comparison between now and then and try to illuminate how the threats of the past and present are somehow linked, needed me to spend time talking to, and educating the actors to facts of the past and dispersed facts of the present,” he said.
Director Naledi Bogacwi will be at ADIFF for the first time for the US premiere of her film Banned, which also screens on Friday. “It’s an honour to contribute to a festival that seeks to inspire imaginations, challenge stereotypes, and foster transformation in attitudes that perpetuate injustice,” she said.
“Banned was inspired by the need to explore and document South Africa’s complex history of censorship. During my research, I came across the story of Joe Bullet, the first film to feature an all-African cast. Despite its non-political nature and lack of any political affiliations, the apartheid government banned it.
“This pivotal moment made me realise that censorship during apartheid was not only about suppressing political dissent, but also about silencing the everyday lives and aspirations of black people. Thus Banned was born, a project to expose and document the true reasons behind the censorship and the impact it had on black South Africans’ lives.”
Tara Moore, director of her first film Legacy: A Decolonised History of South Africa, will attend the US premiere at the festival on December 4. The film won best South African documentary award at the Durban International Film Festival this year.
“This is the first time that Wilhelm Verwoerd, a grandson of the ‘architect of apartheid’ HF Verwoerd, has shared his story in a documentary,” she said.
“He has an incredibly enlightened and candid view on his ancestral history and present-day South Africa, which will resonate with people around the world.
“The film offers hope and a very tangible, do-able, actionable power-of-the-mind solution, as well as reminding us that it was community-led change that brought about democracy in South Africa. We can’t leave it all to the government. We have to get our hands dirty, we have to listen, learn, communicate, and figure out what we can each do to help shape our country towards its full potential.”
Other films from South Africa at the New York festival include Aces, Back of the Moon: Sophiatown 1968, Good Mourning, Joe Bullet, Nothing but the Truth, Quantum, and Sierra’s Gold.
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