docLOVE: Harnessing the power of documentary film
docLOVE is a monthly documentary film screening program and facilitated discussions. We provide an interactive space for engagement, while at the same time celebrating creative documentary films. The DFA has partnered with eight cinema spaces to bring free documentary screenings to audiences in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Makhanda, East London, Tzaneen, Durban and Bloemfontein. We look forward to seeing you there.
You can catch us at:
- Bertha House, Mowbray, Cape Town
- Bertha Movie House, Isivivana Centre, Khayelitsha, Cape Town
- The Bioscope Independent Cinema, Johannesburg.
- Amazwi South African Literature Museum, Makhanda
- The Cortex Hub, East London
- Waaihoek Wesleyan Church, Bloemfontein
- Lenyenye Hall, Tzaneen
- Kwa Zulu Natal Society for the Arts Gallery, Durban
In early 2024, the docLOVE team had the pleasure of being approached by Zak Essa, the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme Analyst, who was compiling a comprehensive report ahead of the State of the Nation Address. docLOVE has been featured in the report, specifically on page 23. The report was officially released during a special engagement session between President Ramaphosa and young people in Belhar, Cape Town.
Cinema for Social Cohesion
‘In a time of growing polarisation, the docLOVE project – established by the Documentary Filmmakers’ Association and supported through the NFVF – is on a mission to use fi lm as a catalyst for social change, meaningful conversations and building social cohesion.
Each month, docLove hosts open-to-the- public, free, monthly documentary film screenings. Supported by the PESP, docLOVE expanded its documentary film screenings hosted in Gauteng and the Western Cape, across South Africa, reaching new audiences in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Limpopo, the Free State, and the Eastern Cape. This expansion has not only exposed more people to diverse, thought-provoking films but also generated employment opportunities within the film sector, supporting filmmakers, guest speakers, and local screening facilitators. It has shown how strategic support in the arts can lead to both social and economic benefits, truly embodying the power of film in building a more cohesive and inclusive society. ‘We cannot attach a value to the social cohesion, to the conversations, to the shifts in peoples’ minds. docLOVE and the arts in general, has a massive role to play (…) we are faced by so many social issues, what we honestly need is hope, we need plans for how we live in this world. I think documentary is a roadmap through which we try to find answers to a better way of being in this world.’ ~ Miki Redelinghuys, docLOVE manager
