The DFA is thrilled to LAUNCH the DFA Covid-19 Short Film Grant collection of short doc films under the title “Life, Love, Rifts and Rage in the Time of Covid-19” at the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival! In view of the challenges faced by our industry the DFA board created the DFA Covid-19 Short Film Grant to support independent content that reflects South African stories during the coronavirus pandemic.
“When the Covid-19 Lockdown arrived there wasn’t much good news going around and relief funds were slow to reach our members. The DFA decided to offer 5 filmmakers an opportunity to receive the DFA Covid-19 Short Film Grant under the banner Life, Love, Rifts and Rage in the time of Covid-19“, says DFA co-chair and project co-ordinator Miki Redelinghuys. “We issued the call and there was an overwhelmingly positive response. We are proud to be supporting independent content that reflects South African stories during the coronavirus pandemic and equally excited to premiere the films at this year’s edition of Encounters Documentary Film Festival”.
Encounters cements its place as Africa’s leading documentary festival as it celebrates its 22nd year by making most of the films free-of-charge to view on virtual platforms, but will also screen at selected cinema venues in Johannesburg and Cape Town from 20 -30 August. After two decades offering South African and international audiences compelling and groundbreaking documentaries this move into the digital arena sees Encounters at the cutting-edge of cinema’s next wave. “During this challenging time of COVID-19, the courageous step toward a new kind of film festival has been a monumental team effort”, Encounters Festival Director Mandisa Zitha.
The LAUNCH of the DFA Covid-19 Short Films will be online during Encounters:
DFA Covid-19 Shorts (only 400 tickets available)
Watchable from 6pm on 30 August 2020 for a 24 hour period only
+ live Q&A with the filmmakers around 6:45pm
We are grateful to the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture for their support of the Grant.