The South African Film Festival launched in style last night in Filmbase in Dublin’s Temple Bar, running as part of Ireland’s first South African Week. This fantastic programme brings the very best of South African films and the chance to discover the work of some of South African greatest filmmakers, actors and talents. The festival runs till Friday.
Admission is free.
Gog ‘Helen
Wednesday, 7.00pm
1 hr, 30 mins
Gog’ Helen is an insanely ribald new South African comedy about Helen and Agnes – a shack-dwelling granny and her prostitute granddaughter played by Lillian Dube and Kagiso Rakosa – who go gangster in an attempt to retrieve the old lady’s life savings that have been mistakenly thrown away.
They’re pursued by a nasty taxi driver, an abusive pimp, his evil brother and a lunatic henchman. As the body count rose on the screen at the film’s premiere at the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), so did the laughs and cheers from the audience. The comedy, say its fans, speaks to normal South Africans in a language they understand.
Material
Thursday, 7.00pm
1 hr, 34 mins
Material is one of the smartest, most heart warming movies to originate from South Africa, telling the story of a young Muslim man whose love for stand-up comedy leads to conflict when his father expects him to take over the family business. You will love it!
Material is a comedy drama, what’s come to be known as a “dramedy”, creating an uneasy balance between domestic strife and life’s funnier moments – giving it a sense of reality.
Fanie Fourie’s Lobola
Friday, 7.00pm
1 hr, 38 mins
“What happens when an Afrikaans guy and a Zulu girl fall in love and have to navigate their way through the complicated process of lobola? It’s a recipe for disaster explored in Fanie Fourie’s Lobola, a contemporary romantic comedy about love and tradition in a rapidly evolving society”
All screenings are in the basement, FilmBase, Curved St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.
