DIFF Selection: SHORT FILM SELECTION

On 3 August, The Bioscope is proud to present a special selection of films from this year's Durban International Film Festival.

ALL OTHER SCREENINGS WILL BE LISTED HERE

THE SHORT FILM SELECTION

KEBA, INTERRUPTED (16mins) - Despite Keba’s best efforts to manage his life things are not going well. As a caretaker for an apartment building his response to a particularly abusive and unreasonable tenant result in his dismissal. His situation worsens after he receives an emergency phone call from his sister regarding his mother’s failing health. He rushes to his family home only to arrive too late. Pleas to his sister fall on deaf ears and he is forced to take responsibility for taking care of his estranged daughter.

MARIE (8mins) - Tom has it pretty good. He has a lot of things his grandparents never had; an electric toothbrush, two different can-openers, glasses that block blue light. He works online so he rarely needs to leave his apartment. Social interaction makes him anxious. Tom does not really need anyone, and that suits him fine. Or does it? When the day is done and he lies in bed, something tells him he is missing something or someone. One night, a knock on his door presents him with a challenge. Sometimes radical personal change is only a small step away if we would only take it.

MIDDLE OF SOMEWHERE (23mins) - A son is traumatised after the violent death of his mother. At the insistence of his overbearing and traditional grandfather, Allie’s father attempts to guide his son into manhood through a series of hunting trips. He is reluctant to enforce the same patriarchal values on his son but goes through the motions despite his misgivings. His father’s influence is too strong to resist. Plagued by nightmares and guilt Allie’s restless sleep is disturbed one night by an argument. Armed with his newly gained hunting skills and the patriarchal legacy which he has been initiated into, he investigates with fatal consequences.

TAKE A SEAT (14mins) - After receiving her vaccine, a young woman unexpectedly reunites with her ex-boyfriend in the crowded observation room. As they are both forced to wait for the prescribed fifteen minutes, and uncomfortable conversation begins. A chasm exists between the life they thought they wanted together and the present. The awkward situation forces them to confront unresolved issues from their relationship in the most inconvenient and amusing way possible as they navigate the pandemic, their past and possibly their future.

THE WAIT (15mins) - After arriving at a Cape Town police station to report a crime, Mzu finds an elderly man has been waiting at the back of the line longer than those ahead of him. The station is busy and chaotic, and the old man is confused with no one to help him. Mzu takes it upon himself to ensure that the old man is helped. He quickly finds resistance from those ahead in the line and the stifling bureaucratic system. This is an allegory of South Africa’s complex society, where a sense of powerlessness and hope exist simultaneously, often in equal measures.