ENCOUNTERS 2024: RAW

Every year since our founding in 2010, The Bioscope has proudly hosted screenings of The Encounters South African International Documentary Festival. Now over 25 years old as a festival, Encounters returns to The Bioscope once again with screenings from 21 June - 30 July. Tickets are R80. For more information on the festival as a whole, please visit encounters.co.za

SEE THE FULL BIOSCOPE SCHEDULE FOR ENCOUNTERS HERE

RAW (Rou)

Adriaan de la Rey | South Africa | 2023 | 117 min

Raw (Rou) follows the slow death of a South African rural town, Nthoroane, through an exploration of myths, disasters, and miracles that surround the town’s history. Raw (Rou), which refers to a ‘process of mourning,’ captures the lives and stories of the residents that remain connected to this place. Through a mix of interviews and observation, the legends and truth of the town converge into a newfound reality, marked by stories of aliens, ancestors, and faith. The film explores the history and politics of Nthoroane, from the forcible evictions of black residents as a result of coal mining operation in 1991, to the lore surrounding the spiritual qualities of the landmark ‘SR’ stone initials found on the hill overlooking the town. Raw (Rou) is a lamentation on the remnants of a once thriving South African town, in the face of displacement, decay and the loss of a way of life.