Behind Her Lens Visuals Presents: Reel to Reality Film Festival

Reel to Reality Festival is a NEW  film festival run by Behind Her Lens Visuals that aims to spotlight films made by student, Indie, established and independent filmmakers and stories in the African diaspora at large, to showcase the past, present and future of storytelling. Reel to Reality merges the work made from the 'reel' and provides a 'real' cultural experience, to bring about a sustained effort in unique cinema-watching experiences of stories that may be missing from the mainstream and promotes a culture of cinema through storytelling related workshops and panel discussions in a time where cinema is constantly changing and evolving.

The Bioscope is proud to host two sessions as part of this film festival. Admission into each session is R100, and each session needs its own ticket. 




SESSION 1

2pm - 4pm



Moya. Dir. Siyabonga Mbhele. South Africa

A 15-minute film interrogating culture and religion and how these two institutions influence each other and in turn influence the psyche of an individual.

After Robot. Dir. Karabelo Shirinde. South Africa

Thandeka Sibisi is a cashier who gets kidnapped in a taxi on her way to work. Strapped and helpless, Thandeka is forced to use her last will power to try and escape.

Daffa Metti (Difficult) Dir. Tal Amiran. United Kingdom

Under Paris' glittering Eiffel Tower, undocumented Senegalese migrants sell miniature souvenirs of the monument, to support their families back home. Far from their loved ones and hounded by the police, each day is a struggle through darkness in the City of Lights.

Ojumo Ti Mo. Dir. Simisolaoluwa Akande. United Kingdom, Czech Republic.

Ojumo Ti Mo is an inventive, gentle and personal documentary short that follows the experience of three daughters and their mother dealing with the loss of their father and husband, respectively, on camera. With phone conversations, text messages and family photos exchanged over three months, each family member unpacks their grief.




SESSION 2

5pm - 6pm


Abalele. Dir. Mel Mthembu. South Africa.

When Mzwandile picks up a hitchhiker on the freeway in the middle of the night and gives her a lift home, little does he know that not everything is as it seems with this beautiful stranger. What her family tells him when he drops her off is as shocking as it is unbelievable. Based on a true story and popular South African folklore, this short film, set in uMlazi township, Durban, follows him as he navigates the series of events that follow soon after he discovers the truth about the woman he picked up.

Anthem. Dir. Priya Jeram-Patel. 

Anthem is a short format documentary  film which explores the post-apartheid identity of the youth within South Africa. The film is structured around the South African National Anthem through spoken word. Through this we explore how the youth or ’Born Frees’ interact and grapple with the ideal of the Rainbow Nation, and how our characters’ attitudes towards this may have changed from their childhood. The aim of the film is to be a catalyst for conversation and to encourage the youth of the country to continue questioning what it means to be South African in 2019 and beyond.

TAB. Dir. Hlumela Matika. South Africa.

Khanya and Sandiswa are left outside the local horse gambling arena by their father, under the strict instructions to not leave the car. Khanya receives her period and makes the decision to enter the arena, when she is caught by her father, the true confines of their delicate relationship come to light.

The Color In Grief. Dir. Antreise Lacey. USA.

Amiree Knight is a 20 year old African-American woman. During her therapy session with Dr. Melody Sims, Amiree must come to terms with why she is there.