The jury is out, and the Egyptian feature film Feathers has been named as the best film at the recently concluded Joburg Film Festival. It is directed by Omar El Zohairy.
The fifth edition of the festival kicked off on Tuesday last week at the Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Returning to cinemas around Johannesburg for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the annual festival consisted of 20 African premieres and 27 South African premieres. It ran until Sunday.
Presented by MultiChoice Group, the festival’s leading partner, the official awards ceremony was held at Theatre on the Square, also in Sandton, on Saturday.
The black and white Ethiopian documentary Faya Dayi, which is directed, written, starring and produced by Jessica Beshir walked away with the Best African Film award, while the Best Documentary award went to the explosive film Nous, étudiants from the Central African Republic. It is directed by Rafiki Fariala.
This year’s jury comprised esteemed and respected filmmakers and industry experts including South Africa’s producer Carolyn Carew, filmmaker Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, author, columnist, and poet Njoko Muhoho, Sundance alumni and filmmaker Mohamed Siam, and director and producer Jihan El-Tahri.
In the category of Africa’s Most Loved Story Tellers, MultiChoice Group recognised filmmakers for their impact and contribution to the industry. Five key awards were presented as follows.
- Emerging Storyteller Award was presented to Siphosethu Tshapu (Milton Empire)
- Global Storyteller Award was presented to Phathutshedzo Makwarela and Gwydion Beynon (Tshedza Pictures).
- Fearless Storyteller Award went to Chris Q Radebe (Match Pictures)
- Rising African Star Award went to Kganki Mphahlele (Pula Bakgaga Media)
- Anansi Award was presented to Connie Chiume for her decades of immense industry contribution to creative storytelling
Collen Dlamini, MultiChoice Group executive: corporate affairs, said: “Our partnership with the Joburg Film Festival is one that speaks to our ethos of being Africa’s most loved storyteller.
“We thank the Joburg Film Festival for partnering with us once again, as we celebrate the amazing storytellers that have inspired us. Congratulations to all those who were nominated and all the winners, you have shown us all what it means to embrace the art of storytelling.”
The awards night also saw the announcement of the 2023 winner of the Young Voices film competition, an initiative of The Joburg Film Festival youth and audience development programme.
This year the programme reached more than 300 young people via a series of workshops in Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, West Rand, Sedibeng, and Johannesburg.
The workshops specifically targeted youth living in townships and industry professionals sharing their experience and knowledge of the amazing craft of cinematic storytelling.
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