Durban International Film Festival Review

From July 22 to August 1, the Durban International Film Festival 2021 offered up free movies, documentaries, and shorts in South Africa.

I was most moved by the documentaries and shorts. Shorts are perfect, they are between 10 and 40 minutes and pack so much drama and intrigue in such a short time!

I really enjoyed the selection. Here are some of my favorites.

Watch out for spoilers!

Shorts

Ala Kachuu – Take and Run

Country: Kyrgyzstan

Ala Kachuu is my favorite viewing from the Durban International Film Festival. Sezim is 19 and wants to go to the capital to go to university. Her mother wants her to prepare to get married, as in traditional Kyrgyz culture. Instead, she runs off from her small village, takes a scholarship exam in the capital, and starts working at a bakery.

It all goes wrong when some mysterious customers enter the shop. As Sezim leaves the bakery, she is kidnapped and driven to a small town where she is forced to marry her kidnapper. (This is real life for 1 in 5 women in Kyrgyzstan.)

To avoid social stigmatization, her parents accept the marriage. Sezim attempts to run away several times and swears she will never be happy. Finally, her kidnapper/husband’s grandmother recognizes Sezim’s determination and helps her escape.

This story reminded me of a shocking BBC article I read back in April—where I first learned about kidnapped brides in Kyrgyzstan.

Heart Attack

Country: South Africa

So much drama in just 14 minutes! A successful surgeon recognizes a man who urgently needs a heart operation. And who is he? The man who killed her mother! Through flashbacks, we find out that the man is actually her father (or at least you think so for a bit) and that he ran away after hitting her mother when a white landowner was summoning her mother (probably to rape her…?).

Heart Attack could easily be turned into a full-length movie.

Al- Sit

Country: Qatar & Sudan

Fifteen-year-old Nafisa is set up for an arranged marriage to a young Sudanese businessman who lives in Qatar. Before they can get married, the potential groom needs permission from Nafisa’ grandmother, Al-Sit, the village matriarch. However, the marriage is rejected by Al-Sit. Rather, she expects Nafisa to follow in her footsteps: get married to an old man and become the next village matriarch.

Documentaries

I, Mary

Country: South Africa

Regina Mary is a woman with Albinism living in Johannesburg. In her documentary, we learn about Regina Mary’s story and the social stigma (and myths) surrounding people with Albinism. Regina Mary is strong and resilient. We learn about her online talk show “My Voice: Albinism The New Era,” and her Facebook group that provides support and encouragement to people with Albinism.

I definitely recommend this Durban International Film Festival documentary to learn more about the struggles and strengths of the Albinism community and of Region Mary.

Ophir

Country: Papua New Guinea

Follow the fight for independence by the people of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, and learn about the island’s history with destructive mining that has fractured communities and impacted once fertile farming land.

The documentary interviews residents, farmers, and landowners about the impacts of the Panguna copper mine and the deadly conflict that followed. The documentary also goes into the island’s new mining law, with disastrous consequences for landowners. (Like fines upwards of $30,000 for small-scale mining on their own land).

Ophir is an excellent documentary and I definitely recommend it!

Films

The Rain Falls Where it Will

Country: Iran

This film is about a nurse who “helps” her most hopeless patients die in a hospital in Tehran. She is asked to provide end-of-life care for a private patient who is in a comma. It’s got English “life in the moor” vibes as the seaside town is constantly rainy and misty.

This movie is classified as a thriller. I think this is due to the slow-moving element of the unknown. However, don’t expect something like “Get Out.”

Based on the nurse’s past, we expect her to kill the patient. However, there is a supernatural scene (that left me confused) as the coma patient shows some signs of “the force” (for my Star Wars peeps). This supernatural element isn’t developed any further. I’m not if I wish it was or wasn’t. There is drama with the patient’s family and the nurse learns more about them from the grandson.

I liked the movie but not sure I would recommend it.

Pink Lake

Country: Canada

Pink Lake is about a couple living in Canada whose lives get disrupted with the husband’s childhood friend comes to visit following a breakup. The friend asks the husband to be a sperm donor as they both want kids and his wife doesn’t.

I really liked Pink Lake. (I’m generally a fan of indie-style dramas). The movie unpacks the complicated issue of one partner wanting kids while the other doesn’t. It also brings in this extra element of being a sperm donor.

At first, the wife is supportive, saying that the decision is up to her husband, but then she starts to feel uncomfortable. She goes back on her approval, causing an awkward dinner party… The wife is also dealing with the loss of her mother.

I recommend this DIFF selection.

Check out the full Durban International Film Festival selection on the site.

Want to watch these films? Start googling! Some may be available on streaming services, but others will require some serious digging.