Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, when memory clings to silence and place
There is something ghostly about Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight. Not in the horror sense, but in the way memory clings to silence and place. From its opening scenes, the film presents the landscape of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia in 1980 as haunted, by war, by loss, and by a childhood slowly eroding under the weight […]
Being you, “be kinder to who you once were !”
There are films that dazzle you with plot twists and visual spectacle, and then there are films like Being You; quiet, deeply personal, and resounding with emotional honesty. Directed by South African filmmaker Minenhle Luthuli, Being You takes a high-concept idea; time travel, and anchors it in a soulful, character-driven story about memory, regret, and […]
Pigcasso―A human story about a pig that paints
Riley Hlatshwayo July 19th, 2025 Stefan Enslin’s documentary feature, Pigcasso: The Million Dollar Pig, is an interesting story that makes one sit down with their thoughts and wonder just exactly what it was that they’ve just experienced. From the outset, the film presents itself as a chronicle of the origins of arguably the world’s first […]
Street Trash : A Fledged Cape Town Horror
By Tshi Malatji Street Trash, an homage to the 1987 film of the same name, is an electrifying body-horror science-fiction showing the prowess of Ryan Kruger’s macabre of human flesh combined with blithesome wit. From the very first scene, we are exposed to the ghastly tone of a film set in a crisis-ridden South Africa […]
The Weekend questions blind loyalty to family
If family is forever, where do you draw the line when it starts to demand blood? In The Weekend, director Daniel Oriahi delivers a visual piece filled with atmospheric dread, anchoring familial warmth in the unlikeliest of places, right at the doorstep of horror. Written by Egbemawei Dimiyei Sammy, Vanessa Kanu, and Freddie O. Anyaegbunam […]
A Waking Film | God’s Work Review
By Tshi Malatji God’s Work merges fiction and reality through surreal dream sequences and satirical commentary, overshadowed by the dramatic portrayal of a group of homeless men who survive day-by-day in a hostile South African city. The film has multiple points of focus, enforcing a chaotic message about the mess created by poverty and survival. […]
Fleas: A Harrowing Allegory of Xenophobia in South Africa
By Tshi Malatji Amazeze are fleas, considered nuisances to their community. Jordy Sank’s short film could not be more on-the-nose as its main character is a young boy, Tonderai, who tries to survive a single night surrounded by a mob going shack-to-shack to find migrants. On their shack, there is an image of a flea […]
Coming out to come-of-age | Review of Black Burns Fast
By Tshi Malatji Black Burns Fast is a coming-of-age romance set in a South African all-girls religious boarding school, where scholarship student Luthando Mthimkhulu studies all-day and avoids breaking rules, but secretly wants to explore her sexuality and live a more exciting school life. With lighthearted point-of-view scenes, quick camera dollies, playful graphic effects and […]
Fire & Faith | B(l)ind the Sacrifice review
By Tshi Malatji B(l)ind the Sacrifice is Nkhane’s symbolic short film about queer identity in South Africa, how it intersects with religion, culture and family in Black communities. It retells The Sacrifice of Isaac from Genesis, with a twist at the end. Identity is depicted as a suppression, a suggestion, a secret. The characters are […]
Inside DIFF: A Conversation with Festival Manager Andrea Voges
By Alice Johnson With the 46th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) fast approaching, Festival Manager and Head of Programming Andrea Voges offered an in-depth look at what keeps Southern Africa’s oldest Oscar-qualifying event both resilient and provocative. Drawing on nearly two decades in festival curation and arts management, Voges spoke about DIFF’s post-pandemic recovery, this […]