The 33rd Durban International Film Festival Shines a Light on Ecological Issues
The environment around us has never been so under threat by the impact of human exploitative activity on its own habitat. From climate change to the destruction of precious flora and fauna, the Eco Lens at Durban International Film Festival 2012 (supported by principal funder, the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund) brings environmental issues under the microscope.
The Eco Lens comprises both factual documentary accounts and fictional stories dedicated to drawing our attention to some of the valuable cogs in the delicate machine that is this blue and green planet.
Consumption patterns, our eating habits and the impact of corporatized food production come under scrutiny in particular: Bitter Seeds (winner of the Green Screen Prize at IDFA) looks at the issue of multinational GM corporations and their impact on the small farmers. LoveMEATender is a brutal but illuminating and thorough look at the unsustainability of the meat industry, and Semisweet: Life in Chocolate delves into all the facets of the production of the world’s favourite confectionery, including its dark involvement in child slavery. Four Horsemen interlinks the faltering financial system, violence and conflict, poverty, and depletion of the eath’s natural resources. In the feature film Now, Forager, love and a nostalgia for more traditional modes of food production are rendered in earthy tones. Last Winter laments the loss of small scale farming as the agricultural world becomes increasingly industrialized.
The way we interact with some of our more majestic beasts are examined in the moving All the President’s Elephants, where a brave woman befriends and defends a royal herd of elephants in Zimbabwe, and the thrilling Dragon’s Feast 3D takes us underwater with crocodiles, in 3D. The South African feature, Snare, is a gritty exposé in fictional form of the networks behind the rhino poaching epidemic. Some more otherworldly beasts stride across our screens in the gorgeously vivid eco-fable Beasts of the Southern Wild. Set in Namibia, Taste of Rain reminds us of the centrality of love and water in the lives of people, while the decline in the water quality of a precious lake in India evokes a sense of having been forsaken by our holy guardians in the quietly moving Valley of Saints.
The way we interact with some of our more majestic beasts are examined in the moving All the President’s Elephants, where a brave woman befriends and defends a royal herd of elephants in Zimbabwe, and the thrilling Dragon’s Feast 3D takes us underwater with crocodiles, in 3D. The South African feature, Snare, is a gritty exposé in fictional form of the networks behind the rhino poaching epidemic. Some more otherworldly beasts stride across our screens in the gorgeously vivid eco-fable Beasts of the Southern Wild. Set in Namibia, Taste of Rain reminds us of the centrality of love and water in the lives of people, while the decline in the water quality of a precious lake in India evokes a sense of having been forsaken by our holy guardians in the quietly moving Valley of Saints.
For more details regarding the film festival programme, visit www.durbanfilmfest.co.za
Organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal), the Durban International Film Festival is supported by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (principal funder), National Film and Video Foundation, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism, HIVOS, City of Durban, German Embassy, Goethe Institut, Industrial Development Corporation, The French Season in South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture, and a range of other valued partners.
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(Source: @DIFFest )
Want to become ‘President of the East Coast’?
It’s like a dream come true - the opportunity for one regular citizen to become ‘President’ with all the perks and none of the politics. East Coast Radio together with Chevrolet this week launched the very first ‘President of the East Coast’ campaign. The station is looking for one person inKwaZulu-Natal who embodies everything Funsunzi. They win the title for a full year and enjoy all the benefits that come along with it.
So what does walking away with the title mean? The ‘President’ will get a Chevrolet as an official car, VIP access and treatment at tons of major events in KwaZulu-Natal and a range of other perks – including holiday and dinner vouchers at some of the province’s top spots.
It is a truly Funsunzi role, so we’re looking for candidates who love to socialize, love to blog and, most importantly, love KZN. They also need to be between the ages of 25 and 34.
Once the 6 finalists are chosen, they will all be put through the ‘Funsunzi filter’ with exciting challenges all the while testing their knowledge of the province. The top three candidates will then face the public vote. After all the public need a say as to who their ‘President’ is!
If you’re full of charisma and think you have what it takes to win the ultimate public vote then start your campaign now at www.ecr.co.za.
(Source - East Coast Radio )
Seen Around Town
Jean-Marie Spitaels and Jerome Pillai performing at @mondaystclement
Photography by @FionaJanePhotos
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