Karoo town hosts indie film festival

FOR a solar-powered movie experience, among others, in countrified gentility don’t miss the inaugural Indie Karoo Short Film Festival (IKFF) in Prince Albert from Friday.

Full-length features, documentaries, short and experimental films will be showcased over three days in the picturesque Karoo town at the foot of the Swartberg mountains.

Aside from the solar-powered entertainment in an army tent – which will have more of a family focus, as well as hosting short and experimental films – the main venue will be The Showroom, a state-of-theart, multipurpose theatre.

Anyone interested, for example, in making their own four- or 90-minute movie will find the festival inspiring. It has attracted considerable interest from independent film-makers and the general public. “With 50 carefully curated films screening in three venues over three days, the inaugural IKFF seeks to create a platform for independent film-makers and storytellers producing cutting-edge feature, documentary, experimental and short films by introducing audiences to some of SA’s most exciting emerging and established talents,” the organisers said.

Among the festival highlights are the directorial debut of the founder, Johnny Breedt, in which a serial killer runs loose in the northern suburbs, and Corné van Rooyen’s Hollywood in my Huis.

In Coloured, Siona O’Connell focuses on two Cape Town pageants, the Miss Gay Western Cape and Spring Queen, arguing for recognition of a group of people who continue to struggle to find a place in the postapartheid landscape.

In Karoo: Land of Thirst, chef Justin Bonello embarks on a journey to tell incredible stories buried in the dust. Children will enjoy Anthony Silverston’s animation movie Khumba.

E-mail: ikffestival@gmail.com