The Joburg Film Festival is Johannesburg’s only major film festival and a key cultural event for the region. In a recent episode of Africa Avant Garde, it takes the spotlight, exploring its role in uniting filmmakers and fostering authentic African storytelling. Producer Rehad Desai shares how the festival builds creative communities and highlights both the challenges and opportunities facing South Africa’s film industryThe latest episode of CNN’s Africa Avant Garde meets Rehad Desai, a producer from Uhuru Productions, a company featured in the Joburg Film Festival.
Desai explains that the Joburg Film Festival is, “The only real festival we have in Johannesburg, the biggest city in the country, certainly the region and one of the major cities on the continent.” He elaborates on the importance of this, “I think festivals allow us to see each other’s work as filmmakers and how we’re approaching the representation of our communities, of our countries, of our regions, of our characters, us. And that’s critical. Telling the story from inside is what really gives authenticity, and that’s what audiences really find attractive when they find something truly authentic.”
He discusses the difficulty facing filmmakers, “It’s very difficult to make a living if you really want to make films, make your own films on your own terms. It means reaching out and finding others in your community of practitioners where you can share and shape and lean on and work with, where you work with other talent, whether it’s in sound, in music, cinematographers. It’s a deeply collaborative effort. And building those connections, building those communities are critical. So, get involved in those communities, but also keep aware and alive to the different opportunities that exist for you to be able to finance your film.”
Desai concludes with an optimistic look at the emotive and long-standing nature of film, “The wonderful thing about film is they’re always open to discussion and debate because they’re read differently. People read different things to what they watch. They experience it subjectively, emotionally, and that’s something that’s not strong in other mediums of literature.”