ARIFF 5 #HEREWEARE CELEBRATES OUR PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE AFRICAN CINEMA
Following a successful four-year run, Africa Rising International Film Festival is thrilled to announce this year’s 5th instalment! ARIFF is a premier world-class social impact film festival launched in 2018 with the aim of leaving no storyteller behind, and this year is no different. The much-anticipated four-day film festival will run from the 24th-27th of November 2022. As the festival celebrates its growth in the industry, they say #HereWeAre!, which serves as the theme for the 2022 festival, in celebration of the modern-day milestones and the strides made by the African film industry.
To celebrate the five-year milestone, ARIFF goes down memory lane and looks back on the achievements of African filmmakers. This presents an opportunity to celebrate the pioneers who made it possible for black filmmakers to tell our own stories today, from women calling the shots to Black Film-making Pioneers and South African Classics.
“ARIFF continues its purpose of being inclusive by uniting emerging filmmakers with established vanguards from the African soil as they pass on the filmmaking baton. We cannot ignore the transformation that needs to take place and the urgent conversations that must be held to address long-standing industry pain points,” says Lala Tuku, Chairperson and Founder of ARIFF.
Our 2022 theme, “Here we are”, speaks to celebrating modern day milestones, ARIFF’s legacy and the footprint we aim to leave for future generations. We are incredibly excited to host the 5th instalment for ARIFF, a milestone worth celebrating. Looking back, we are truly grateful to have collaborated with key industry advocates, who have ensured that the film industry’s development reaches global heights, African Cinema is bold and the world is watching.” adds Tuku.
ARIFF will host an array of curated programs to reflect on all aspects of film production, such as Film Screenings, ARIFF Film Child, ARIFF digital hub and ARIFF Talks Series. The talks programme will position African storytellers as the inspiration to a world that continues to look to Africa for new narratives deeply encrusted in our diverse cultures, traditions and heritage.
“We intend to create a space for professional development and skills transfer by empowering the next generation of filmmakers. Through panels, one on ones and Master-classes- we have curated an ‘ARIFF Talks Programme’ that will interrogate what ⋕HereWeAre truly means for African contemporary storytelling.” says Festival Director Ayanda Sithebe.
“We serve as a voice for the previously marginalised and continue to create an industry in which the youth, women, queer and disabled communities can participate and thrive. What an exciting time for ARIFF; this year, we also take audiences on a trip down memory lane with a Pan-African showcase of a cinema experience,”says Sithebe.
The ARIFF Talks aims to dissect and unpack the true meaning of legacy through storytelling- and to do so whilst honouring our past in the present, in order to leave a strong storytelling footprint for future generations to build on. ARIFF will bring a multidisciplinary multi-generational participation of speakers/panellists and moderators who will resonate with an industry that is fast exploring the telling of stories from this multi-disciplinary lens.
Millions of people on the continent still don’t have access to the cinema experience which is unfortunate because we know how life-changing storytelling is. Many filmmakers and content creators do not have access to essential resources and skills required to thrive in the industry which is why one of the main pillars of the festival is education. From intellectual property protection to an understanding of filmmaking distribution and value chain. The festival will grant young people access and knowledge to this in the form of its legendary talks and screenings.
“The logic behind the festival is that expressing ourselves creatively unlocks the full emotional and intellectual richness of the human condition, as storytelling is in the core of us as a nation. It is our sincere hope that this festival will kick-start a ripple effect as we make the necessary interventions to revive and reinvigorate our creative industries after two years of difficulty sparked by the pandemic,” says DDG of DSAC Dr Khumalo.
“We look forward to celebrating the diversity of our nation’s stories and that of the continent through film, a truly beautiful cinematic tapestry stitched by our talented and resilient filmmakers,” adds Khumalo.
The festival will conclude with the African Legends Series to select and celebrate one African Film and TV thought leader who has contributed to telling authentic African stories within the continent. We give them their flowers while they can still smell them.
