From the Series
Design Indaba Festival 2015 opens with its annual 10-day celebration of creativity in film at The Labia, Cape Town's oldest independent cinema, from 20 February to 1 March. Design Indaba Filmfest 2015 brings to Cape Town a curated selection of feature films and documentaries on creativity and design, many of which are premieres on the African continent.
The festival opens on Friday 20 February with Tim Burton’s Big Eyes, the true story of a 1950s American scandal involving acclaimed painter Margaret Keane (Amy Adams) whose husband (Christoph Waltz) claimed credit for her work. The lineup includes documentaries about major figures such as writer and feminist Susan Sontag (Regarding Susan Sontag), British-Ghanaian architect David Adjaye (David Adjaye – Collaborations), Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado (The Salt of the Earth) and Dior creative director Raf Simons as he takes his first haute couture collection for Dior from concept to runway (Dior and I).
Banned in Kenya, The Stories Of Our Lives has been regaling audiences around the world with sold-out shows in Berlin, a premiere at MOMA in New York and accolades at the Toronto International Film Festival. Made by Nairobi-based arts group The Nest, this brave feature film tells the hidden stories of LGBT life in Kenya, where homosexuality is still illegal.
Many have been lauded on the film circuit or nominated for awards, including The Salt Of The Earth, directed by Wim Wenders and nominated for an Oscar; Art and Craft, which was selected as one of the 10 must-see films at Tribeca Film Festival; and Tomorrow We Disappear about a colony of folk artists in New Delhi who face removal, which was one of IndieWire's "20 Best Documentaries of 2014".
Hidden gems include Stripped: The Comics Documentary, the ultimate love letter to comic strips featuring interviews with celebrated cartoonists including the notoriously media-shy Bill Watterson, author of "Calvin and Hobbes"; and The Newsroom – Off The Record, which charts the struggle for print editions of newspapers to stay solvent in the digital age told from the inside of Denmark's most controversial tabloid.
Popular culture gets a nod with Shake the Dust, a documentary following hip hop's influence to the far corners of the globe, executive produced by rapper NAS.
Local production Project Phoenix rounds out the offering, about a former member of the dreaded Numbers Gang, who reforms his life with the help of a tattoo artist.
See the full programme and watch trailers for each film.
Book your ticket now. Tickets cost R50.