Banksy, Mariscal, Mau, Vignelli, Valentino and YSL at DI2011 Filmfest

The Design Indaba Filmfest 2011 from 18 to 27 February: For R30, this is the budget alternative for getting a taste of world-class design.

Banksy, Massimo Vignelli, Bruce Mau, Javier Mariscal, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Jan Kaplicky, Ant Farm, David Hockney, Buckminster Fuller, and Robin and Lucienne Day... For only R30 the Design Indaba Filmfest 2011 premieres 10 of the most interesting and thought-provoking design films to South African audiences.

Brought to you by Design Indaba magazine, the Design Indaba Filmfest 2011 takes places from Friday 18 February to Sunday 27 February with two screenings each day, one at 6:30pm and the other at 8:30pm. The venue is the newly opened, luxuriously appointed Freeworld Design Centre on Cape Town’s Fanwalk, at the corner of Waterkant and Buitengracht Street.

Headlining the festival is the Oscar-nominated Banksy-directed documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop. The film is presented by the British Council. Other British Council films include Contemporary Days, about the design power couple Robin and Lucienne Day, and a British Art Programme, which includes an unprecedentedly revealing insight into David Hockney, A Bigger Picture, and the tragicomic Portrait.

One of the highlights on the agenda is the special preview of Design is One: The Vignellis. A work-in-progress, the film is about the life and work of Lella and Massimo Vignelli, and their far-reaching impact on the world of design. Massimo will be celebrating his 80th birthday at Design Indaba this year.

Another Design Indaba favourite, the whimsical Javier Mariscal has just completed his first feature-length animation, with Fernando Trueba. Mostly set in Cuba, Chico and Rita follows the lives of a talented couple that chase their dreams and each other, with the historic evolution of jazz music as a backdrop.

Appealing to fashionistas, Valentino: The Last Emperor and L’Amour Fou, about Yves Saint Laurent, tells of two of the greatest giants in the business. One of the biggest architecture, engineering, philosophy and futurist giants of the past century, The World of Buckminster Fuller is a 1970s classic by Oscar-wining filmmaker Robert Snyder. Also drawing architects, An Eye Over Prague is a thrilling insight into Jan Kaplicky’s controversial Prague Library, and Space, Land and Time captures the essence of the Ant Farm architecture collective once described as “the Merry Pranksters of architecture”.

Or join us, and thousands of creative proponents across the globe, on Thursday 24 February at 7:30pm for the FREE, live launch of the Massive Change Network. Understanding that creativity is the key to a better world, the Massive Change Network mobilises people from all corners of the world to rise to the challenge of harnessing design thinking, science, creativity and optimism to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems. The launch of the Massive Change Network will include a screening of The Plan and a live link to Bruce Mau and David Osterberg, who will lead a global Q&A and open discussion session.

And while you’re enjoying good films, why not take advantage of Freeworld Design Centre’s special offer: The Hemelhuijs restaurant and Freeworld Design Centre are offering a delicious movie-meal-deal. For only R100 enjoy a design-inspired movie and a meal from the designer menu of gourmet food artist Jacques Erasmus. Booking recommended at Tel: +27 21 418 2042.

Bookings open on Computicket on 7 February 2011.

Watch the Talk with Javier Mariscal