ENCOUNTERS INFOCUSโDEEPER DIALOGUES, SHARPER VISIONSโONE STORY AT A TIME.
This year, we rise. With a sharp eye and a bold heart, we bring tthe finest in non-fiction, stories that speak, stir and stand tall. For in a world shifting beneath our feet, our films must echo the truth of now, capturing the beauty, the chaos, and the pulse of real life; raw, urgent and unforgettable. These are stories born from memory and identity; from the frightening reality of now and the many ways we learn to make sense of it. They explore art as impact, and knowledge as resistance. They amplify agency, rebel, and stand up to power. Through them, we donโt just witness the world, we feel it, question it and reimagine our place within it.
The 2025 Encounters InFocus industry programme comprises in-depth sessions, including dynamic panel discussions, masterclasses, and in-conversations in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Once again, we host the impactful Rough Cut Lab Africa Day (RCLA) in Johannesburg. Our series highlights several key themes, each revealing social, cultural, and political realities. We will explore critical concepts such as generational trauma, protest, creative expression, education, culture, climate change, solidarity in film and more, inviting festival-goers, industry professionals, and civil society to reflect on how documentary can illuminate and challenge the forces shaping our world.
Cape Town
Support the festival
Saturday 21 June
Bertha House,
67, 69 Main Rd, Mowbray, Cape Town
SATURDAY 21 JUNE
10am – 11:15am
In-Conversation
1. PROGRESS OR DESTRUCTION? THE FRIGHTENING REALITY OF NOW
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Shifting Baselines, directed by Julien Elie, examines the environmental and social consequences of private companies like SpaceX altering local communities and ecosystems. While rocket launches and Starlink satellites promise new frontiers for humanity, they also raise pertinent questions: โAre we moving towards a brighter future, or are we simply accelerating environmental degradation?โ In this in-conversation, Elie will delve into how space exploration can both inspire people and imperil our world. His highly innovative artistic approach to this complex topic offers a touch of genius and makes you deeply reflect on how the race to the stars might reshape life on Earthโfor better or worse.
SATURDAY 21 JUNE
11:45am – 1:15pm
In-Conversation
2. RISE AND RESIST: FEMINIST STORIES OF DEFIANCE AND EMPOWERMENT
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Womxn: Working by South African filmmaker Shanelle Jewnarain and Mothers of Chibok by Nigerian director Joel โKachiโ Benson offer intimate portraits of women navigating the frontlines of work and education. While rooted in different social contextsโsex workers fighting for decriminalisation in South Africa and mothers working to pave a better way for their childrenโs futures after the Boko Haram kidnappings in Nigeriaโboth films are deeply connected by themes of maternal and political resistance and the need to challenge the systems that marginalise women. This in-conversation brings together two visionary filmmakers who use storytelling to lay bare the agency of their protagonists, and dives into the practical and ethical choices behind their filmmaking practices.
Joy Watson
Speaker
Monday 23 June
Centre for Humanities Research (CHR),
University of the Western Cape (UWC),
66 Greatmore Street (entrance on Regent Street),
Woodstock, Cape Town
Professor Heidi Grunebaum
Welcome Address
MONDAY 23 JUNE
10am – 11:30am
Keynote Panel
1. MAKING IT: THE BUSINESS AND FUTURE OF AFRICAN DOCUMENTARIES
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Join Mohamed Saรฏd Ouma (Exec. Dir., DocA) and the Documentary Filmmakers’ Association (DFA) for a rigorous look at how African documentaries are financed, produced, and distributed. This session brings together industry expertsโproducers, directors, and distributorsโto discuss how films are chosen, what the market truly values, and how projects can successfully navigate festivals and sales channels. Weโll delve into questions around intellectual property and independent filmmaking, explore audience responses, and consider the perspectives of both director and on-screen protagonists. Weโll also examine how organisations like DFA can support emerging and established filmmakers in developing sustainable careers. With an eye on the future of documentary in Africa, this conversation promises candid insights and practical strategies for anyone passionate about telling authentic African stories.
Presented in partnership with DocA, DFA.
MONDAY 23 JUNE
11:45am – 1:15pm
2. CINEMA SOLIDARITY: COLLECTIVE RESISTANCE IN DOCUMENTARY STORYTELLING
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Encounters invites audiences to explore collective resistance as expressed through the impactful short documentary formatโhighlighting films that amplify marginalised voices, champion resilience and interrogate social struggles. From the urgent immediacy of Ahmad Alive, offering a powerful, first-hand glimpse into the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people under brutal occupation, to the evocative portrayal of ecological injustice confronting Western Cape fishermen in Undercurrent, these documentaries highlight solidarity as an act of survival and empowerment.
This panel further celebrates solidarity in personal contexts. In Onthou vi Fredo?, audiences encounter the moving legacy of queer icon Alfredo April, whose life continues to inspire collective pride, love and resilience within his community after his cruel murder. Meanwhile, Slut Club proudly challenges societal norms and patriarchy through body politics and reclaiming femininity, as well as unapologetic queer defiance. Collectively, these films demonstrate how documentary storytelling, particularly in concise formats, can profoundly embody acts of resistance, illuminating diverse identities and fostering communal resilience.
Presented in partnership with Cinema Solidarity.
MONDAY 23 JUNE
2:00pm – 3:30pm
Panel
3. WOUNDS & WHISPERS: NARRATIVES SHAPED BY HISTORY AND HEALING
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Once deemed a private or familial issue, generational trauma is now recognised as a systemic burden shared by entire communities. Matabeleland reveals one manโs quest to give his father, a victim of state-sanctioned violence, a dignified burialโwhile his country still grapples with the weight of its past. Fitting in explores how longstanding traditions at a South African university male-only residence are challenged by a new generation of students who wish to celebrate their diverse identities and seek new spaces to โfit inโ. In The Brink of Dreams, an all-female theatre troupe in Egypt confronts rigid social norms, embodying the collective scars and quiet hopes of marginalised women. This panel will consider how these documentaries collectively illuminate how cycles of harm can be disrupted and chart a path towards deeper societal healing. The participating directors will also address their experiences closely working with protagonists who have opened themselves up to the camera.
Presented in partnership with Swiss Films, CHR, UWC
TUESday 24 June
Centre for Humanities Research (CHR),
University of the Western Cape (UWC),
66 Greatmore Street (entrance on Regent Street),
Woodstock, Cape Town
Professor Heidi Grunebaum
Welcome Address
TUESDAY 24 JUNE
1pm – 2:30pm
Panel
1. EDGE OF NOW: AFRICA AND THE DIASPORA IN DIALOGUE
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From a rallying cry against Apartheid to war, three personal films look at and explore an artistic response to the violence of oppression illustrating the transformative power of creativity. Sam Nzima: A Journey Through His Lens captures the photographer whose iconic image of Hector Pieterson exposed apartheidโs brutality, highlighting the media as a powerful agent of change. In And She Didnโt Die, acclaimed feminist writer LaurettaโฏNgcoboโs storyโtold through her daughterโs archival deep diveโilluminates how liberation and exile shaped African identity across generations. Finally, Khartoum brings together Sudanese filmmakers displaced by conflict to re-enact their memories, underscoring the resilience of a continent forging creative alliances. Together, these films illustrate how protest and creativity, including photography, literature, and filmmaking, remains a cultural force, bridging past struggles and present collaborations for empowerment.
Presented in partnership with Al Jazeera, IFAS, Heinrich Bรถll Stiftung
Dr Barbara Boswell
Speaker
TUESDAY 24 JUNE
2:45pm – 4:00pm
In-Conversation
2. REWIRING KNOWLEDGE: NEW PATHS TO UNDERSTANDING
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From Kenyaโs thriving contract-cheating economy to DeepMindโs cutting-edge AI ventures, The Shadow Scholars and The Thinking Game reveal seismic shifts in how knowledge is created, accessed and valued. As many students worldwide outsource their work to online providersโand AI increasingly rivals human intellectโthese films prompt critical questions about the future of education, the credibility of academic degrees, and the unequal power structures that shape global learning. Bringing together educators, technologists, and filmmakers, this in-conversation will examine hidden exploitations, shifting power dynamics, and the challenges of verifying knowledge in an AI-driven landscape. Ultimately, we ask: โHow we can โrewireโ learning to ensure equitable access and harness new tools responsibly, so that tomorrowโs education fosters genuine understanding rather than hollow credentials.โ
Presented in partnership with CHR, UWC
Johannesburg
Free of charge, but RSVP essential:
Saturday 28 June
Goethe-Institut,
119 Jan Smuts Ave,
Parkwood,
Johannesburg, 2193
10am – 12pm
THE LIFE OF THE ARTEFACT
2pm – 3:30pm
APPROACHES TO ARCHIVES AND PRACTICE AS PROCESS
3:45pm – 4:45pm
CRAFTING THE CLIMATE CRISIS!
Archiving the present and future proofing climate justice. A masterclass with Felix Golenkoโs Yumi, the whole world.
4:45pm – 6pm
CUTTING EDGE CONNECTIONS: NETWORKING WITH ENCOUNTERS & RCLA
6pm – 9pm
VINYL MIXER WITH DJS KHALID SHAMIS, STRAIGHT JACKET TAYLOR, TYMON SMITH & SALYM FAYAD
Presented in partnership with Rough Cut Lab Africa (RCLA) and the Goethe-Institut
Stand Alone Events
SCREENING OF YINTAH + POST-SCREENING PANEL
The Labia Theatre,
68 Orange St, Gardens, Cape Town
SUNDAY 22 JUNE
2:30 pm
CLIMATE IS COLONIAL: RETHINKING HOW WE LIVE, ADAPT, AND GROW
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Climate justice is inseparable from indigenous sovereignty. Yintah traces the Wetโsuwetโen Nationโs powerful resistance to pipelines forced onto unceded land in Canada, revealing how settler states and fossil fuel interests continue to impose colonial violence under the guise of progress. As land and water defenders are criminalised for protecting their territories, this conversation draws connections to ongoing struggles in South Africaโwhere communities face mining, water privatisation, and displacement. Featuring voices of land and water defenders, the panel will reflect on shared legacies of resistance and the need for solidarity across movements. They will explore what it means to defend life, uphold ancestral knowledge, and fight for a future rooted in justice, care, and ecological balance. This is not just a conversation – it is a call to defend what matters most!
Presented with the support of CSLZA
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