The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Founded in 1979 by Teddy Sarkin and Ros Sarkin. Presented by Centre for Creative Arts at the University of Kwazulu-Natal, it is the oldest and largest film festival in Africa and presents over 200 screenings celebrating the best in South African, African and international cinema. Most of the screenings are either African or South African premieres. The festival also offers filmmaker workshops, industry seminars, discussion forums, and outreach activities that include screenings in township areas where cinemas are non-existent, and much more, including Talent Campus Durban and a Durban FilmMart co-production market.
Sieranevada is a 2016 Romanian film directed by Cristi Puiu and starring Mimi Brănescu. The plot follows a successful neurologist who attends a family meal supposed to commemorate his deceased father. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. It was selected as the Romanian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
Félicité is a 2017 Senegalese drama film set in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and directed by Alain Gomis. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear in the main competition section of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. At Berlin, the film won the Jury Grand Prix award. At the 2017 Africa Movie Academy Awards, it won six awards which is the highest for a film in the history of the award ceremony, including categories for best film, best actress, best supporting actor, best editing, best soundtrack and best film in an African language.
Atlantics is a 2019 internationally co-produced supernatural romantic drama film directed by Mati Diop, in her feature directorial debut. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Diop made history when the film premiered at Cannes, becoming the first Black woman to direct a film featured in competition at the festival.
It Must Be Heaven is a 2019 internationally co-produced comedy-drama film directed, written and starred by Elia Suleiman. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.
Compartment No. 6 is a 2021 drama road movie co-written and directed by Juho Kuosmanen, starring Seidi Haarla and Yuri Borisov, based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Rosa Liksom.
The Divide is a 2021 French drama film directed by Catherine Corsini. In June 2021, the film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. At Cannes, it won the Queer Palm.
Great Freedom is a 2021 drama film directed by Sebastian Meise. In June 2021, the film was selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. At Cannes, the film won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section. It won the Golden Giraldillo at the Seville European Film Festival. It was selected as the Austrian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, and on 22 December 2021, it was shortlisted for the award ceremony.
Father & Soldier is a 2022 French-Senegalese war-drama film directed and co-written by Mathieu Vadepied, starring Omar Sy, Alassane Diong, and Jonas Bloquet. It was produced by Omar Sy and Bruno Nahon. The film opened the Un Certain Regard section in competition at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on 18 May 2022, and was released in theaters in France by Gaumont on 4 January 2023, and in Senegal by Pathé BC Afrique on 6 January 2023.
The Blue Caftan is a 2022 Moroccan Arabic-language drama film directed by Maryam Touzani, and written by Touzani with the collaboration of Nabil Ayouch. It depicts a woman and her closeted gay husband, who run a caftan store in the medina of Salé, Morocco, and hire a young man as an apprentice.
Godland is a 2022 drama film written and directed by Hlynur Pálmason. Set in the late 19th century, the film stars Elliott Crosset Hove as Lucas, a Lutheran priest from Denmark who is sent to Iceland to oversee the establishment of a new parish church, only to have his faith tested and challenged by the harsh conditions of rural life, including his inability as a monolingual Danish-language speaker to communicate with his assigned Icelandic guide, Ragnar.
Ramata-Toulaye Sy is a French-Senegalese film director and screenwriter.
Astel is a Senegalese-French short drama film, directed by Ramata-Toulaye Sy and released in 2021. The film stars Hawa Mamadou Dia as Astel, a young girl in Senegal who loves to accompany her father when he herds cows, but is forced to conform to more traditional "women's work" with her mother after a shepherd's leering looks at her lead her father to realize she is no longer safe.
About Dry Grasses is a 2023 Turkish-language drama film directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan and co-written by Ceylan, Ebru Ceylan, and Akın Aksu. Starring Deniz Celiloğlu, Merve Dizdar and Musab Ekici, it follows a teacher working in rural eastern Anatolia with hopes of moving to Istanbul when he is accused of abusing a student. The film premiered in the main competition section of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where Dizdar won the Best Actress award. It was selected as the Turkish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.
Four Daughters is a 2023 Arabic-language documentary film directed by Kaouther Ben Hania. After two daughters of a Tunisian mother disappeared, the filmmaker invites professional actresses to compensate for the loss. The film is an international co-production between France, Tunisia, Germany and Saudi Arabia.
The Delinquents is a 2023 heist comedy-drama film written and directed by Rodrigo Moreno. Starring Daniel Elías and Esteban Bigliardi, it is a co-production between Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Luxembourg.
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell is a 2023 Vietnamese-language drama film written and directed by Phạm Thiên Ân, in his feature directorial debut. It is a co-production between Vietnam, Singapore, France and Spain.
The Settlers is a 2023 revisionist Western drama film directed by Felipe Gálvez Haberle, who co-wrote the script with Antonia Girardi in collaboration with Mariano Llinás. The film stars Mark Stanley, Camilo Arancibia, Benjamin Westfall, Alfredo Castro, Mishell Guaña, Sam Spruell, Marcelo Alonso and Adriana Stuven. It is a co-production between Chile, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, France, Denmark, Sweden and Germany.
The Mother of All Lies is a 2023 Arabic-language documentary film directed, written, produced and edited by Asmae El Moudir. The film explores the director's search for truth in her family background, combining personal and national history. It is a co-production between Morocco, Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The Festival des Cinémas d'Afrique du pays d'Apt (FCAPA) is an annual international film festival on African cinema organised since 2003 in Apt, Vaucluse, France.
