FAME Shorts Film Festival

Big stories. Short films. One determined penguin.

The FAME Shorts Film Festival returns to Cape Town from 30 October – 1 November 2026, bringing together bold short films, fresh voices and stories that deserve to be seen on the big screen.

This year’s programme moves from stories of hope, resilience and reinvention to romance, satire, social commentary and wonderfully strange worlds where the ordinary becomes unexpected.

Across three days, audiences can discover films from Africa and around the world, meet the filmmakers behind the stories and experience short-form filmmaking at its most exciting.

Whether you’re a serious cinephile, work in the industry, love discovering new filmmakers or simply want a great day at the movies, FAME Shorts is for you.

Come for one screening. Stay for another. Discover a filmmaker you’ve never heard of. Find a film you can’t stop talking about.

Our 2026 Themes & Films

30 October | Block 1 | 8pm

Island Stories: Memory, Identity & Belonging

Welcome to the Indian Ocean, where stories of memory, identity and belonging come alive. From Réunion, Mayotte and Mauritius, discover films exploring heritage, family, love and environmental change through fiction, documentary and animation.

Presented in partnership with La Kourmétragerie.

Films: Misouk, Haraka Haraka, 52 Reasons, Lo Chan Lo Bassin, Pie dan lo

31 October | Block 2 | 2pm

At First Light

Welcome to stories where hope is something we create. Through music, sport, dance, community and tradition, these films celebrate people who choose courage, nurture possibility and keep moving forward, reminding us that every milestone begins with believing it can happen.

• Films: Sikelela, Sanctuary, Leopard of Congo, Klop Klop

31 October | Blocks 3 & 4 | 4pm & 6pm

Follow the White Rabbit

Welcome to a world where the ordinary becomes wonderfully strange. Follow the White Rabbit as darkness falls, shadows shift and reality begins to unravel. Eerie, uncanny and sometimes downright bizarre, these films reward those curious enough to follow wherever the mysterious rabbit leads.

• Block 3 | 4pm: God Sleeps on Sundays, Juju, Sugarcane, Burning, Goat
• Block 4 | 6pm: Burning Lies, The Last Jiangshi, Colour of Dreams, Dread

31 October | Block 5 | 8pm

On the Horizon

Welcome to stories that look at the familiar in unexpected new ways. Moving between romance, satire and social critique, these films question inherited rules, challenge the systems around us and find humour and humanity in filmmakers willing to boldly push boundaries.

• Films: Vimba! Pt 2, Whispers of a Burning Scent, Luna, Aasvoëls (Vultures)

1 November | Blocks 6, 7, 8 & 9

And They Lived

Welcome to stories that remind us life doesn’t end with happily ever after. Through passion, creativity, resilience and second chances, these films celebrate choosing what makes us feel alive, embracing joy, finding the courage to begin again and living life on our terms.

• Block 6 | 12pm: Miss You Perdularia, Dears in the Headlights, The Father of the Queen of Angola, Amigo the Griot
• Block 7 | 2pm: Runner, Don’t Pity the Girl, It’s Just a Movie
• Block 8 | 4pm: The Academy, A Poppy on a Hill, Talking to Family
• Block 9 | 6pm: You Tryna Say You Love Me?, The Man, The Cliff and The Dog, Everything Between Us, Queezy Visits the Races

30 October – 1 November 2026

The Rockefeller Hotel, Cape Town

Follow the penguins. Find your next favourite film.