South African Independent Film Festival (SAIFF)

Cinema 3 · Tickets R90

Genre shorts: sci-fi, fantasy, action, animation and the wonderfully weird.

• At Horizon's End (South Africa)

• The Me in the TV (Indonesia/USA)

• The Wolf of Verdun (South Africa)

• Scissors (USA)

• The Great Clash (South Africa)

• Scope (UK)

Followed by a Q&A with filmmakers in attendance.

Opening Night package · Tickets to be released

17:30 – Red carpet, drinks and snacks in the Labia courtyard

19:00 – FOSTA (South Africa, 2026, dir. Eldon van Aswegen), followed by a Q&A with cast and crew

21:00 – After party with Fosta as the DJ

Filmed over 13 years, FOSTA is an intimate, unflinching portrait of Thulani "Fosta" Headman, a former gang member from Langa. It follows his journey from prison to international electronic music stages, and shows how the music that changed his life went on to change the lives of the people around him.

A truly fantastic night, not to be missed!

Cinema 3 · Free (reserve your seat)

In 2025, filmmaker Tim Leibbrandt won the SAIFF Pitching Competition with his short film Drone, and SAIFF helped bring it to the screen. Join us for the presentation of the finished film.

The pitching competition is back this year, and SAIFF will once again help this year's winner make their short film.

Cinema 3 · Free (reserve your seat)

How do you make a film with very little money, and then get people to see it? Three South African filmmakers who did it themselves talk about funding, shooting, marketing and finding distribution:

• Ryan Kruger on Method Madness, his black-and-white art-house feature

• Jean-Paul Malherbe on Baggage Claim, a thriller shot in five days in a single Cape Town apartment, including a special look at how it was marketed

• Robert Dos Santos on This Is How the World Ends, a sci-fi feature shot at AfrikaBurn and released straight to VHS

Cinema 3 · Tickets R90

Platform Shorts step away from genre and into the real: grounded, human dramas and societal relaities. This block includes one LGBTQI+ story from Turkey.

• We Are Kings (USA)

• It's Lit (South Africa)

• The Day After (Tany Youm) (Egypt)

• Hi Mom, It's Me, Lou Lou (Türkiye)

• Fracture (South Africa)

Followed by a Q&A with filmmakers in attendance.

Cinema 3 · Tickets R90

Horror, fringe and the extreme

• Pimple (Portugal)

• Eenie Meenie Miney Moe (USA)

• Anax (Spain)

• The Binding (USA)

• Happy (Spain)

• Knitting Club (Portugal)

• The Intimacy Coordinator (UK)

Cinema 1 · Tickets R90

Marama (New Zealand, 2025, dir. Taratoa Stappard)

It's 1859. Mary, a young Maori woman, travels to Yorkshire looking for answers about her family. She takes a job as governess at a remote manor owned by a collector of Maori artefacts, and is soon haunted by visions that uncover the house's dark secrets.

A gothic horror with a sharp anti-colonial bite, starring Ariana Osborne and Toby Stephens. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Cinema 3 · Tickets R90

Our drinking-game screening was a hit last year, so it's back. The film will be announced closer to the time but expect greatness!

Cinema 3 · Tickets R90

Platform Shorts step away from genre and into the real. This block mixes serious drama with one short documentary.

• Unspoken (South Africa)

• Nio Ko Bokk (This Belongs to All of Us) (France)

• Saverio (USA)

• The Break-In (South Africa)

• Good Behaviour (UK)

Followed by a Q&A with filmmakers in attendance.

Cinema 3 · Tickets R90

Genre shorts: sci-fi, fantasy, action, animation and the wonderfully weird.

• Meat Thing (South Africa)

• Hide (USA)

• Rearview (South Africa)

• Mercury (South Africa)

Followed by a Q&A with filmmakers in attendance.

Cinema 3 · Tickets R90

Bunny Chow (South Africa, 2006, dir. John Barker) – 20th anniversary screening

Twenty years after its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, this South African cult comedy is back on the big screen. Four stand-up comedians head off on a road trip to the Oppikoppi music festival, hoping for wild times, true love and comedy glory, and get more than they bargained for.

Starring David Kibuuka, Kim Engelbrecht, Kagiso Lediga and Joey Rasdien. Followed by a Q&A with director John Barker. A real treat!

Cinema 3 · Tickets R90

Kabelo (Lesotho, 2026, dir. Carl Houston McMillan) – Cape Town premiere

High in the mountains of Lesotho, a young shepherd desperate to escape his life meets Master, a fugitive from South Africa hiding out in the hills. But will Master's lies lead him astray?

This Sesotho-language adventure-drama stars Lebohang Ntsane and Warren Masemola. It's written and directed by Carl Houston McMillan, who grew up in Lesotho. Followed by a Q&A with the director.

Cinema 1 · Tickets R90

Top secret. You won't know what you're watching until you arrive on the night. It's a South African feature, and the cast and crew will be there for a Q&A.

Cinema 3 · Tickets R90

Dance Freak (USA, 2025, dir. Alan Resnick and Robby Rackleff)

A hapless man is blamed for the chaos caused by his dancing doppelgänger. Shot in black and white, this experimental dark comedy is grungy, eclectic and completely out there. It's one for true film lovers, and it will blow your mind.

Cinema 3 · Tickets R90

The next generation of filmmakers: our best student films from Cape Town, Johannesburg and around the world.

• Happy Birth (South Africa)

• Where Are We Going Tonight? (South Africa)

• Flash Kairos (Mexico)

• Sick (South Africa)

• Gazelle (Iran)

Followed by a Q&A with filmmakers in attendance.

Cinema 3 · Free (reserve your seat)

Jury presentation. Speakers to be announced. Please reserve you seat.

Closing Night package · Tickets still to be released

15:00 – Closing feature

18:00 onwards – SAIFF Awards Ceremony and after party