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AFRICA IN MOTION The annual festival returns with a new pop-up element
F or its eighth edition, the Africa in Motion film festival has taken as its theme ‘Twende! Africa on the Move’. Translated as ‘let’s go!’, ‘twende’ is an apt word for an event that covers nine diverse strands, ranging from post-apartheid South Africa to sexual identity. Difficult Love (pictured) combines both these themes, following internationally celebrated photographer Zanele Muholi in a personal exploration of the challenges facing black lesbians in South Africa. Meanwhile, The Children’s Republic stars Danny Glover in a surreal science-fiction drama that imagines a small state ruled by children in a futuristic post-war continent.
The festival takes place in several venues including the Glasgow Film Theatre and CCA, and Edinburgh’s Filmhouse. Coordinators also
hope to reach untapped local communities with a new pop-up strand, named the AiM Nomad Cinema, which screens films in fitting surroundings – including a kids’ film in Edinburgh Zoo and a Hallowe’en horror evening in the city’s Banshee Labyrinth. If you still can’t make up your mind what to see, Africa in Motion founder and curator Lizelle Bisschoff points cinemagoers towards the twin opening night films in Edinburgh and Glasgow: Grigris, directed by Cannes jury prize-winning Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, and Of Good Report, a controversial South African film about an English teacher’s affair with a pupil. (Nicola Balkind)
Africa in Motion Film Festival 2013, various venues, Thu 24 Oct–Sun 3 Nov.
HITLIST THE BEST FILM RELEASES & EVENTS
✽ Captain Phillips Tom Hanks delivers an impressive turn as a US captain whose
cargo ship is boarded by Somali pirates. Based on true events from 2009. See review, page 69. General release from Fri 18 Oct.
✽ Enough Said James Gandolfini shines in
one of his final film roles, playing divorcee Albert who embarks on a new relationship with Eva (the brilliant Julia Louis-Dreyfus). See review, page 71. Limited release from Fri 18 Oct.
✽ Epic of Everest Carefully restored silent film from 1924 featuring a newly composed
soundtrack from Simon Fisher Turner. See preview, page 76. GFT, Glasgow, Sat 19 & Sun 20 Oct.
✽ Africa In Motion A celebration of moving image from the continent. See preview, left.
Various venues, Thu 24 Oct–Sun 3 Nov.
✽The Selfish Giant Clio Barnard follows her arresting debut film The Arbor with
this Bradford-set drama inspired by an Oscar Wilde short story. See review, page 71. Limited release from Fri 25 Oct.
✽ Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages Verity Susman, formerly of Electrelane,
performs a live soundtrack to this cult silent film from 1922. See feature, page 16. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 1 Nov; DCA, Dundee, Sat 2 Nov; GFT, Glasgow, Sun 3 Nov.
✽ Gravity Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star in this Oscar-tipped space
thriller about an astronaut who becomes untethered while trying to fix a space shuttle. Astrophobics, skip on. See feature, page 68, and review, page 70. General release from Fri 8 Nov.
17 Oct–14 Nov 2013 THE LIST 67