Ukwaluka is an ancient circumcision ritual for young men still widely practiced by the Xhosa in South Africa. It marks the transition from youth to manhood. A boy who has just undergone circumcision sits in semi-darkness in a simple hut on a hill, far away from the village, as prescribed by the...
Ralphie is an Uber driver and aspiring bodybuilder who is inducted into a libertarian masculinity cult and loses his grip on reality when his repressed desires are awakened.
Eastern Cape, South Africa. A lonely factory worker, Xolani, takes time off his job to assist during an annual Xhosa circumcision initiation into manhood. In a remote mountain camp that is off limits to women, young men, painted in white ochre, recuperate as they learn the masculine codes of their...
The story of the decline of the Soares family in the final months of the 19th century. Isabel is the dying mother, and her daughters are Maria and Ana. The three women try hard to forget about their pasts in the coffee farm and face the industrial times that start to take over Brazil.
An improvised tragi-queer film about an older gay man who was once the (caviar and) toast of the gay rave scene. He takes care of the homes of residents in a high-rise Johannesburg suburb, from older Jewish women to messier gay men. The houseboy is obsessively in love with his client, the...
In 1989, Mozambique is a country ruined by civil war. The train that connects Nampula to Malawi is the only hope for people willing to risk their lives to exchange a few bags of salt for sugar. Running slowly over sabotaged tracks, the journey is filled with obstacles and violence. Mariamu, a...
Anyone who grows up in Sandton spends a lot of time hanging out at pools and drug-filled parties – for this part of Johannesburg is the richest spot in the whole of Africa. Necktie Youth portrays this first post-apartheid gilded youth in striking black-and-white. Soft colours are reserved for...
Hopeville tells the story of Amos, a reformed alcoholic on a mission to forge a relationship with his estranged son, Themba. When father and son arrive in the dusty town of Hopeville, they discover a mean little community where apathy, fear and suspicion are the order of the day. When Amos decides...
Unexpected complexities face Jamaal - a troubled Muslim gangster - upon being released from prison. A joyful reunion with his mother and girlfriend is marred by creeping paranoia, a sense of impotence and an inability to meet expectations.
