Festival manager and head of programming, Durban International Film Festival
Andrea Voges is proud the 2024 programme for Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) has placed more than half of its selections through the festival’s open call.
“The festival has a great history of having a very international programme that challenges and provokes, as well as entertains,” she says. “It’s great we can be a part of the exciting time African cinema is experiencing, as well as having a great representation of female filmmakers.
“This year marks our 45th edition and 30 years of democracy,” adds Voges, who worked at the festival in programme administration from 2010-14 and returned in 2023 in her current post.
Some of her favourites from last year’s DIFF include Riceboy Sleeps, Return To Seoul, Beyond Utopia, Bobi Wine: The People’s President, Midwives and The Eternal Memory. “I love films with very human, complex characters that subtly share our realities and ring true, as well as films that give voice to urgent situations in the world, without the filmmaker imposing their conclusion on the audience,” she says.
Voges has worked with Joburg Film Festival, Red Sea, the Realness Institute and Urucu Media; she is also a Southern Africa-Locarno Industry Academy alumnus.
Voges is excited by Durban’s place in the world and the festival landscape. “Given that South Africa is unique in its diversity, our audience is also quite diverse,” she says. “Over the years, the festival has done a good job in cultivating an appreciation for international films that are provocative and sometimes require a bit of patience.”
Contact: Andrea Voges
No comments yet