South African Film Festival

The South African Film Festival is proud to showcase a diverse range of films made by some of South Africa’s most promising filmmakers, who have achieved local and international recognition.

SAFF brings the very best of South African films to your home, proudly presenting features, documentaries, and short films that explore the country’s rich culture, history, and politics.

South African Film Festival Melbourne 2025 Dates, Tickets, Times

Complementing SAFF’s highly anticipated festival program is SAFF’s renowned industry program, which includes an investment fund, Education without Borders. More than just a celebration of cinematic art, SAFF is a festival with a conscience!

The SAFF is a not-for-profit event organised by a group of passionate volunteers to showcase South African talent, culture and diversity and support educational opportunities for disadvantaged children.

2019 was the inaugural Sydney South African Film Festival, which was held at the cinema in Bondi Junction. In May 2020, in response to COVID 19, the festival went online Australia-wide and was broadened to include an on demand program.

In 2021, our film festival expanded with a hybrid program that included in-cinema and online screenings. Committed to bringing South African cinema to Australia and extending internationally to include New Zealand, we have rebranded as the South African Film Festival.

The South African Film Festival is a festival with a conscience. The net proceeds from the festival support Education without Borders (EwB). Established in 2002 EwB provides educational opportunities for disadvantaged young people in South Africa.

OPENING NIGHT – The Last Ranger + Old Righteous Blues

The Last Ranger (28min)
When young Litha is introduced to the magic of a game reserve by the last remaining ranger, they are ambushed by poachers. Litha discovers a terrible secret in the ensuing battle to save the rhinos. Nominated for the Best Live-Action Short Film 2025, at the Academy Awards.

Old Righteous Blues (99min)
A young man is forced to confront his limitations and face the ghosts of the past to unite a fractured community and realise his dream of leading his town’s Christmas Choir Band to fits ormer glory.

Die Kwiksilwers

Quicksilver, the vintage Ford Granada in Die Kwiksilwers, is not just any old car. For Elsabe Marais (Lida Botha), it is like a time capsule holding the memories of her late husband, with whom she regularly undertook road adventures.

The headstrong Elsabe departs on a trip through the Karoo with three elderly friends to experience a meteor shower in Sutherland. The rest of the unlikely foursome are Anna (June van Merch), Elsabe’s nosey neighbour; the flamboyant Mienkie (Susanne Beyers); and the reserved Katie (Theresa Sedras). They must make it to Sutherland in three days while trying to dodge Elsabe’s overprotective son Wikus (Jacques Bessenger).

Jordy Sank, Gabriella Blumberg, and Marista van Eeden, who collaborated on the screenplay, demonstrate in this film that old age is no reason to give up on life.

Shap Shap + The Friendship Bench

Friendship Bench (75min)
In 2006, Dr. Dixon Chibanda, a psychiatrist in Zimbabwe, was ordered by the government to deal with the severe mental health crisis afflicting the nation. However, there was literally a handful of psychiatrists in the entire country, which meant searching for a solution beyond conventional medicine. That forced him to consider his grandmothers (Gogos) as his only option. Starting with a group of 14 Gogos, he began training them in cognitive therapy to treat depression on public benches.

By creating a narrative tapestry through the Gogos’ stories and their clients’ lives, the film explores Dr. Dixon’s visionary initiative of establishing a Friendship Bench within communities everywhere. His initiative has since expanded throughout Zimbabwe into neighboring countries and beyond to communities worldwide.

Shap Shap (9min)
After a challenging childhood with his grandmother in a remote village, 13-year-old Mmusi sets off to the township, searching for his father. Instead, he’s taken in by a strict Jehovah’s Witness, whose unyielding beliefs leave him feeling out of place. Struggling to fit in, Mmusi ends up homeless, rejected by society. Determined to reunite with his mother in Johannesburg, he faces prejudice and false accusations at every turn. Along the way, unexpected friendships teach him resilience and hope. When he’s offered a scholarship to America, a dream he once thought impossible, he’s forced to confront the reality that his future remains uncertain without a home. Finding Home is a powerful story of survival, strength, and the search for belonging.

Spud

It’s South Africa 1990. Two major events are about to happen: The release of Nelson Mandela and, more importantly, Spud Milton’s first year at an elite boys-only private boarding school.

Closing night – The Showerhead

The dramatic and eventful journey of fearless cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, aka Zapiro – from struggling artist and political detainee under Apartheid, to democratic South Africa’s freedom of expression champion.