As the festivities for this year’s Durban International Film Festival (Diff) wrapped up at the end of July, calls for submissions for next year’s gathering are now open.
The 46th edition of Africa’s largest and oldest film festivals as well as one of the Oscar qualifying festivals on the continent, is set to take place from July 17 to 27.
The submission period has officially begun, with discounted submission fees, which ends on December 19.
“We consider films completed after January 2024 and which would not publicly screen or be available online in South Africa before Diff 2025,” the organisers explained in a statement.
They added that submissions close on January 31 and that films can be submitted in the following categories. They are feature films, including African fictional films with a duration of 60 minutes and over. Non-African submissions will be solicited.
Meanwhile documentaries, including African documentaries, also have to be 60 minutes and over, and non-African submissions will be solicited.
The short films category includes fictional and non-fiction films under 60 minutes, which are open to all countries.
In addition, student films include fictional and non-fiction films under 60 minutes, which are also open to all countries.
The organisers added that each film’s director must be enrolled in a tertiary institution during the year that the film was produced.
Additional information about eligibility, regulations and submission fees are available through https://filmfreeway.com/DurbanFilmFest.
All submissions are subjected to a submission fee based on certain deadlines, such as the early bird deadline, which is December 19.
The festival also offers workshops, seminars, and outreach activities that include screenings in township areas where cinemas do not exist.
“Please ensure that you read the rules and terms before submitting a film,” the organisers noted, adding that questions can be emailed to [email protected].
Diff, which was founded in 1979, is presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Each year, it presents over one hundred screenings.
The festival offers film enthusiasts over 90 films from 50 countries across several continents including, Brazil, India, Australia, US and South Africa, among others.
This year's festival, which took place from July 18 - 28, saw 29 feature films on offer including several that have won international awards at celebrated international festivals like Berlin, Cannes, Sundance, Toronto and Venice.
In total, 92 films were screened from 50 countries and the jury were hard-pressed to select winners from the eligible films in each category.
The winner of the Best International Feature Film was “All We Imagine as Light”, directed by Payal Kapadia.
It is an exploration of forbidden love, longing, duty, commitment and doubt which is anchored in its powerful portrayal of relationships between women.