Page 23 - DIFF PROGRAMME 2024

2024 FEATURE FILMS
A MATCH
Jayant Digambar Somalkar, India, 2023, 104 min, Marathi with English subtitles
19 JULY 17:45 SUNCOAST 7 27 JULY 17:00 GATEWAY 8
In a village in the Vidarbha region of India, a determined young girl, Savita, yearns for education and a brighter future. Her farmer parents struggle anxiously to find a suitable match for her, and she is seen as an added ‘burden’ due to her dark-complexion and short height. Facing countless rejections from potential suitors, she must navigate a world where the pursuit of marriage overshadows the sustenance of life. Shot on location with non-actors from the village Sthal (A Match) explores the tradition of arranged marriages in rural India, highlighting patriarchy, colourism, and deeply rooted social ills.
Jae-wan is a materialistic criminal defence lawyer who has no problem defending murderers and his younger brother, Jae-gyu, an ethical paediatrician meet for a monthly dinner with their wives. One night, CCTV footage of teenagers beating a homeless man to death goes viral. The police begin their investigation but as the perpetrators’ faces are obscured, the case goes nowhere. After viewing the footage, their wives uncover a shocking secret. Both couples arrive at dinner with secrets that are impossible to avoid. Adapted from Herman Koch’s, Dutch novel, The Dinner, the film presents a morally ambiguous and unpredictable ride through life and parenting.
David, an experimental filmmaker, returns to Brazil for the first time in ten years. Although he has returned to work, his thoughts increasingly turn to his father, whom he has not seen since he left. As news of the Covid-19 pandemic spreads and rumours of an impending lockdown intensify, David changes his ticket. Without a phone or a place to stay, he ends up on his father’s doorstep. An uncomfortable coexistence ensues as David tries to get to know his father. The old man, however, proves to be inscrutable and capricious as increasingly odd things start to happen around them.
A NORMAL FAMILY
Hur Jin-ho, South Korea, 2023, 116 min, Korean with English subtitles
20 JULY 20:30 GATEWAY 8 27 JULY 19:15 SUNCOAST 7
A STRANGE PATH
Guto Parente, Brazil, 2023, 84 min, Portuguese with English Subtitles
22 JULY 17:30 SUNCOAST 8 27 JULY 14:30 GATEWAY 9
45TH DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 21