Page 30 - DIFF PROGRAMME 2024

FEATURE FILMS
THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
Mohammad Rasoulof, Germany, France, Iran, 2024, 168 min, Persian with English subtitles
21 JULY 17:15 SUNCOAST 8 22 JULY 20:00 SUNCOAST 8
The celebration of Iman’s latest promotion as investigating judge in the Revolutionary Guard Court coincide with widespread public protests after the death of a young woman in the streets of Teheran. The demonstrations and the heavy-handed government response upset the dynamics within his family. While Iman is struggling with the psychological burden of his new job, his daughters, Rezvan and Sana, are shocked and electrified by the events, while his wife Najmeh is trying to hold the family together. When Iman discovers that his service weapon has gone missing, he suspects his family. Frightened to lose his reputation and his job, he becomes more and more paranoid, starting an investigation in his own home in which all borders are crossed one by one...
Sierra, an eccentric young black visual artist in Johannesburg discovers she is pregnant. The father, Tiro is her boyfriend and manager. He convinces her to consume an abortion-inducing concoction. Instead of ending the pregnancy, she is bestowed with the inexplicable ability to excrete gold coins. An uproarious and darkly comedic chain of events follows as Skorra, a pawn shop owner and his henchmen invade her home with the hope of extracting the gold coins. Her loft, a sanctuary of artistic expression, becomes an unexpected battleground of wits and resolve, and the pursuit of riches spirals into a deadly showdown.
Hyun-su and Soo-jin are newlyweds. Seemingly out of nowhere, he starts talking in his sleep. “Someone’s inside.” From that night on, whenever he falls asleep, he transforms into someone else with no recollection of what happened the night before. Soo-jin is overwhelmed with anxiety that he has hurt her family while she sleeps and can barely sleep a wink because of this rational fear. Despite sleep treatment, Hyun-su’s sleepwalking only intensifies, and she begins to feel that her unborn child may be in danger.
SIERRA’S GOLD
Adze Ugah, South Africa, 2024, 90 min, Afrikaans, English, Xhosa, Zulu
with English subtitles
19 JULY 17:30 SUNCOAST 8 23 JULY 19:15 GATEWAY 8
SLEEP
Jason Yu, South Korea, 2023, 95 min, Korean with English subtitles
19 JULY 20:00 GATEWAY 8 27 JULY 17:30 PAVILION 12
28 45TH DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL