This year’s festival saw a range of topics explored through the festival’s panel discussions. Over and above the films curated for this year's program, we saw the need to expand our curation beyond the screen, through panel discussions with industry experts and emerging filmmakers, to engage with audiences on African diasporic cinema deeper and create a platform for meaningful dialogue and networking.
Our film festival closing day was a curated blend of music, an exhibition around Black Joy, 2 short film sessions and a panel discussion at 99 Juta in Braamfontein.
The second day of our festival at The Bioscope Independent Cinema kicked off with Session 3, 4 and 5 featuring African Diaspora gems and a highly informative panel discussion hosted by Eddie Ramohlale from SA Film Chronicles.
As we approached the 3rd year of our festival, we reflected upon the immense support and success we’ve had over the past 2 years. This year marks an important year in our film curation and the expansion of our festival to greater heights, new regions, new voices and cinematic narratives under a theme that truly encapsulated the ethos of our curatorial theme, “Beyond Borders”.
In the words of Melissa Kimble, "This world does not move without Black creativity.” Reel to Reality Festival is so proud to honour and celebrate the black child through our first, but not last Community Screening, in partnership with Vicky Denise Chili’s eKasi Bioscope.
The pop-up screening in Cape Town met our largest crowd yet this year, selling out all 100 tickets at The Labia Theatre for our first Cape Town visit and a warm crowd in attendance. The evening featured curated student films and emerging film voices.