Weaam Williams, a highly acclaimed South African filmmaker, continues to make waves worldwide with her authentic South African stories. Her documentary film ”District Six Rising from the Dust,” released in 2018, has recently won Best Documentary at the Wales International Film Festival. The Cape Town-based filmmaker has used film to find her voice as a woman and activist using cinema.
”District Six Rising from the Dust” is a 62-minute feature documentary that unpacks the art, history, and social landscape of Cape Town’s most remembered district,” Williams adds.
It examines dispossession and restitution and the memory of intergenerational loss in the context of South Africa’s current restitution process.
“District Six Rising from the Dust” has received critical acclaim at various film festivals, including Best Original Story at the Florence Film Awards.
The film also received the Nordic Aurora Award of Excellence and a Jury Special Mention for Best SA Documentary at the Cape Town International Film Festival. It currently forms part of the Library Collections at Edinburgh University, Duke University, and the University of Toronto.
“This film is an ancestral legacy story of my family and the loss of their land, and the tens of thousands of others who lost their land in District Six.” It gives voice to unspoken traumas and is necessary for collective healing and progress,” comments Williams.
Williams is a multidisciplinary artist who works in the fields of poetry, music, and film. Her short narrative film “Two Hues” has also received international acclaim. The film examines the ambiguous identities of Muslim women in Western society and the duality of patriarchy.
Beyond The Curve International Film Festival awarded the film Best Short Film, North Europe International Film Festival: Best Directed Short Film, Berlin Short Film Festival: Best Women Empowerment Film, West Europe International Film Festival: Best Lead Actress in a Short Film, and Wallachia International Film Festival: Best Featurette.
“Two Hues” is currently in development to be a feature film.
