A South African documentary,’ District Six Rising from the Dust,’ has been awarded the Best Documentary at the Beyond the Curve International Film Festival in France. The film festival will take place virtually from June 25 to June 30.
Throughout the five-day festival, the film will be accessible to stream on the Beyond the Curve International Film Festival’s global streaming platform. The documentary is an hour-long feature that explores Cape Town’s most famous district’s art, history, and social landscape. It looks at dispossession, restitution, and the legacy of intergenerational loss in the context of South Africa’s current restitution process.
Weaam Williams and her cinematographer spouse, Nafia Kocks, finished District Six Rising from the Dust in late 2019 and presented prior versions of it in South Africa. During the 2020 lockdown period, Weaam decided to submit the final film to international film festivals. Weaam Williams remarked, “It was the calm moment that allowed her an opportunity to focus on the body of work already generated by Tribal Alchemy Productions.”
The film has since gone on to be accepted into festivals and competitions in Turkey, India, Italy, the United States of America (USA), France and Australia. “All of these events reached out on social media and offered significant fee waivers,” she said.
“District Six Rising from the Dust isn’t just a film about the past; it’s a film about District Six’s future. So, therefore, it is intrinsically tied to the cause of the people’s return to the land,” she went on to say.
District Six Rising from the Dust includes snippets from David Kramer and Taliep Petersen’s District Six the Musical and an interview with renowned fine artist Sandra Mc Gregor, who spent more than 20 years painting in District Six.
