Apartheid alive and well

Racial and religious intolerance go hand in hand

Day 4 at DIFF consisted of two films that portray Apartheid - one set in modern SA and 

the other in the West Bank. 

Twenty years after democracy in SA, Fatherland was quite a shock. While most of South 

Africa have embraced the rainbow nation, a small group of right wing extremists still 

fight the ”negroids". 

In this doccie, young boys and men attend a camp, run by ex-SANDF personnel, where 

they are bombarded by anti black sentiment. The audience found it funny, while I 

thought it was so sad and hopeless. It is an eye opener though. Fatherland has no more 

screenings. It is in competition.

I watched Omar while the bombs are falling in Palestine. I don't want to choose sides 

between Israel and Palestine, although it seems as if the fight has no solution. The film 

portrays a young man's struggle to deal with love, the occupation and the ever present 

Israeli soldiers and police. When watching the film, I thought I've seen it all before. Trust 

me, it's one of the boldest and cruelest films of its genre. Omar is by the director of the 

acclaimed Paradise Now. It has another screening on 26 July.

I closed my day with My blind heart, a very disturbing portrayal of a man living with 

Marfan syndrome. In this shocking film, Kurt is seen rebelling against his decaying body. 

The film is in competition. There are no more screenings.

* Day 5 will start with The decline of the American empire, made in 1986 and still 

relevant, followed by a gritty SA crime drama, Cold Harbour, and two gay films, Out 

in the line up (gay surfers and their struggle to fit in) which is part of Wavescapes, and 

Salvation Army about gay culture in Morocco.