South Africa: Encounters, the premier documentary festival on the African continent

Encounters, the premier documentary festival on the African continent and a major event on the film circuit calendar in collaboration with Greenhouse, has secured a number of award winning local and international documentaries which focus on cultivating environmental and social awareness for the 2010 edition of Encounters from 12 to 29 August 2010. This section dubbed ‘'Green Movies: Rewind, Review, Remake“ showcases various green and social issues affecting business, energy, water and the earth while highlighting sustainable solutions from local organizations to others across the globe. The innovative aesthetics and cutting-edge style with some humour interspersed make these films audience favourites. Rather than focusing only the doom and gloom many of these films carry a positive message supporting the idea that we as individuals are indeed empowered to create the much needed change in our society.
 

“Encounters initiated the Green Focus in 2007 to broaden the debate and highlight the most pressing ecological issues we are facing. We are excited this year to partner with Greenhouse, and acknowledge Woolworths and Earthchild, who have sponsored individual Green films respectively”, said Festival Director Mandisa Zitha. "Environmental issues in South Africa must never stand without addressing key social questions, we therefore applaud the festival this year for grouping these two categories and providing a good mix of international and local films. I feel that film above all other media has the power, and in that moment a responsibility, to engage with and to create the necessary awareness required to facilitate change on all environmental and social levels," says Greenhouse member Justin Friedman. Featured in the Green Movies section this year are Dirt! The Movie, Earthchild, Tapped, The Yes Men Fix the World, Buried in Earthskin, Care Takers, A Place Without People, For the Best and for the Onion!, and Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space. The festival will take place in Cape Town from 12 to 29 August 2010, and in Johannesburg from 18 to 29 Augut 2010. More information and details of the full programme are available here
 

Since its inception in 1999, Encounters has been instrumental in the growth of a cinema-going audience in the documentary genre in South Africa. Discussions and debates are stimulated through the Q & A sessions after the screenings with renowned international and local filmmakers. The annual master classes with experienced international professionals in the industry are highly popular. Encounters annually organises conferences and workshops for the development of the industry. Film programmes include the Laboratory and the Africa Shorts Documentary Project in partnership with the Jan Vrijman Fund. Encounters annually creates access to the festival beyond suburbia through the Inreach Programme. Encounters has screened 270 International titles and 130 South African titles - and has commissioned 44 films, with record attendance figures to date of 108,900. Greenhouse offers an environment for the cultivation of conscious ideas into reality, utilizing connectivity, strategy, creativity and action to help raise awareness of green, social and cultural projects / brands / businesses. In essence authentic marketing and communication strategies are developed and build visual campaigns that encourage consumers, media, business and policy makers to help create a healthy sustainable society.