Durban Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Returns for 3-Day December Edition

After a five-year break, the Durban Gay and Lesbian Film Festival is back for a short end-of-year edition of select screenings of South African and international queer filmmaking.

Taking place from 28 to 30 December 2024, the three-night cinematic event brings back to Durban’s shore an important LGBTIQ+ cultural space that celebrates queer stories and filmmaking.

It’s all been made possible with a venue partnership with the Bellézar Beach Café on Umhlanga’s main beach and support from the Ethekwini Municipality’s Durban Film Office.

“After enduring the genuinely devastating pandemic that Covid-19 wrought on live events and cinema in particular, and in a very challenging funding climate where we simply hadn’t the resources to resume easily, I’m genuinely happy and proud that we can re-boot the Durban Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (DGLFF) this year!” exclaimed festival director Jason Fiddler.

“The DGLFF remains an important cultural space for the LGBTIQ+ community in Durban and KZN, and just as importantly, an accessible platform for all Durbanites who enjoy great cinema to engage with fine storytelling whilst appreciating uniquely queer viewpoints on life, love and everything else!”

The DGLFF  Lineup

Starting on Saturday 28 December, at 19h00, the DGLFF opens with the African premiere of Down in Paris (102 mins), a French language feature film by ex-Joburg and now Paris-based South African filmmaker Anthony Hickling.

Richard, a film-maker in his forties, is suddenly overwhelmed by anxiety during filming. He walks off set and wanders through the Paris night in search of answers, comfort and inspiration. During his sleepless night, he meets many people, some friendly, some disturbing, some known, some unknown. Richard has to confront his fears and question his deepest desires until the first light of dawn.

A second encore screening of Down in Paris will take place at 19h00 on Sun 29 December 2024.

The festival will also be screening the recently completed Afrikaans documentary Onthou Vi Fredo (37 mins) by South African filmmaker Cleveland Hopp from Cape Town.

It offers an intimate portrait of beloved hairstylist and drag performer Alfredo April’s enduring impact and legacy after his murder in Malmesbury, as recounted by his mother, close friends and the broader queer community within Malmesbury.

The powerful Onthou Vi Fredo will screen on Sunday 29 December at 17h15 and again on Monday 30 December at 15h00.

Rounding off this select reboot programme is the South African premiere of a Spanish-language documentary set in Russia, Calls from Moscow (66 mins). It’s a Cuban-German-Norwegian co-production, by Cuban director Luis Alejandro Yero.

Set days before the invasion of Ukraine is announced, four young Cubans visit a Moscow apartment for a 24-hour stay. In their phone calls, the present and future coexist: their stories as queer and undocumented immigrants, and the exchanges with the film’s director about their distress after the outbreak of the war.

An intimate and gently made doccie, Calls from Moscow screens on Sunday 29 December at 16h00 with an encore screening on Monday 30 December, again at 16h00.

Festival Details

Patrons can enjoy the range of beverages and delicious food at the Bellézar Beach Café restaurant before and after screenings, whilst soaking up the gorgeous sea views on the famous Umhlanga promenade.

There is ample secure parking at the nearby Pearls and Oceans malls.

As the venue has limited capacity, the festival encourages patrons to get their tickets online (see below) before they sell out.

The opening night is R200 and includes a limited edition DGLFF souvenir coffee mug and welcome beverage (alcoholic or non), whilst the encore feature film screening costs R70, and the documentary screenings are R40 a ticket.

“This lays the foundation stone for the next few years as we evolve this special event into the next ten festivals and beyond,” said Fiddler. “I hope that this year’s DGLFF will again inspire our LGBTIQ+ community, provoking thought and dialogue, and provide an extraordinary resonance with lovers of queer film.”

We urge you to support valuable queer cultural and social spaces like the Durban Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Get tickets at Quicket here.