What film festivals can learn from South Africa

The recently held Joburg Film Festival (JFF) was the epitome of excellence in film showcasing. The way the entire festival was orgnaised should serve as a prime example to other African film festivals on how to curate an event of such magnitude.

JFF was as diverse as any event could be. Films from across the globe were represented in front of a wide audience consisting of people of different nationalities.

Film festivals such as Zanzibar International film festival (ZIFF) might not have financial muscle or backing as JFF, it requires more than financial capability to stage a remarkable film festival.

What ZIFF and other African film festivals can learn from JFF is the inclusivity and well-orgnanised planning of the event.

For the mere three years that JFF has been staged it has gained popularity in Africa and beyond. This goes to show just how influential the film festival continues to become as it claims a spot among Africa’s top film festival.

There still room for improvement, however, as JFF seemed still lacks in numbers in terms of attendance. More effort should be put towards encouraging people to attend the festival.

As for other African film festivals, the pace is encouraging, but there’s still a long way to go.

Let’s continue pushing the film industry to greater heights. There’s definetly light at the end of the tunnel.