ENCOUNTERS 2024 and the environment and man’s impact on it, as always, takes centre stage at Encounters South African International Documentary Festival with several films focused on an orphaned baby elephant, seabirds, tiny American hummingbirds and citizens fighting against environmental destruction.
My Mercury
On a magnificent white rock, desolate yet teeming with life, Yves, an isolated conservationist battles seals and inner demons in equal measure, as his lone mission for ecological balance brings him to the brink of madness. The “white gold rush” for guano in the 19th century had almost driven the Namibian seabird colonies of Mercury Island to extinction by 1990, when Yves, a passionate maverick nature conservationist, became the island’s only inhabitant, taking on the Sisyphean task of protecting tens of thousands of birds from tens of thousands of seals. In My Mercury co-director Joëlle Chesselet with Pippa Ehrlich uses her brother Yves’ diaries and footage from his handheld camera to share the unique, primal story of his years alone. Although the film doesn’t shy away from the devastating effect humans have had on wildlife, there’s a refreshing absence of environmental agenda – if anything, it is optimistic about the impact that one committed person can have to preserve the diversity of our world.
Wild Coast Warriors
Nick Chevallier, Leigh Wood and Guido Zanghi’s Wild Coast Warriors (South Africa) explores the fight against the establishment of oil exploration operations by the Shell corporation in the Wild Coast in an effort to prevent the irreversible destruction of the environment and surrounding communities. The film goes beyond the surface of the legal case, exploring the interconnected rights of indigenous communities, customary law, and conservation in the face of foreign interests, corruption, and exploitation.
Diary of an Elephant Orphan (SA) directed by Hermien Roelvert-Van takes the audience through the struggles and turmoils of orphaned baby elephants and the people who have made it their life’s mission to save them. The film follows Khanyisa, a baby elephant newly orphaned, on her journey in becoming strong enough to join a herd of her own.
Every Little Thing
Sally Aitken’s gorgeous Every Little Thing (USA) is described as a “documentary about hummingbirds you never knew you needed to watch!” In the hills of Hollywood, Terry Masear cares for wounded hummingbirds, her life transformed by the fragility and resilience of the tiny creatures. Masear wrote a book about working with the world’s smallest birds, which led to filmmaker Sally Aitken following her over a busy caretaking season in Los Angeles. Exquisitely photographed and phenomenally heartwarming, watching Masear take care of the birds is so therapeutic that it is easy to see how her relationship with the winged wonders changed her life.
In a fascinating lineup of documentaries from around the globe, this year’s Encounters South African International Documentary Festival offers over 45 films that promise to captivate and delight a myriad of interests and tastes at venues in Cape Town and Johannesburg
WHAT: ENCOUNTERS 2024 – Encounters South African International Documentary Festival
WHERE: In Cape Town – Ster-Kinekor V&A Waterfront, The Labia Theatre | In Johannesburg – The Zone @ Rosebank, The Bioscope Independent Cinema
WHEN: 20 to 30 June 2024
TICKETS: HERE
INFO: VISIT | See also Hard-hitting SA documentary MOTHER CITY to open Encounters 2024
See also Cape Town Green Map
