AFDA Port Elizabeth will host a Graduation Festival with performances by graduates on Monday November 19 at 7pm, and on Tuesday November 20 at 2pm and 7pm, at the Savoy Theatre.
The Film School graduate festival will be on Saturday November 24 from midday until 5pm at the Nu Metro cinema at the Boardwalk in Port Elizabeth.
Students graduating in Live Performance will take part in the stage production programme of The River and The Bed.
The five graduation films include one honours and four undergraduate works, to be exhibited over the festival.
The River and the Bed
The River and the Bed is a programme of work of two original stage productions devised by the third year AFDA performance students.
They Ran up the Hill and Umfula (The River) both explore the idea of secrets, memories and the pain one has to endure while trying to uncover and confront them.
A spokesperson for AFDA said the work was “innovative in both form and content, and displays the exciting young talent that PE has to offer”.
The following are on the film programme:
Isikhalo: The Outcry (honours graduation film)
Ciki, a young woman who grew up in a small Peddie village, marries Bantu, a suburban high school teacher.
After moving to Ntselamanzi Township with Bantu, she discovers that her husband is not the man she imagined him to be.
As their relationship develops, Bantu physically and emotionally abuses Ciki. Bantu insists that this is his right as her husband.
Supported by her fellow stokvel friends, Ciki finally stands up to his archaic interpretation of cultural standards, and so begins a journey of courageous self-discovery.
The following are the undergraduate graduation films:
Sakhumzi A man is finally let out of prison after sixteen years behind bars.
He has one objective in mind, and that is to connect with the son he left behind and build him a legacy.
We meet Sakhile outside the prison gates and follow him to his dusty shed, where he is digging holes to find a treasure he has buried.
Lulama, legal guardian to Khaya (his son), refuses to allow them to meet, fearing his influence as an ex-convict and a series of other deep-seated issued that they never addressed.
Khaya catches wind of this and in rebellion, secretly meets up with his father.
The more they dig and work in the land, the more history is unearthed from the night of Sakhile’s capture, and the treasures he buried.
Birth of a Witch
Beginning at a sleepover, three girls come across a late night adult film, thus kicking off the wild night that follows as Amanda struggles to suppress her dangerous desires within the midst of a blossoming forbidden romance between herself and her friend Charlie.
Through the act of suppressing and denying her desires as the night progresses, we are introduced to unknown supernatural forces as her inner turmoil manifests itself into existence, threatening the lives of the people around her and ultimately herself.
The Yard
Eron and his group of friends are training for an upcoming neighbourhood soccer tournament.
Their preparations go awry when Eron’s younger brother is killed days before the game.
Struggling to find closure, Eron must rely on the help of his friends to compete in order to honour his brother’s legacy.
Sunset Exodus
A blind mother sits on the veranda of her small farmhouse.
Her son lies on a couch just inside the house, sick and sleeping.
An outsider approaches the farmhouse from across a vast field and arrives at the house.
The mother believes that he is death come for her son. The two are taken to a plane of existence after death where the mother sees the river Styx.
The mother finds her way back to her son but is shocked to see death healing the boy. Death explains that he has come for the mother and makes her an offer.
Where to get tickets
Tickets for the Stage Festival can be purchased from the AFDA Port Elizabeth campus reception desk at R40 for adults, R30 for students and pensioners, and R200 for a block booking of 10.
Film Festival tickets will be sold by students and a limited number of tickets will be available at the door, selling at R20 per film screening.
Further information from AFDA Port Elizabeth head Melissa Evans, 041-582-1266, e-mail: melissae@afda.co.za