Two weeks ago, I attended the AFDA Experimental Film Festival in AFDA, The South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance. The weather was dreary. Dreary I tell you. It was a typical winter day in the Cape: cold, wet and grey. Good thing the event was indoors.

It was a two day festival: Friday and Saturday. I attended the Saturday, and the entrance fee was R40 per day. We got to see all the TV productions, Films and Live Performances (So I was late for the live performance, but we’ll pretend that it doesn’t matter, OK?) that AFDA senior students have been working on over the first half of the year. There were some really cool productions, and some not so great productions. There seemed to be a recurring theme of death, the conscious/subconscious and poetry.

Each film was about 10 minutes long, and after every two films, there was an interval; for coffee and hot chocolate refills as well as bathroom breaks; winter you know. There was a hall with booths for every film where its central message was displayed in the form of words, sculptures or a snippet of a scene from the film. I really liked it.

Film students do such cool things. They must be some of the few people who actually have a great time studying. The BTS footage was so funny. It’s interesting to see what extents they go to just to get their shots right. Can AFDA please throw another experimental film festival my way soon!

Have a great week ahead.