The thirteenth European Film Festival of South Africa presents local audiences with a selection of award-winning and critically acclaimed European films. These movies will be screened in cinemas across South Africa from September 17th to 27th.
The festival program features 12 films, including new works by directors such as Oscar winner Pavel Pavlikovsky and Paolo Sorrentino, as well as social realism legends—the Dardenne brothers—and debutant Akinola Davis Jr., who received a BAFTA award. Audiences will see impressive performances from leading European actors, including Mads Mikkelsen, Javier Bardem, Sandra Hüller, and Carice van Houten, alongside many new faces successfully tackling demanding emotional roles.
For the first time in many years, eight of these twelve films will be shown in Durban at the new venue—New Noise Courtyard, located at 5 Southampton Row Point. This is a former Point police station, and parking near uShaka is recommended. As spectator capacity is limited to 40 people, tickets should be booked in advance.
Films presented at the festival
The festival opens with 'The Last Vikings,' starring Danish star Mads Mikkelsen. This film is a wild, black comedy/crime thriller/noir about a Danish family, touching upon themes of brotherhood, mental health, past secrets, The Beatles, and attempts to survive with friends.
The feature debut of British-Nigerian director Akinola Davis Jr.'s 'My Father’s Shadow' has become a significant event in world cinema. The film, which won a BAFTA for outstanding debut, is poetically shot with anxious imagery and a vibrant, turbulent atmosphere, serving as a deeply personal tribute to both his own father and all parents facing difficulties in maintaining a family.
Germany's offering is the film 'Fatherland' by Oscar winner Pavel Pavlikovsky. It presents a restrained, intimate, and heartbreaking portrait of the legendary German writer Thomas Mann and his daughter as they travel across the country, trying to cope with grief and the horrors of the past against the backdrop of the Cold War. This film, which won Best Director at this year's Cannes Film Festival, stars Oscar nominee Sandra Hüller.
In the Belgian film 'Young Mothers,' the multi-award-winning Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne create a small, stark, and compassionate picture of young mothers' struggle. These brave and troubled young women, abandoned by family and society, support each other while making some of the many difficult adult decisions of their lives. The film won the Best Screenplay award at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Italian director, Oscar and BAFTA winner Paolo Sorrentino, collaborates again with his colleague Toni Servillo in the film 'La Grazia' (Grace). Servillo received an award for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for his performance in this elegantly stylized, intimate drama about fathers, daughters, love, duty, and the eternal question of 'to whom do our days belong?', set against the backdrop of dirty Italian politics.
Colours of Time
The French film 'Colours of Time,' directed by Cedric Klapisch, is a family drama that weaves together stories from a 19th-century family's past and its present in the 21st century. It is a memorable, moving exploration of art, family, and history.
Porcelain War
This stunning documentary 'Porcelain War' from Ukraine, directed by Brendan Bellomo, tells an inspiring story. The main character, Slava Leontiev, is nominated for an Oscar. Leontiev, his wife, and a friend recount how their lives as artists were brutally destroyed by the war in Ukraine, taking great personal risks and using their own footage. Now, acting as Ukrainian soldiers, they have not lost their passion for art and nature, risking everything for family, nation, and freedom.
Javier Bardem brilliantly portrays the fictional, renowned, mercurial Spanish film director Esteban Martínez in the film 'The Beloved.' Director Rodrigo Sorogoyen returns to his homeland to shoot a historical drama of the colonial era, set in Western Sahara. The film explores the fragile relationship between fathers and daughters and raises complex questions about the personal sacrifices made in the service of art.
A Family
Dutch director Mees Peijnenburg offers a powerful look at divorce in modern Europe, viewed through the empathetic eyes of a brother and sister trying to find their way and perhaps a shared path after the bitter conflict between their parents. The film stars Carice van Houten and Peter Embrecht.
Award-winning Polish director Agnieszka Holland presents an energetic and generally light biographical drama about the mysterious literary genius Franz Kafka in the film 'Franz.' The film examines the protagonist, his complex relationship with his father, and contemplates how his legacy might be preserved in the future.
The Irish film 'Christy' is the feature debut of Brendan Canty, which garnered numerous nominations and awards at the Irish Film and Television Awards this year for its sensitive direction and Danny Power's impressive lead role as a young man with a vaguely remembered tragic past. After being kicked out of another foster home, he returns to Cork to live with his estranged brother. In trying to understand his future, he reopens his relationship with his brother and begins to envision a home among people in a place he can love.
The extraordinary and original film 'Aki,' directed by Thiago Guedes, is an ambitious, epic, and enigmatic adaptation of the trilogy of novels 'Jesus' by South African Nobel laureate J.M. Coetzee. The film retains humanistic hopes, despair, and a deep exploration of eternal philosophical questions that constantly drive families and societies.
The festival also pays tribute to the tireless dedication and vision of the late co-director, Peter Rorwick, who tragically passed away earlier this year. Peter was a passionate advocate for independent cinema and spent decades nurturing a generation of enthusiasts and filmmakers across South Africa and beyond.
The thirteenth European Union Film Festival of South Africa will take place from September 17th to 27th, 2026, in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and Pretoria. The full program and schedule can be found on social media or at www.eurofilmfest.co.za. Tickets are available through Quicket.