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Vancouver’s South African Film Festival

Vancouver South African Film Festival

The Vancouver South African Film Festival is a non-profit event showcasing films about the history and culture of South Africa.

In the past, pre-COVID, the festival happened in the spring. In 2023, however, the event took place in-person on November 2nd and 3rd. The South African Film Festival Canada, organizer of the event in Vancouver, also streamed this festival online from November 2nd to 12th.

 

Vancouver South African Film Festival

The Vancouver South African Film Festival (VSAFF) celebrated its 13th year in 2023. The VSAFF features documentaries and films about life in South Africa and the history and politics that have affected the country.

This past year the festival took place at the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts located in the SFU Woodwards building at 149 West Hastings Street in Gastown. It’s a non-profit event run by volunteers and it raises money for the charity Education without Borders which supports poor, disadvantaged and at-risk children.

The festival has kept going despite the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, instead of cancelling the entire event because of COVID-19, organizers managed to host it as a virtual event.

 

Film Festival Prices

Regular films at the South African Film Festival typically cost between about $16 and $22 per movie. An opening night gala usually costs about $58 plus the accompanying opening night film. Festival passes that allow guests to see all shows over the two-day screening are also available.

There are typically two price options for full festival passes, with one including the gala and another for just the festival. A pass for the festival, including the gala, usually costs about $153. A pass for just the festival without the gala costs about $116. These passes provide access to all the films screened in Vancouver.

 

2023 Festival Schedule

Below were the original dates, events, and in-person films for the South African Film Festival in 2023. (Note: Times, locations and other details were subject to change.)

 

Thursday, November 2nd, 2023

  • 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm – gala reception at SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at the Goldcorp Centre at 149 West Hastings Street in Vancouver
  • 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm – general admission doors open
  • 7:30 pmRise: The Siya Kolisi Story shows at SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts

 

Friday, November 3rd, 2023

  • 3:30 pm – general admission doors open
  • 4:00 pmMeasures of Men shows at SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
  • 6:00 pm – interview with Lars Kraume, the film’s director
  • 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm – general admission doors open
  • 7:30 pmCategory: Woman shows at SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
  • 8:45 pm – Q&A with the film’s director and Olympian, Phyllis Ellis, athletes rights lawyer, Payoshni Mitra, and Qmunity Coordinator, Keitu Malatsi

 

 

African Breese Vancouver

 


AFRICAN BREESE IS A PROUD SPONSOR

African Breese is an online specialty food store with physical locations at 3654 West 4th Avenue in Vancouver as well as at 1054 Marine Drive in North Vancouver. Run by a South African-Canadian family, the locally-owned company is a sponsor of the film festival’s Opening Gala. It is also proud to support the Vancouver South African Film Festival by being a sponsor of this article.


 

Education without Borders

Education without Borders is a Vancouver-based non-profit organization that provides access to educational resources for disadvantaged children and youth in both Canada and South Africa. Founded in 1971, the charity has assisted with building a school in South Africa and implemented many after-school educational programs including ones about math, English, science and leadership.

In Canada, Education without Borders has partnered with other organizations to create the Indigenous Storybook Canada Project which works to translate books into local Indigenous languages.

To date, the Vancouver South African Film Festival has raised around $100,000 for Education without Borders.

 

Other Information

For more information about the festival, see the Vancouver South African Film Festival‘s website.

To find out more about the charity the festival raises money for see the Education without Borders website.

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