Reflecting on the legacy of Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the TUTU Legacy Panel. 🎬 TUTU this Closing Weekend: 📍 Sun 14 June | 14:00 Rosebank Nouveau & SK Brooklyn 🎟️encounters.co.za/film/tutu/ #Encounters2026 #TUTU #DesmondTutu #EncountersDocFest #ClosingWeekend

Encounters South African International Documentary Festival returns for its 28th edition from 4–14 June 2026 in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Encounters is a documentary festival devoted to contemporary nonfiction features and short films from South Africa, across the African continent, and around the world. This year’s official program lists 27 feature and 31 short documentaries, including 32 African titles, 26 international titles, 9 world premieres, 30 African premieres, and 40 South African premieres. The opening-night film is Zipporah Nyaruri’s “Truck Mama” from Kenya. It follows Evaline, a 32-year-old Kenyan long-haul truck driver and mother of two, as she drives a 20-ton fuel tanker across East Africa while dealing with dangerous roads, mechanical breakdowns, bureaucracy, a male-dominated workplace, and long periods away from her children. Four South African feature documentaries are receiving world premieres in the 2026 programme: “Notes from the Underground,” “Marxism & Period Pains,” “The Hour After Midnight,” and “My Father’s Son.” The wider lineup includes African and international documentaries about political history, music, labour, family relationships, public life, and violence. Full programme and tickets: encounters.co.za #EncountersDocFest #DocumentaryFilm #SouthAfricanCinema #AfricanDocumentary

🎬✨ It’s a wrap for the 27th Edition of Encounters! From sold-out documentaries to Best of the Fest screenings — you made this year one for the books. Until next time — keep believing in the power of documentary. 💛 #EncountersDocFest #ThankYou #27thEdition #ItsAWrap

🔥 Full house at the premiere of Womxn: Working! Powerful audience engagement & emotional conversations on sex worker rights. 📍Still time to watch: 📆 Cape Town & JHB – 26 June 🎟️ #EncountersDocFest #SexWorkIsWork #Decrimsexwork 👉 sweat.org.za/2025/06/20/medi…

Discover Three Compelling Documentaries at Encounters splingmovies.com/2025/06/dis… #EncountersDocFest #MrNobodyAgainstPutin #TheShadowScholars #SamNzima @EncountersDoc

🎬 Womxn: Working — a gripping doc on the sex workers' fight for decriminalisation — premieres tomorrow in Cape Town at #EncountersDocFest! 📍 Cape Town: 21 & 26 June 📍 Johannesburg: 26 June #WomxnWorking #DecrimNow #SexWorkIsWork 👉 sweat.org.za/2025/06/20/medi…

Join @EncountersDoc in Cape Town and Johannesburg from 19–29 June for powerful premieres, in-depth Q&As, and unmissable industry events. 🎟️ Tickets: linktr.ee/encountersdoc 🔖 Programme: encounters.co.za/ #EncountersDocFest #EncountersDoc2025 #BackTogether

🚨 Breaking News Encounters Director Mandisa Zitha joins @eNCA to unpack the bold themes of our 27th Edition! 19–29 June CT: V&A, Labia, Bertha, Sunshine Cinema JHB: The Zone @ Rosebank & The Bioscope linktr.ee/encountersdoc #EncountersDocFest #WeRise2025 #MandisaZitha

🎬 The 27th Encounters Doc Fest is coming to Cape Town & Joburg! 🗓️ 19–29 June 📍 SK V&A & The Zone 🎞️ Cutting-edge docs, Q&As, industry events & more. 🎟️ Book now - bit.ly/43HFKsV @vandawaterfront open | @rosebankthezone opens 10 June #EncountersDocFest 👁️

🎥 "This is Ballroom" | Dir. Vitã Ballroom as resistance 💃 In Rio’s suburbs, voguing & drag become powerful tools for queer joy, dialogue & change. 📍CT: Labia, Wed 25 June, 6:30pm 📍JHB: The Zone @ Rosebank, Thu 26 June, 8:15pm #EncountersDocFest #ThisIsBallroom #QueerCinema

"The Shadow Scholars" exposes the billion-dollar contract-cheating industry, where students submit work written by online services CT: Ster-Kinekor V&A Wed 25 June 6.15pm Q&A JHB: The Zone @ Rosebank Sun 29 June 12pm Q&A #EncountersDocFest #TheShadowScholars #CheatingCulture

🔎" Fitting In" explores race, class, and masculinity at Stellenbosch’s Eendrag residence, as a new generation challenges colonial legacies. 🎥 CT: Labia 1 Mon 23 June 6.30pm Q&A 🎥 JHB: Bioscope Thu 26 June 6.30pm Q&A #EncountersDocFest #FittingIn #WaysOfLearning

"Brief Tender Light" follows four African students at MIT as they navigate academic pressure and shifting identities while holding onto the dreams that connect them to home. A profound look at resilience and transformation across continents. #EncountersDocFest #BriefTenderLight

🌍 On #AfricaDay, we celebrate the continent’s diverse stories. 6 Kings and 6 Queens follows Queen Masalanabo and Prince Lekukela’s fight for the throne in South Africa’s Balobedu Kingdom, challenging matriarchal traditions. @MissMolatelo #EncountersDocFest  #AfricanRoyalty

Meet #EYEJury member Zoë Magwaza – UCT Film Honours student and aspiring editor. Zoë joins the #EncountersDocFest x @sterkinekor Youth Jury to spotlight powerful African short docs. #ZoëMagwaza #YouthJury #AfricanCinema #DocumentaryFilm #SterKinekor #Encounters2025

Meet Elizabeth-Ann Oratile Fosu — a storyteller rooted in theatre & film, and a 2024 Fleur du Cap nominee. As part of the #EncountersYouthJury, she brings a fresh, thoughtful voice to the EYE Award for Best African Short. #EncountersDocFest #EYEAward #YouthInFilm #SterKinekor

BRIEF TENDER LIGHT heads to the 27th Encounters South African International Documentary Festival!  JHB: Bioscope Cinema Sun 22 June 3pm  CT: Ster-Kinekor V&A Tue 24 June 6.15pm Tickets:  linktr.ee/encountersdoc Programme: encounters.co.za  #EncountersDocFest

In Cape Town, water flows unevenly — and Capturing Water reveals why. From Day Zero to deeper systemic failures, this doc exposes the political, environmental, and economic crisis behind the taps. #CapturingWater #EncountersDocFest #EncountersDoc2025 #RightToWater

Intercepted is a haunting portrait of war—told through Russian soldiers’ phone calls and stark images of a devastated Ukraine. Directed by Oksana Karpovych, this bold doc explores propaganda, violence, and the deep scars war leaves behind. #Intercepted #EncountersDocFest

This Mother’s Day, we honour mothers who carry more than most could bear. In Seeds from Kivu, women in the DRC confront trauma, healing, and the difficult love of children born of war. #EncountersDocFest #EncountersDoc2025 #MothersDayWeekend  #BackTogether #BuildingBridges