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 IT'S FRIDAY...And if you’re one of those unfortunate souls who hasn’t been able to take the week off, now is your time. With less than 72 hours of festival madness to go, there’s still a smorgasbord of fiction features, documentaries and short films available for your viewing pleasure. So treat yourself to this rare opportunity to watch these films on the big screen. And if you’re not a regular festival goer and are unsure of which movies to watch in the limited time-frame, well, Reel Times is here as a gentle guide through these last hours of the festival. But there’s also some-thing to be said for watching a film chosen at random from the programme. There’s the risk, of course, that you might not like the film, but there’s also the chance that your life will be enriched in ways that you might never have expected. Give it a go... RECOGNISING HUMAN RIGHTS Carrying a cash prize of €2 500 euro, the Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award, organized in conjunction with Amnesty International Durban and the Amnesty’s Movies that Matter project, will be presented at the festival’s closing night to the film that is most reflective of human rights issues. Ten documentary films from this year’s programme have been included for consideration, including the acclaimed 5 Broken Cameras, Bitter Seeds and This is Not a Film. OOK OUT! IT'S BLITZ PATROLLIE Written by well-loved South African comedian Kagiso Lediga, Blitz Patrollie is a buddy cop comedy set in Johannesburg. The film chronicles the adventures of Rummy Augustine (Joey Rasdien) and his partner, Ace Dikolobe (David Kau), police officers who have had the misfortune of being stationed in an anonymous depot in the belly of the Johannesburg CBD. Rummy is bogged down with trying to start a family and burdened with an overbearing mother-in-law who just won't move out, while the overzealous Ace can think of nothing better to do in the morning than to put on his ‘lucky’ bullet-proof vest and head out into the mean streets of Jozi to kick some criminal ass. Blitz Patrollie pays homage to the economic and cultural giant that is the city of Johannesburg, Shot on location in the lush northern suburbs, the gritty streets of the CBD and everywhere in between, this hilarious comedy offers itself as a portrait of the city and its many contradictions. Directed by Andrew Wessels, Blitz Patrollie is the first feature film from newly formed production company Diprente Films. o Blitz Patrollie shows tonight, 27 July at 8.15pm at Suncoast, and on Saturday 28 July at 1pm on Ekhaya, and at 4.30pm at Suncoast This still from Marjane Satrapi’s Chicken with Plums reminded Reel Times of the beauty of the wide screen, and what can be lost as formats change and screens get smaller and more condensed. Catch Satrapi’s magical masterpiece at 4pm at the Sneddon on Sat 28 July. SHOWING TOMORROW Valley of the Saints (India/United States) Director: Musa Syeed Set in a sprawling aquatic community, this lyrically tender neo-realist film tells the story of Gulzar, a young boatman whose plans to skip town are put on hold by a military curfew. While he waits it out, he offers his services to a young scientist named Asifa. As they navigate the watery landscape, Gulzar comes to realise that the lake’s ecosystem – and an entire way of life – are under imminent threat. Tabu (Portugal) Director: Miguel Gomes Tabu tells the story of the temperamental Aurora, an elderly Portuguese woman who lives in an imposing Lisbon tower block with her Cape Verdean maid, Santa, and a compassionate Catholic woman named Miss Pilar. Steeped in nostalgia, this third film from acclaimed Portuguese director Miguel Gomes was shot in black and white, echoing the romantic era of 1930s Hollywood. A Simple Life (Hong Kong) Director: Ann Hui This deceptively simple film from Hong Kong-based director Ann Hui tells the story of a woman in her 70s who has been working in the Leung family house all her life. After six decades, Ah Tao is taking care of the needs of Roger, the last family member still living in Hong Kong. When Ah Tao has a stroke, and Roger starts to pay attention to her needs, he comes to realise how much she means to him. Asmaa (Egypt) Director: Amra Salama Asmaa tells the true story of an HIV-positive woman who has moved to Cairo. Asmaa is suffering from a gall bladder infection but, because of the stigma surrounding her HIV status, is unable to find a surgeon to perform the operation. Given the chance of appearing on a popular TV show, Asmaa must choose between revealing her secret to the world and continuing to suffer in silence. LEARNING TO BE LENA Since the birth of teenager in the 1950s, modern adolescence has proved a rich source of subject matter for filmmakers. Lena is one of the finest such films in many years. Lena tells the story of a chubby but attractive school-leaver who grants sexual favours to boys but receives no emotional reward in exchange. When she meets the likable and intelligent but volatile Daan (Niels Gomperts), he is instantly struck by her. The sensitive Lena (Emma Levie) soon moves in with him, but when Daan’s father Tom (Jeroen Willems) develops an attraction to Lena, her new living arrangements become more than a little complicated. The result is a deeply engaging coming-of-age story that features one of the most complex and endearing young female protagonists in years. An astoundingly measured performance from Levie as the bewitching Lena, combined with the film’s carefully curated naturalism, provides a profoundly visceral sense of being a teenager in a morally complex world. Made with care and precision, and backed with strong, intelligent writing, Lena is something of a revelation in the way it fuses its realism with its own particular cinematic elegance. Featuring exceptional use of sound and silence, the film marks Belgian director Christophe Van Rompaey as a major talent in European cinema. o Lena shows on 28 July at 10pm at Musgrave TIME FOR A DOCCIE We’re sure you’re busy planning your own schedule of films for this weekend. But in your noble efforts to cram as many fiction feature films into your diary, don’t make the mistake of forgetting about the rich selection of documentaries that are on show this weekend. Marley (United Kingdom) Director: Kevin MacDonald From the director of Touching the Void and The Last King of Scotland comes a detailed and comprehensive look into the life of reggae’s most famous face. Deftly rendered in intricate, the film provides an overview of Bob Marley’s life, chipping away at the layers of myth that have built up around his iconic image to reveal a more honest and complete vision of the artist. Marley is a reverent, deeply human and thorough portrait of one of the deities of 20th century popular music. Planet of Snail (South Korea) Director: Seung-Jun Yi This entrancing, multiple award-winning film details the life of the blind and deaf Young-Chan. Locked in the isolated world of his own body, he was unfathomably lonely for many years, although his sense of beauty remained in the world beneath his fingertips. Through his wife’s incredible patience and love, his ability to dream is reignited, as they learn to communicate by delicately tapping out words on each other’s hands. But her own disability means that one day he might have to survive alone.... Woody Allen: A Documentary (United States) Director: Robert B. Weide Directed by frequent Curb Your Enthusiasm director, Robert Weide, this doccie is a nostalgic trip through Woody Allen’s filmography, as well as a veritable feast of things you don’t know about this quirky comic genius. This evocative and enjoyable reflection on Allen’s remarkable persona will be a delight for more than just his fans. WHY IS THIS NOT A FILM? Smuggled out of Iran to Cannes Film Festival on a USB flash drive inside a cake, Jafar Panahi’s This Is Not a Film takes censorship and turns it into art. Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi was banned from writing or directing films for 20 years, and spent six years in prison, after speaking out against the rule of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the Green Revolution in the country in 2009. Panahi ‘s creative spirit cannot, however, be quelled, and, along with a filmmaker friend, they set about ”not” making a film from the confines of Panahi‘s high-rise Tehran apartment. Instead they document the planning of a film that, as he is all too aware, will never be made. It is a moving addition to the literature of oppression, but at the same time a courageous and defiant work that attacks the myopic notion that the will to expression could ever be suppressed, no matter how capricious and vindictive the regime. The title is a cheeky reference to Magritte’s This Is Not a Pipe, but the self-deprecation of the name belies Panahi’s profoundly important contribution to the Iranian canon. o This is Not a Film shows on 28 July at 2pm at the Sneddon