The 65th Cannes Film Festival officially begins today, and the South African delegation is making a pretty strong showing there. They’ve got 130 South African filmmakers attending, the largest SA delegation ever to go to Cannes, showcasing 12 feature films and eight documentaries – including Otelo Burning, by the guys who did Surfing Soweto.

Otelo Burning was filmed on location Durban – focusing on a group of township surfer kids in the 1980s, set against the backdrop of  Mandela’s release from prison. Take a look at the trailer above.

Some other titles on show include Semi-Soet, Blitz Patrollie, 31 Million Reasons, Five Finger for Marseillas, One Last Look, The Umbrella Man, Tok Tokkie, RollaBall, Sobukwe, Wandering Fever and I am Craig.

The delegation is being led by the South African National Film & Video Foundation (NFVF) in association with the Department of Arts & Culture (DAC).

The DAC guys are planning on signing a co-production treaty with Ireland while they’re there – so South African producers will be able to qualify for incentives associated with home-grown content in Ireland, and vicer-versa. We’ve got existing treaties with Canada, Germany, Italy, the UK, France, Austrialia and New Zealand, which facilitated the production of films like Skin and The Bang Bang Club.

[Source: IndieWire]