Two landmark films open and close Joburg Film Festival: bold, unflinching, unmissable, and South African

Tickets are now on sale for the Joburg Film Festival, taking place 3–8 March – Opening the festival on 3 March isLaundry (Uhlanjululo),the debut feature from acclaimed South African filmmaker Zamo Mkhwanazi, fresh from its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was hailed as “thrilling African cinema” by Film Fatale. the debut feature from acclaimed South African filmmaker Zamo Mkhwanazi, fresh from its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was hailed as “thrilling African cinema” by Film Fatale. Although attendance on the opening night is by invitation, the second screening takes place at 15:15 on 7 March at NUMETRO CINE 1, 6th Road, Hyde Park, Sandton, and is open to the general public.

The festival closes with the South African premiere ofThe Trek, a bold western-horror by first-time director MeekaeeI Adam, screening at 16:30 on 8 March at Theatre On The Square, Sandton. Together, these films form a powerful statement: South African filmmakers are telling world-class stories rooted in local history, myth, and memory with global resonance. “Both Laundry and The Trek delicately balance texture with technique and navigate their subject matter with real confidence,” says Joburg Film Festival Curator Nhlanhla Ndaba.

“These are stories rooted in uniquely South African contexts that invite audiences to think, feel, and actively journey with the characters.” Described by Variety as possessing “the gloss of 1990s historical dramas,”Laundry (Uhlanjululo)is a deeply personal work that confronts the long shadow of apartheid through the lens of family, labour, and stolen inheritance. Described by Variety as possessing “the gloss of 1990s historical dramas,” is a deeply personal work that confronts the long shadow of apartheid through the lens of family, labour, and stolen inheritance. Set in 1960s South Africa, the film follows a Black family operating a laundry business under rare and fragile permission to trade in a whites-only district.

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As patriarch Enoch (played bySiyabonga Shibe)fights to protect his family’s precarious livelihood, tensions arise between survival and self-expression, particularly through his son’s (played by Ntobeko Sishi) artistic dreams. When the threat of imprisonment emerges, the family is forced to reckon with the cost of endurance in a system designed to exclude them. The film features a strong cast including Bukamina Cebekhulu, Tracy September, and Justin Strydom. As patriarch Enoch (played by

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