This year's Joburg Film Festival had an impressive line-up of over 40 local and international films. They included South Africa's Oscar submission, 'Sew the Winter to My Skin' and Kenya's 'rafiki'. The latter made headlines around the world recently after initially being banned in Kenya for its content on LGBTI rights. The movie officially opened this year's Joburg Film Festival. Sumitra Nydoo reports.  

The Johannesburg Film Festival ran in conjunction with the Discop film and TV market for a second time. Organisers handpicked a series of hard-hitting movies tackling controversial issues in society.

Rafiki, written and directed by Kenyan born filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu was the most popular among film enthusiasts.

NHLANHLA NDABA, PROGRAM MANAGER JOBURG FILM FESTIVAL "It was shot in Kenya. It's an LGBTI film. So, that created a lot of controversy when the film addresses some of those issues. The actresses that star in that film were not allowed for instance to attend other film festivals around the world. The film was banned in Kenya. But as soon as the global media picked up on that story, that's when they were kind of allowed to now start visiting other film festivals."

Audiences also enjoyed South Africa's Sew the Winter To My Skin. The film of a courageous villager was written and directed by Jahmil Qubeka who hails from the same little town in South Africa. The movie has been submitted for an Oscar.

TIM MANGWEDI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JOBURG FILM FESTIVAL "I think it's very beautiful film. It's a beautiful story. It's a story about the Robin Hood of the time. It's a very interesting story. But, also equally, it's a silent movie, there's no dialogue, very limited dialogue. It should do well I hope it gets nominated."

Unfortunately only a handful of these independent productions make it to mainstream cinema or television. But the film markets is often where talent is spotted.

TIM MANGWEDI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JOBURG FILM FESTIVAL, DISCOP MARKETS "When you've got a film festival, and you've got a market. That's when we're able to unlock cultural capital, and that's currency. And I think it also helps, the young independent film producers to also understand as they are creating this content - why are they creating this content, who is going to consume this content, who's going to buy this content."

HALO MBATHA, MARKETING MANAGER GAUTENG FILM COMMISSION "Whenever films are shown, then some of them can reach international audiences. And in that way, we encourage people to come out and watch movies, not only just sit at home. But also to show the quality of content that we have."

The Joburg Film Festival, now in its second year, is helping to create more awareness and support for local filmmakers. This year's event attracted larger audiences who are also starting to enjoy the local and regional content being produced. SN CGTN JHB SA.