Encounters Festival

The official account of Encounters South African International Documentary Festival. #BackTogether from 4 - 14 June 2026

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

🎤 ENCOUNTERS TALKS | DAY 1
Powerful conversations and meaningful connections ❤️
Thanks to everyone who joined Women as Workers and Warriors and Filmmaking as Reparative Practice.
The conversations continue today.
📍 Centre for Humanities Research
66 Greatmore St, Woodstock

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

🎬 VET vannie Land. One botanist. Global syndicates. A race to save what's left.A gripping look at the illegal succulent trade threatening the Richtersveld's unique biodiversity. https://t.co/EEdaIci4oK @kykNETtv
📍 JHB Rosebank — 6 June | 4PM
📍 JHB Bioscope — 9 June | 8PM

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

BEST OF THE FEST: Notes from the Underground
Due to high demand, we've added an extra screening of one of the festival's most anticipated films.
📍 CT: Labia Theatre | Sun 14 June | 12:30 PM
📍 JHB: The Bioscope | Sun 14 June | 4:00 PM
🎟️https://t.co/rWMi1GEXIV

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

Connection. Conversation. Community. ❤️
Opening night reminded us that Encounters is about more than films—it's about the people who gather around them. 🎟️ Book your tickets before they sell out.
Photography by @kwei_shunyu

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

SOLD OUT 🚨 Johannesburg has entered the chat ❤️
An Hour After Midnight is officially SOLD OUT at Ster-Kinekor. Cape Town started it. Jozi followed. 👏
#Encounters2026 #EncountersDoc

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

🎬 MEET THE FILMMAKER | Joyce Nkgapele
Catch Bridging the Disconnect and meet director Joyce Nkgapele.
https://t.co/xUiCsWYCLo
📍 JHB Rosebank — Tonight | 8PM
📍 CT Bertha Khayelitsha — 7 June + Q&A
📍 CT Labia — 9 June + Q&A
#Encounters2026 #EncountersDoc

[National Film & Video Foundation #NFVF @nfvfsa]

#Encounters2026 opening night! The NFVF Council Chairperson, Mr. Leon Van Nierop gave the keynote address.

#LoveSAFilm #nfvf

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

🎬 WAT WAS HIE?
A journey through Cape Town's layered histories of colonialism, slavery, displacement, and Indigenous resistance — asking what remains beneath the surface.
🎟️ https://t.co/HMYOU3H1X8 Labia — 6 June | 4PM + Q&A
#Encounters2026 #EncountersDoc #WATWASHIE

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

❤️ The doors are open. The screens are lit. #Encounters2026 is officially underway.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for Opening Night and helped launch another incredible festival of documentary storytelling.

[Gadget @GadgetZA]

#Documentary | ‘Amílcar’ reveals man behind a revolution

An award-winning documentary about anti-colonial leader Amílcar Cabral premieres at Encounters 2026.

@EncountersDoc #Encounters2026

🔗https://t.co/K4JM3XH8xR
https://t.co/K4JM3XH8xR

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

Truck Mama at Bertha House is officially FULLY BOOKED ❤️
Still showing:
📍 JHB Rosebank — 10 June | 8PM + Q&A
📍 CT V&A Waterfront — 13 June | 8PM
🎤 Women as Workers and Warriors
📍 UWC | 5 June | 11AM
🎟️ Book now before they're gone.
#Encounters2026 #EncountersDoc

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

🎬 BONES | A powerful tribute to Dr Diana Ferrus and the poem that helped bring Sarah Baartman home.
This moving documentary explores memory, repatriation, and the power of storytelling to restore dignity and justice.
https://t.co/L9xkCJuOBO
📍 CT Labia — 6 June | 4PM + Q&A

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

Notes from the Underground at Bertha House is officially FULLY BOOKED ❤️ Cape Town showed up. Now it's over to Jozi 👀
📍 JHB Brooklyn Commercial — 12 June | 6PM
📍 JHB The Bioscope — 14 June | 4PM
🎟️ https://t.co/m3dH095IrU
#Encounters2026 #EncountersDoc #NotesFromTheUnderground

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

A Little Blackman from the Congo has sold out in Johannesburg ❤️ Big shout-out to Jozi for delivering its first sold-out screening of #Encounters2026 🎉
Missed out?
📍 CT Ster-Kinekor V&A — 10 June | 6:30PM
🎟️ https://t.co/32ZPUFtyl4
#Encounters2026 #EncountersDoc

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

🎬 MEET THE JURY | Kastarine Neo Kgola
Documentary filmmaker, editor, and storyteller Kastarine Neo Kgola joins the jury for the 2026 Best Edited South African Feature & Short Documentary Award in Memory of Ronelle Loots ❤️

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

🎬 MEET THE JURY | Jacques de Villiers
Award-winning editor Jacques de Villiers joins the jury for the 2026 Best Edited South African Feature & Short Documentary Award in Memory of Ronelle Loots ❤️
His credits include the SAFTA-winning School Ties and Faces of Fortune

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

🎬 MEET THE JURY | Kutelani Rasikhuthuma
Kutelani Rasikhuthuma joins the jury for the 2026 Best Edited South African Feature & Short Documentary Award in Memory of Ronelle Loots ❤️
#Encounters2026 #MeetTheJury #EncountersDoc

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

🎬 Bridging the Disconnect
In the Eastern Cape, Professor Pumela Msweli's time banking initiative helps a rural community tackle water scarcity through shared skills and collective action.
📍 JHB Rosebank — 5 June | 8PM
https://t.co/xUiCsWYCLo

[DocFilmSA @DocFilmmakersSA]

MEET THE JURY.
DFA is proud to partner with @encountersdoc for this year’s EMERGING FILMMAKER AWARD sponsored by @CFS_London.
See local and international films 4 - 14 June in cinemas across Cape Town, Tshwane & Johannesburg!
Tickets: https://t.co/u10RBcWMXx

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

🎬 CAPE TOWN | SATURDAY AT #Encounters2026
African premieres, local stories, filmmaker Q&As, industry talks, and powerful documentaries all in one day ❤️

📍 Labia
📍 V&A Waterfront
📍 Bertha House

🎟️ Plan your day:
https://t.co/dhfHNzfGBO
#EncountersDoc #CapeTown