Encounters Festival

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

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

Every encounter begins somewhere.

With a film.
With a stranger.
With an idea.
With history.
Sometimes, with ourselves.
What encounter are you still carrying with you?

📅 3–13 June 2027
We'll gather again.
#MoreThanJustAFestival

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

Bones, Eyes to See and Best South African Short Documentary winner WAT WAS HIE? brought audiences together for an evening of reflection, conversation and shared history.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for one final conversation at Ster-Kinekor V&A. ❤️
📸 Kwei Shun-yu

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

Where we gather❤️
Our final day at the Labia brought together stories of music, memory, family and community. Thank you for celebrating these remarkable filmmakers with us. Until next year. 🎬

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

The credits rolled. The conversations continued.
Thank you to everyone who filled Ster-Kinekor V&A for another sold-out screening of The Hour After Midnight.
📸 Kwei Shun-yu

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

What does it mean to belong to the land? 🌱
From healing and indigenous foodways to conservation and courage, the Salt of the Earth Shorts Block explored our connection to land, identity, community, and the forces that shape us.
#Encounters2026 #AfricanCinema

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

A story that began with two brothers meeting online became a room of strangers finding common ground❤️
Following the African Premiere of My Father's Son at the Labia, audiences stayed for a moving conversation on identity, family, healing & belonging
#Encounters2026 #MyFathersSon

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

From Opening Night to @BerthaHouseCPT Truck Mama continued its journey with a powerful community screening in Mowbray. Thank you to director Zippy & everyone who stayed for the conversations, connections and shared reflections. Stories live on🎬✨ #Encounters2026 #TruckMama

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

THANK YOU FOR BEING ❤️At The Bioscope, we were honoured to welcome the protagonist of Just Because I'm a Street Kid alongside audiences, filmmakers and community members who gathered to share in her story.The evening also featured Dear Sikhonkwane director Sihle Hlophe

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

From multinational funding to multi-year productions, Miguel Eek's Producing the Impossible Film masterclass offered a behind-the-scenes look at bringing Amílcar winner of Best International Feature to the screen.
@UCTTV
#Encounters2026 #Amilcar #DocumentaryFilm

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

A hug in the foyer. A question in the dark. A filmmaker sharing a story. An audience carrying it home.
From Where Grief Settles and Don Edkins' an open field to the conversations that followed, these are the moments that stay with us long after the credits roll.
#Encounters2026

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

🏆 WINNER | 2026 Encounters Award for Best African Feature Documentary 🎬 Notes From the Underground
A powerful portrait of Cape Town's underground hip hop movement that explores memory, identity, resistance, and community through music, dance, graffiti, and culture. @nfvfsa

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

RUNNER-UP | 2026 Encounters Award for Best African Feature Documentary
🎬 The Woman Who Poked the Leopard
A powerful portrait of activist Stella Nyanzi, whose courage, resistance, and sacrifice make for one of the most unforgettable films of the festival.

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

WINNER | 2026 Encounters Award for Best International Feature Documentary. Congrats to Amílcar, a poetic and deeply moving portrait of Amílcar Cabral. Through archive, memory, and artistic storytelling, the film brings one of Africa's great liberation figures vividly to life.

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

WINNER | 2026 Encounters Award for Best International Feature Documentary
Congrats to Amílcar, a poetic and deeply moving portrait of Amílcar Cabral. Through archive, memory, and artistic storytelling, the film brings one of Africa's great liberation figures vividly to life.

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

RUNNER-UP | 2026 Encounters Award for Best International Feature Documentary
Congrats to American Doctor by Poh Si Teng. A courageous and deeply human film that bears witness through the eyes of volunteer doctors in Gaza.

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

2026 Liezel Vermeulen Award for Service to Documentary
Congrats to Don Edkins & Tarha McKenzie, whose decades of dedication have helped shape African documentary through filmmaking, mentorship, distribution, festivals, audience development, and sector-building
@DocFilmmakersSA

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

Winner: Best Edited South African Feature Documentary in Memory of Ronelle Loots
🎬Mama-Demic | Nicholas Costaras & Nicole Schafer
An immersive, deeply empathetic film whose editing transforms everyday life into powerful, emotionally resonant storytelling @editorsguildsa

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

Special Mention: Best Edited South African Feature Doc in Memory of Ronelle Loots
🎬 Robots | Edited by Andrew Sean
A beautifully crafted film whose editing transforms a familiar sight into a layered, deeply human story led by one of the festival's most unforgettable protagonists

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

Winner: Best Edited South African Short Documentary in Memory of Ronelle Loots Sonder | Edited by Catherine Meyburgh. A bold and innovative film where sound, movement and image continuously create new meaning, pushing the boundaries of documentary storytelling. @editorsguildsa

[Encounters Festival @EncountersDoc]

Special Mention, Dear Sikhonkwane | Khule Mayisa & Makhomotho Ngwasheng Best Edited South African Short Documentary in Memory of Ronelle Loots
A beautifully edited essay film weaving literature, memory, cultural history & identity into a rich cinematic experience @editorsguildsa