Female Directors To Watch At This Year’s Raindance Festival

12 September 2016

It's that time of year again, when we get the chance to delve into the best of independent cinema!

Raindance Film Festival

The 24th Raindance Film Festival is upon us and this year they are celebrating Women in Film. This new strand highlights films directed by women: a whopping 36 features and shorts, to be exact.

It's always difficult to find a shortlist among a great batch, but here's a look at the top 5 films directed or co- directed by women at this year's Festival.

- A Brilliant Genocide, Ebony Butler, Australia

A political exposé and human rights documentary that details the untold story of suffering and an unrecognized genocide against the Acholi people of northern Uganda by the current Government, which the world believes was the doing of warlord Joseph Kony.

- Gozo, Miranda Bowen, UK/Malta

Lucille and her sound designer boyfriend, Joe, immigrate to an idyllic Mediterranean island to escape the horrors of a personal tragedy. Joe soon begins to hear strange noises in his sound recordings, and as the allure of their newfound paradise begins to fade, the past comes back to haunt them.

Cast: Ophelia Lovibond, Joe Kennedy, Daniel Lapaine, Olivia Grant

- Hotel Dallas, Livia Ungur and Sherng-Lee Huang, Romania/USA

In 1980s Romania, TV Show 'Dallas' becomes a huge hit and inspires a young woman to immigrate to America. Taking a nostalgic but critical look at the impact of 'Dallas' in Romania, this playful mix of fiction and documentary is a surreal parable of communism, capitalism, and the power of art.

Cast: Maria Croitoru, Patrick Duffy, Crenguta Hariton

- Noma: Forgiving Apartheid, Sarah Townsend, UK

This documentary follows acclaimed theatre actor Noma Dumezweni's experiences as she takes on the stage role of psychologist Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, who famously interviewed convicted apartheid-time murderer Eugene De Kock. The role leads her to re-visit her childhood experiences, in particular when the play is taken to South Africa.

- Seide, Elnura Osmonalieva, Kyrgyzstan

Afraid of change and isolated from the rest of the world, young Seide appears unable to escape early marriage and the loss of what she loves the most, her horse.