THE South African Independent Film Festival (SAIFF), now in its eighth year, returns next weekend as the country’s foremost celebration of genre-driven and independent cinema, taking place at The Labia Theatre in Cape Town from 5–7 December and at The Bioscope in Johannesburg from 6–7 December 2025.
Founded in 2017, SAIFF has grown into a cornerstone of African cinema, highlighting horror, sci-fi, fantasy, thrillers, and social genre films while fostering collaboration between African and international filmmakers. Managing director David Franciscus describes independent genre filmmakers as “the frontier of cinematic innovation”, reaffirming SAIFF’s mission to elevate African genre cinema and strengthen industry infrastructure. Festival director Ryan Kruger adds that SAIFF aims to build a global hub for genre filmmaking through creative and technical excellence.
Franciscus is a SAFTA-winning creative producer and writer focused on bold, genre films with substance, about characters who struggle with identity. He runs the South African Independent Film Festival (SAIFF), with Ryan Kruger, a platform for African and international genre cinema that champions audience development, filmmaker collaboration, and skills transfer.
“African cinema is really important today because it helps us share our perspectives with the world,” he says. “There’s been a lot of international demand for African cinema which is only getting increasing. We’re very excited about helping African film makers to tell their stories, help them build their profile and get their work out into a global industry.
“It’s also important to change global perceptions about African characters and stories. When you have Americans watching films that feature African protagonists it can help change the way they think about us, and hopefully for the better.”
In addition to the slate of world and South African premieres of feature films at the festival, there is an exciting content programme, says Franciscus. “Generally they have been done as recordings but this year we are doing them live. Some really talented film makers are going to be joined by international film makers who have their films in the programme.
“We’ve got three main panels, and I’m very excited about the potential for knowledge sharing and upskilling through the local film maker pool. The first is from script to screen – directors who are also write. They’ll be talking about their process. Another is focused on producing, making genre films in Africa that have international appeal. The third is stunts to scale stories where local stunt practitioners will be talking about some of the work they have done and how it’s used to elevate our local stories.”
Expect a Short Pitching Competition that will offer development support and guaranteed 2026 festival inclusion; workshops and masterclasses in partnership with the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) and Writers Guild of South Africa (WGSA), as well as several networking opportunities; and an awards ceremony recognising excellence in directing, cinematography, editing, sound, and genre innovation. Plus cool parties.
A highlight of the festival will be all the premieres, some world, some South African: “Incredible films that have been played at other festivals around the world that we are very excited about to have in our features programme, especially Thus Spake Zolani, an experimental thriller by Clive Michael Will, which is a South Africa film and world premiere,” says Franciscus. “All our films will be joined by the film makers, the directors themselves who will do Q&As and engage with audiences.”
Looking ahead, the selection process generally starts early in the year, until it closes in August. “The kinds of films we look for are genre films – commercial as opposed to art house,” explains Franciscus. “We look for film makers who do that really well and independent genre generally means on the smaller budget side, under $1million dollars.” The specificity is the emphasis on genre – action, thriller, horror – the kind of movie you’d expect to see in a mainstream cinema.
“Out of the hundreds of films we receive every year, we have to watch every single one, and we enjoy that,” says Franciscus. “If we see film that doesn’t meet our technical standards it immediately isn’t able to progress to the next round. I would advise aspiring film makers to ensure they get their film looking good, sounding good. Thereafter, films with something interesting to say from a unique perspective, something we haven’t seen before, are considered. A lot of it is about novelty. How can we bring something new to our audiences?”
SAIFF partners with leading institutions and industry players including The NFVF, WGSA, SAE, Panavision, The Be Phat Motel Film Co, Protagonist Studios, Sanktury Films, Then, Pressure Cooker Studios, Sound & Motion Studios, and Zootee Rentals, alongside venue and hospitality supporters like The Labia Theatre, The Bioscope Theatre and The Gorgeous George Hotel. These collaborations underline SAIFF’s commitment to merging artistry, technology, and community in service of African cinema.
Tickets cost R90 per person with packages available through Webtickets.
Submissions for the 2026 edition open January 1, 2026, via FilmFreeway.com/SAIndieFilmFest.
Follow updates on Instagram: @SAIndieFilmFest or contact:
- David Franciscus david@saindiefilmfest.com | +27 61 474 1508
- Ryan Kruger aryankrugerthing@gmail.com | +27 72 497 0708
