European Film Festival Outing

On Thursday 19th of October, a group of students had the chance to visit the Labia theatre to attend the annual South African European film festival, which showcases some of the best European films of that year. This year, the festival brought many fabulous and exciting European films to South Africa, one of these being the Ukrainian film, “Mavka: The Forest Song”.

After a joyful ride on the bus, we all arrived at the Labia theatre eager to see what was in store for us. We  speculated on what we hoped the film would or wouldn’t contain. Entering the theatre was a wonderful experience, the room was packed and the audience restless to see the film. Everyone was buzzing with excitement. There was a lively and uplifting atmosphere creating a truly delightful theatre experience.

The film itself was wonderful. Mavka: The Forest Song is beautifully animated with vivid colours, yet the film doesn’t shy away from using darker tones when necessary. The film takes heavy inspiration and is actually based on Ukrainian folklore which is portrayed through the costume design and music. The villain, in my opinion, is an especially incredible and well developed character, as the movie showcased a purely and maniacally evil person, something we don’t get to see as often in modern media. It was interesting to see how the villain is very much inspired by Russian aristocracy of the 19th century (a rather clever stab)!

Overall, everyone who attended enjoyed an incredible piece of art, and it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. Well done to everyone who participated in the making of this film; you did a fantastic job!

– Dakota

Photos by Charity