South Africa’s film festival calendar runs from March to November, anchored by the Joburg Film Festival, the Durban International Film Festival, Encounters for documentaries and the Mpumalanga International Film Festival. Smaller regional festivals fill the gaps. This guide covers what each one screens, roughly when it happens, what it costs to attend and where to confirm current details. It also covers the book and literary festivals that readers searching for this topic often want too.

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TL;DR

  • Johannesburg: the Joburg Film Festival (JFF) takes place in March, and its 9th edition is scheduled for 9 to 14 March 2027. Passes in 2026 ranged from R500 to R1,500.
  • Durban: DIFF runs in July and early August, with more than 50 films in its 47th edition.
  • Documentaries: Encounters runs in June across Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg, at R90 per screening in 2026.
  • Genre and regional: HORRORFEST in Cape Town (late October to early November), Mpumalanga’s MIFF, and newer festivals in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
  • Books: the Franschhoek Literary Festival is held on the third weekend in May, and the Johannesburg Festival of Women Writers took place in March 2026.

Table of Contents

The South African festival year at a glance

The easiest way to plan is by season. Dates shift each year, so treat this as a pattern and confirm on each festival’s own site before you book.

Festival Where Usual time Best for
Joburg Film Festival Johannesburg March African and international cinema, industry programme
Encounters Cape Town, Pretoria, Johannesburg June Documentaries
Durban International Film Festival Durban July to August South African and African premieres
European Film Festival Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria, Durban, plus online September Free online streaming, European titles
Mpumalanga International Film Festival Mpumalanga Annual, eight days Films plus industry summit
South African HORRORFEST Cape Town Late October to early November Horror, 18+
FAME Shorts Cape Town Late October to November Short films
Mandela Bay, Alfred Nzo, Hluma Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal November in 2026 Emerging filmmakers, regional stories

Film festivals in Johannesburg

Joburg Film Festival

The Joburg Film Festival is the city’s headline event. The 8th edition ran from 3 to 8 March 2026 under the theme “Feel the Frame”. The 9th edition is scheduled for 9 to 14 March 2027 under “Visual Horizons: What the World Sees.” It celebrates African and international cinema and is presented in partnership with MultiChoice.

Pass pricing gives you a sense of the budget. According to the festival’s December 2025 announcement, the 2026 passes were:

  • Industry Pass: R1,500 early bird, rising to R1,800 from 1 January
  • Festival Pass: R1,000
  • Student Pass: R500
  • Day Pass: R800

The same announcement says the festival attracts more than 10,000 local and international participants. Expect the early-bird pattern to repeat: buy when passes first go on sale, usually in the weeks before the new year, and check the official page for the 2027 prices.

The JFF is also a launchpad for local filmmakers. We covered how Sisanda Henna Films debuted three short films at the Johannesburg Film Festival, a good example of what a short-film premiere there looks like for an emerging company.

Joburg Film Festival

The European Film Festival in Johannesburg

The European Film Festival South Africa (EUFFSA) is a travelling programme. Its 2026 edition was the 13th, with a curated slate exploring family, memory and belonging. According to the festival’s how-to guide, the Johannesburg venues in 2026 were The Bioscope (44 Stanley Avenue, Milpark) and Rosebank Nouveau (Rosebank Mall, 50 Bath Avenue, Rosebank). Cape Town screenings were at The Labia Theatre, Pretoria at Ster-Kinekor Brooklyn and Durban at The Courtyard at New Noise.

The festival also streams online. In 2026 the films were free to stream within South Africa from 17 to 27 September, with 48 hours to finish a film once you press play. That makes it the easiest festival on this list to attend from your couch.

Encounters in Johannesburg

Encounters, the South African International Documentary Festival, shows in Johannesburg as well as Cape Town and Pretoria. The 2026 edition ran from 4 to 14 June. According to the festival’s booking information, tickets cost R90 per screening at festival venues, outreach screenings are free and all venues are wheelchair-accessible.

Durban, Cape Town and the rest of the country

Durban International Film Festival (DIFF)

DIFF is presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at UKZN. The 47th edition was scheduled for 23 July to 2 August 2026 at Suncoast CineCentre, with satellite screenings at community arts centres across greater Durban. The 2026 programme listed more than 50 films. The opening-night film was the African premiere of My Friend (Monami), and a closing ceremony with awards took place on 1 August.

Wikipedia notes that the festival was founded in 1979 by Teddy and Ros Sarkin and that most of its screenings are African or South African premieres. If you want to see local work before it reaches streaming, DIFF is the place.

South African HORRORFEST, Cape Town

The HORRORFEST is described by its organisers as the longest-running and only event of its kind in South Africa. The 22nd edition in 2026 ran from 29 October to 8 November at the Labia Theatre in Orange Street, Gardens, with a streaming chapter as well. The programme mixes new, classic and rare horror films, short films, dark literature, Halloween dress-up and a special 16mm screening. It is restricted to over-18s. One highlight in 2026 was a live silent-film soundtrack by the Makabra Ensemble for the centenary of Murnau’s Faust.

16mm projector running in a cinema booth

FAME Shorts, Cape Town

For short-film lovers, FAME Shorts 2026 was scheduled for 30 October to 1 November at The Rockefeller Hotel. It featured 36 films across five themes, including two world premieres and ten African premieres.

Mpumalanga International Film Festival (MIFF)

The MIFF is an eight-day celebration of cinema and a working industry summit. The 2026 edition listed more than 130 films and over 40 industry sessions. Venues include Ster-Kinekor Ilanga Mall, Southern Sun Hotel Riverside and Skukuza in the Kruger National Park, which hosts WildMarket Africa. A 150-film online programme is open to everyone. MIFF also supports script development projects, connecting emerging writers with producers and funders. If you enjoy combining a festival with a bushveld trip, this is the one.

November’s regional festivals

The end of the year has become busier, with newer festivals focused on emerging talent:

  • Mandela Bay Film Festival: hosted by the MBDA and scheduled for 17 to 19 November 2026 in Gqeberha and Kariega under the theme “Elevating African Stories”. The main venue is The Athenaeum. It combines screenings with masterclasses and panels on funding, production, distribution and commercialisation.
  • Alfred Nzo International Film Festival: the inaugural edition was scheduled for 13 to 15 November 2026 at the Matatiele Royal Hotel in the Eastern Cape.
  • Hluma Film Festival: formerly the uMgungundlovu Film Festival, its eighth edition was set for 14 and 15 November 2026 in Pietermaritzburg. It featured 16 films and seven panel discussions. According to Broadcast Media Africa, the panels cover industry funding, women’s leadership in film festivals and mental health in film production.

Whether these repeat in the same slot next year is for each organiser to confirm, so check their pages when you plan.

Book and literary festivals in South Africa

Many readers searching for festivals want books rather than films, so here are the main ones.

Franschhoek Literary Festival. The FLF was first run in 2007 and takes place annually on the third weekend in May, from Friday to Sunday, in the Winelands village of Franschhoek. Its next edition is listed for 14 to 16 May 2027. It brings together South African and international authors and raises money for local school libraries.

Johannesburg Festival of Women Writers. According to Daily Maverick, the 2026 festival took place on 7 and 8 March at Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein. Entry was free, with booking essential on Webtickets. It was directed by Dr Barbara Masekela, with Zimbabwean author Petina Gappah as keynote speaker, and included a children’s literature programme, panel discussions, writing workshops and master classes. Because it fell in the same week as the Joburg Film Festival, March is a strong month for a culture-focused Johannesburg trip.

How to choose the right festival for you

  1. Start with what you like to watch. Documentaries point to Encounters, premieres of African cinema to DIFF and JFF, horror to HORRORFEST, shorts to FAME Shorts.
  2. Decide whether you want a city or a trip. Johannesburg and Cape Town suit a weekend. MIFF and Matatiele suit a longer journey.
  3. Check the pricing model. Festivals vary from free online streaming to R90 single tickets to R1,000 festival passes. Day passes help if you can only attend once.
  4. If you work in film, look at the industry strands. JFF has an Industry Pass, MIFF runs more than 40 industry sessions and the Mandela Bay festival focuses on funding and distribution.
  5. Book early. Early-bird pricing is a pattern at JFF, and festivals with small venues sell out on popular screenings.

Perspective: why festivals matter to a city’s style

We cover fashion, art and culture in Johannesburg, and film festivals keep showing up in our reporting for a simple reason: they are where a city’s creative scenes meet. Designers, filmmakers, stylists and writers all end up in the same queue.

When we look at what the best festivals do, it is the local focus that stands out. Premieres of African stories, short-film showcases for emerging companies and industry panels on funding give local talent a stage that would otherwise be hard to find. That is the same belief behind our own work: promoting local creatives and connecting readers to the city around them.

Our advice is to treat a festival as a day out, not just a screening. Pair a film with a meal nearby, look at what people are wearing and talk to the people in the foyer. Johannesburg and Dubai both have scenes built on this kind of cultural exchange, which is why we follow both.

Chad

Follow the culture beyond the cinema

If you are planning your cultural calendar, our coverage goes beyond film. Fashion lovers can read our Dubai Fashion Week guide for dates, access and travel tips, and you can find more event coverage, interviews and travel stories on the Joburgstyle homepage.

Joburgstyle

We write about events, emerging designers, hotels, game reserves and fine dining across Johannesburg, South Africa and Dubai. If you are a festival organiser, brand or venue with something to share with our readers, our platform is built for event coverage and features.

Practical tips for festival-goers

  • Use the official booking page. Prices and schedules are set per edition. The pass prices and ticket costs above are the 2026 figures, so treat them as a guide.
  • Look for free options. Encounters offers free outreach screenings, EUFFSA streams free online within South Africa and the Women Writers festival had free entry in 2026.
  • Check age restrictions. HORRORFEST is restricted to over-18s.
  • Plan travel around satellite venues. DIFF screens at community arts centres in greater Durban as well as the main cinema, which can save you a drive.
  • Check accessibility. Encounters states that all its venues are wheelchair-accessible. For others, ask the organiser.

FAQ

What is the biggest film festival in South Africa?

The Durban International Film Festival is generally described as the oldest and largest in Africa, and it started in 1979. The Joburg Film Festival is the leading event in Johannesburg, drawing more than 10,000 participants according to its organisers. Which is “biggest” depends on whether you count films, attendance or industry activity.

Which film festivals take place in Johannesburg?

The Joburg Film Festival in March is the main one. Encounters and the European Film Festival also screen in the city, at venues such as The Bioscope in Milpark and Rosebank Nouveau. Check each festival’s page for the current venues.

Can I watch South African film festivals online?

Yes, in some cases. The European Film Festival streamed its 2026 films free within South Africa for ten days. MIFF also has a 150-film online programme open to everyone, and HORRORFEST has run a streaming chapter alongside its Cape Town screenings.

Are there book festivals in South Africa?

Yes. The Franschhoek Literary Festival takes place on the third weekend in May, and the Johannesburg Festival of Women Writers took place in March 2026 with free entry. Both mix author talks with panels, and the Johannesburg festival added workshops and a children’s programme.

Sources