Strike a Rock film to premier at prestigious film festivals
Strike a Rock is young filmmaker Aliki Saragas's first feature length documentary and has been selected for two prominent festivals. It will be the opening night film at Encounters International Documentary Film Festival on 1 June 2017 in Cape Town, and will have its international premier at Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival on 11 June 2017.
The film was first conceived as Aliki's graduation film, Mama Marikana, as part of her Master of Documentary Arts degree in the Centre for Film and Media studies at UCT. It tells the story of two South African mothers and best friends who live in an informal settlement that sprung up around a platinum mine. The two women form a women's organistion Sikhala Sonke (We Cry Together) and rise up to lead their community in a fight against seemingly insurmountable odds for justice and dignity.
Dr Liani Maasdorp, from the Centre for Film and Media Studies at UCT, Aliki's Master's supervisor and one of the producers of the film, says, "The two festival premiers in June are the culmination of over three years of hard work for Aliki and it is a well deserved celebration of her dedication, hard work and talent. Everyone at the Centre for Film and Media Studies is extremely proud of her and that the film had its genesis here. We believe that Strike a Rock sets the bar for what MoDA graduates can achieve.
Aliki Saragas (pictured above) is a South African documentary filmmaker and photographer, based in Johannesburg. After completing her MADA cum laude at UCT in 2015, she started her own documentary production company, Elafos Productions, in order to champion women's stories. Saragas recognised the need to emphasise complex and strong roles for women - both in front of and behind the lens.