Kenyan Doc ‘How to Build a Library’ Sets African Premiere as Opening Film at 2025 Encounters SA Documentary Festival

Kenyan documentary How to Build a Library will open the 2025 edition of Encounters South African International Documentary Festival. Directed by Maia Lekow and Christopher King, known for Kenya’s 2021 Oscar entry The Letter, the film premiered at Sundance earlier this year and follows two fearless Nairobi women, Angela Wachuka and Shiro Koinange, as they transform a former whites-only library into a vibrant cultural hub.

Now in its 26th year, Encounters will run from 19 to 29 June 2025 in Cape Town and Johannesburg, showcasing powerful stories from over 40 countries. The festival continues to be a leading platform for impact-driven documentaries from Africa and around the world.

“In 2024, Encounters presented three of the five documentaries later nominated for Oscars,  including the winner No Other Land,” says Mandisa Zitha, Director of Encounters. “This  year we’re raising the bar even higher with an excellent selection of films that speak to the role of the documentary and impact filmmaker in 2025.”

Other highlights amongst the top-drawer selection of South African, African and international documentaries include:

Shifting Baselines (Canada) – Directed by Julien Elie, this haunting portrait of a Texas town grapples with the consequences of SpaceX’s expansion, as swamps are drained, beaches closed, and residents bought out to make way for Musk’s ambitions in the space race.

The Thinking Game (USA) – Greg Kohs explores the frontiers of artificial general intelligence through the work of visionary scientist Demis Hassabis, named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2025.

The Shadow Scholars (UK/Kenya) – Eloise King follows Professor Patricia Kingori to Kenya to investigate the booming “essay mills” industry, where underemployed Kenyan graduates ghostwrite for students at leading universities in the global north.

Fitting In (South Africa) – Directed by Fabienne Steiner, it captures the diverse experiences of young South Africans as they begin their studies at the select former Afrikaans university, Stellenbosch.

Mothers of Chibok (Nigeria) – Ten years after Boko Haram abducted 276 girls from a school in Chibok, Direcor Joel “Kachi” Benson revisits the tragedy through the eyes of the mothers who continue to fight to educate their remaining children.

Mr Nobody Against Putin (Denmark/Czech Republic) – Directed by David Borenstein and Pasha Talankin, it follows an event organiser and videographer in a small-town school in Russia who secretly documents the disturbing  transformation of the school into a war recruitment centre during the invasion of Ukraine.

Albie: A Strange Alchemy (South Africa) – Directed by Sara de Gouveia, this tribute film celebrates the 90th birthday of the renowned Judge Albie Sachs, charting his journey from a civil rights lawyer and struggle hero to Justice of the Constitutional Court.

Sam Nzima: A Journey Through His Lens (South Africa) – Directed by Nhlanhla Mthethwa, this film reflects on the legacy of Sam Nzima, the photographer behind the iconic image of of Mbuyisa  Makhabo carrying the body of the dying 12-year-old activist Hector Pietersen from the 1976 Soweto uprising.

Anselm (Germany) – The latest work by legendary auteur and three-time Academy Award nominated director Wim Wenders offers an immersive exploration of the life and artistry of Anselm Kiefer, one of the world’s most influential contemporary artists.

Encounters 2025 will screen at the Labia Theatre and V&A Waterfront Ster-Kinekor in Cape Town, and The Bioscope and The Zone at Rosebank in Johannesburg.

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