The Little Match Girl

Shot in black and white, with haunting music as the sole audio, this short fairytale (an adaptation of a Hans Christian Andersen story) takes us into the world of a homeless young girl who wanders the streets of Cape Town. Actress Farren Lategan (Best Actress at the Paris Women Festival) brings tears to our eyes as she curls up alone at night in deserted corners on squalid streets, but makes us smile when she enters imaginary worlds of beauty and caring. By lighting a match she conjures moments of wonder, people who care, and, finally, her (dead) grandmother, who had loved her and with whom she is reunited. The movie ends with warmth and tenderness.