VANISHING ELEPHANT
HEAVEN REACHES DOWN TO EARTH
2020 | NARRATIVE | 10' | 4:3 / 2:35.1 | SESOTHO, ISIZULU & ENGLISH LANGUAGE | SUBTITLES: ENGLISH, FRENCH
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LOGLINE
Tau, a Mountain. Tumelo, a Fire. They approach each other.
Narrated in vibrant, lyrical voiceover, the third film from director Tebogo Malebogo (Mthunzi, NYFF57) traces a transformative encounter between two friends, for whom a shared communion with the natural landscape catalyzes sensual and spiritual awakenings.
- New Directors/New Films
The LGBTQI+ community in all its forms stands tall in...Heaven Reaches Down to Earth by Tebogo Malebogo (South Africa) which takes a look at emerging queer currents on the African continent.
- Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival
The film moves from contemplation to yearning to awakening. Fire isn’t meant to be put out, we hear. It spreads and claims more space, which is an important assertion for Black men in a country that often still doesn’t afford them just that.
- Glasgow Short Film Festival
Instead of defiance or confrontation with a heteronormative environment, we witness electrifying emotions wash over men that finally allow themselves to connect with each other and with themselves. We witness liberation.
- talking shorts
Beautiful and poetic, it's a wonderfully crafted tale, set in a glorious landscape against images of fire, friendship, and desire. The inner thoughts flow like water and sting like igniting sparks.
- Shelagh Rowan-Legg - Screen Anarchy
STATEMENT
We find HEAVEN REACHES DOWN TO EARTH at a crossroads of emerging stories: queerness in Africa, traditional expectations of men within those African cultures, and the isolation that many of us find ourselves currently dealing with.
It is our hope that this film serves as a snapshot of a moment, in which Tau’s realization about their sexuality acts as an accelerant that sets Tumelo on his own journey.
Reflection in isolation, concerning a space as highly contested as the black body.
For screener requests, please reach out to Travelling Distribution (festival@travellingdistribution.com)
Screenings
2020
Reykjavik International Film Festival 17
Hamptons International Film Festival 28*
Festival du Nouveau Cinéma 49*
Chicago International Film Festival 56*
Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur 24*
2021
Flickerfest 30*
Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival 33*
Tampere Film Festival 51*
Glasgow Short Film Festival 14
Wicked Queer 37
OutShine Miami 23
New Directors New Films 50
La Fête Du Slip 9
Inside Out Festival 21
Frameline 45
Short Waves Festival 13
Provincetown Film Festival 23
Palm Springs ShortFest 27*
Damn These Heels 17
Film Fest Dresden 33
Pink Apple Film Festival 24
I+N FCQSFF 02
Galway Film Fleadh 33*
Durban International Film Festival 42
San Giò Verona Video Festival 27
BlackStar Film Festival 10*
São Paulo International Short Film Festival 32
Odense International Film Festival 46*
QueerX 6
Cinemancia Festival de Cine 7
Leiden Shorts 13
Cinema Queer in Sweden 2
DC Shorts 18
The Loudoun Arts Festival 2
Quibdó África Film Festival 4
Helsinki International Film Festival 34
Festival International du Court Métrage de Lille 21
Queer Lisboa 25
Oslo/Fusion 31
Tampa Bay Int’l Gay & Lesbian Film Festival 32
*Oscar Qualifying Festival
24 Sept - 04 Oct
09 - 14 Oct
07 - 31 Oct
14 - 25 Oct
3 - 8 Nov
22 - 31 Jan
29 Jan - 6 Feb
10 - 14 March
22 - 28 March
8 - 18 April
23 April - 2 May
28 April - 8 May
13 - 16 May
27 May - 6 June
10 - 27 June
14 - 20 June
16 - 25 June
22 - 28 June
9 - 18 July
13 - 18 July
14 July
15 - 18 July
20 - 25 July
22 July - 1 Aug
23 - 27 Aug
4 - 8 Aug
19 - 29 Aug
30 Aug - 5 Sept
1 Sept - 11 Oct
1 - 7 Sept
2 - 5 - Sept
4 - 10 Sept
9 - 19 Sept
10 - 19 Sept
14 - 18 Sept
16 - 29 Sept
17 - 26 Sept
17 - 25 Sept
1 - 10 Oct
1 - 10 Oct
Press
Festival du court métrage de Clermont-Ferrand: 51 films inscrits en compétition nationale [Clermont-Ferrand]
Lunch With Heaven Reaches Down to Earth [Clermont-Ferrand]
The African Presence at the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival [Clermont-Ferrand]
Heaven Reaches Down to Earth: When the Mountains Caught Fire [Talking Shorts]
Dispatch 4: From the Shorts Program [New Directors/New Films]
10 films to catch at the Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival [Inside Out]
Palm Springs Shorts 2021 Review: Highlights, Part One [Screen Anarchy]
Black Star Film Festival features queer short films [Philadelphia Gay News]
Awards
CICLOPE Africa
Best New Talent
Provincetown International Film Festival
Best Queer Short Film
Leiden Shorts
Best International Short Film
CREW
Executive Producers
Story
Director & Screenwriter
Producer
Cast
Narrator
1st AD
Production Assistant
Director of Photography
1st AC
2nd AC
3rd AC
Additional Camera
On-Set Sound
Art Direction
BTS Photographer
Editor
Sound Editing & Mixing
Scoring & Composition
Compositor
Colourist
Poster Design
Locations
Ecologist
Casting
Zulu Translation
Gear
Insurance
Thanks
Petrus van Staden, Tebogo Malebogo
Tebogo Malebogo, Petrus Van Staden
Tebogo Malebogo
Petrus van Staden
Thapelo Maropefela
Sizo Mahlangu
Balindile ka Ngcobo
Nala Khumalo
Walter Mzengi
Hannah Innacio
Jason Prins
Mark Van Zyl
Emile van Straaten
Paul Wallington
Luis Trujillo Garrido, Caleb Willoughby
JD Degendaar
Ornella Steduto
Joshua La Grange
Petrus van Staden
Frank David
Elu Eboka, Evan Roth
Jean Redelinghuys
Fran Verveckken @ Priest Post
Aleksander Walijewski
Jackie Tranmere
Mark Wilmot
Disco Casting
Maqhawe Madonsela
Panavision
Panalux
Soundspeed
GIB Insurance
Van Staden Family
Moagi & Malebogo Family
Cape Nature Reserve
Athi-Patra Ruga
Leila Walter
Christopher Lawrence
Pierre de Villiers
Nicholas and Phillip Doble
Wako Sefara
Holli Bennett
Ahmad Ksibi
Indra Crittin
