It's been a good year for African and South African film, with filmmakers winning international awards and even serious South African dramas receiving the sort of mainstream release and publicity usually reserved for Leon Schuster shlock comedies. by Lisa van Wyk

There was nothing to match the international hype that surrounded last year's District 9, but it seems that the South African film industry is still benefitting from that film's success, with audiences feeling more positive about local releases.

Here are some of the releases that made an impact this year, and what M&G film critic Shaun de Waal had to say about them.