As a veteran authority on South African cinema, a script consultant and a long-time radio broadcaster, Stephen Aspeling better known as Spling has spent nearly two decades elevating the local film conversation. However, his induction into FIPRESCI (the International Federation of Film Critics) has expanded his purview from local independent releases to the absolute vanguard of international cinema.
Nowhere was this cultural bridge more evident than in his appointments to two highly contrasting, prestigious global juries: the sun-drenched El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt (2023) and the forward-thinking Stockholm International Film Festival in Sweden (2025). Together, these festival tenures illustrate how a South African critical eye helps shape the narrative of global independent cinema.
2023: Artistic Solidarity on the Red Sea (El Gouna, Egypt)
In October 2023, Aspeling travelled to the resort town of El Gouna for the 6th edition of the El Gouna Film Festival (GFF). Stepping onto the Red Sea coast, he wasn’t just there to absorb the distinct visual palette of contemporary Arab cinema; he was tasked with a heavy responsibility. GFF has rapidly built a reputation as the premier cinematic hub of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, heavily emphasising humanitarian stories and cultural exchange.
Serving on the FIPRESCI jury with Polish film critic Ola Salwa, South African film critic Stephen Aspeling and Egyptian journalist Zein Al Abedin Khairy, Aspeling immersed himself in a programme marked by deep artistic solidarity. For a critic deeply invested in screenplay structure — running the boutique consultancy reviewmyscript.com back home — the MENA selection offered an intense masterclass in regional storytelling, nuance and structural poetry. In his official FIPRESCI reporting, Aspeling noted the festival’s transition from sheer “artistic solidarity to cinematic splendour,” highlighting how emerging Arab filmmakers successfully subverted traditional genre constraints to deliver deeply felt human truths.
2025: Deciphering the Vanguard under the Northern Lights (Stockholm, Sweden)
Fast forward to November 2025, and the warm breeze of the Red Sea was replaced by the crisp, biting air of the 36th Stockholm International Film Festival. Stockholm represents a very different beast in the festival ecosystem. Known for its stark passion for visionary, border-pushing filmmaking, the Swedish festival ran under the nostalgic theme with a David Lynch theme, following the great director’s passing, in 2025.
Aspeling sat on the three-person FIPRESCI jury alongside MUBI Notebook columnist Leonardo Goi and Swedish critic Julia Finnsiö. Together, they navigated a sprawling, eclectic lineup of films.
The contrast in cinematic temperament between El Gouna and Stockholm was immense. Where Egypt favoured intense, localised human dramas, Stockholm leaned into the avant-garde, the alienation of modern thrillers, and multi-genre adventure epics. From dissecting Lynne Ramsay’s challenging Die My Love to evaluating poetic safari documentaries like Werner Herzog’s Ghost Elephants, Aspeling brought his trademark balanced, conversational, yet perspicacious critical lens to the deliberations.
The Critical Takeaway: A Balanced Eye
What makes Aspeling’s trajectory as an international juror so vital to the South African landscape is his dual approach to film. He treats art-house cinema and commercial blockbusters with the same fundamental respect – assessing each strictly on its own merits of entertainment value and artistic execution.
The two events highlighted his range as a critic. At El Gouna, the focus was entirely on navigating intense regional human dramas and stories of cultural solidarity in a sun-drenched resort setting. Conversely, Stockholm demanded a deep dive into psychological alienation, bleak landscapes and multi-genre structural experiments in a Nordic metropolis.
By translating his local industry wisdom – earned over 650 episodes hosting Talking Movies on Fine Music Radio – into the global deliberations of FIPRESCI, “Spling” has solidified himself as more than just a reviewer. Whether contrasting the warm, humanistic textures of Egyptian storytelling with the cool, calculated alienation of modern European cinema, Aspeling’s international jury runs prove that a dedicated critical voice from Cape Town can resonate perfectly on any stage in the world.