The arrival of a new edition of the Encounters documentary festival is always an occasion to celebrate the ruddy health of the form in a variety of films from across the globe. This year's 18th edition provides plenty of real-life stories that will make you cry, laugh, shake your head and get your blood boiling. Here's a brief roundup of some of the highlights of this year's festival.THE PEARL OF AFRICASwedish director Jonny van Wallstrom tracks the journey of Ugandan transgender Cleopatra Kambugu. Shamed by the tabloid press in her homeland, Kambugu takes a journey to Thailand to undergo gender-reassignment, accompanied by her husband Nelson. Restrained and touching, the film highlights an important issue without passing judgment .TAKING STOCKOne of the real gems of this year's festival, in which filmmaker Ben Stillerman follows a month in the declining fortunes of his father Clive's family business - Benoni Discount Stores. What starts off as a film about a family business becomes a touchingly honest look at families and how they evolve through the generations.NOTES ON BLINDNESSA spectacularly beautiful poetic film on a fascinating subject - the ways in which blind people navigate their inner world. James Spinney and Peter Middleton's film uses the story of academic John Hull who in 1983, as he began going irreversibly blind, began to record an audio diary of his life. The resulting film is a dreamlike meditation on memory and the power of visual images.RAVING IRANAn entertaining journey through the bureaucratic nightmare of not-so-modern Iran. Anoosh and Aran - pioneers of the underground electronic dance scene in Iran are tired of risking death for raving and apply to perform at a festival in Switzerland where they must decide whether to embrace the opportunities of the West or continue to suffer the stifling indignities of their motherland.REQUIEM FOR THE AMERICAN DREAMNew Left legend Noam Chomsky makes a compelling argument for the idea that the world is in crisis and that what America calls democracy is a smoke screen for the protection of privilege and the abuse of justice.SHADOW WORLDBased on the book by former ANC MP Andrew Feinstein, this is a fascinating if depressing examination of the global arms trade. Where once it could be said that wars necessitated the existence of arms dealers, it's far more horrific to consider that today the existence of arms dealers necessitates war.The festival takes place from June 3 to June 12 in Cape Town and Johannesburg. www.encounters.co.za..