the callsheet - september

September 2012

Africa’s Leading Film Industry MagazineAfrica’s Leading Film Industry MagazineAfrica’s Leading Film Industry MagazineCallsheetCThe

Focus on AfricaSpotlight On Stills Photography On The Continent

Imag

e C

ourt

esy

of A

fric

a Sm

art S

afar

is L

td.

| 03

CONTENTS

DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in The Event do not necessarily represent the offi cial viewpoint of the editor or the publisher, while inclusion of adverts/advertising features does not imply endorsement of any business, product or service. Copyright of this material is reserved. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, The Event and/or its employees may not be held liable or responsible for any act or ommission committed by any person, including a juristic person, referred to in this publication. It and they furthermore accept(s) no responsibility for any liability arising out of any reliance that a reader of this publication places on the contents of this publication.

Join us

Proudbly Published by

www.thecallsheet.co.za

Publisher:

Lance Gibbons

lance@fi lmeventmedia.co.za

Executive Editor:

Maya Kulycky

maya@fi lmeventmedia.co.za

Business Manager:

Taryn Fowler

taryn@fi lmeventmedia.co.za

Advertising Sales:

Makkie Slamong

makkie@fi lmeventmedia.co.za

Head of Design:

Zaid Hendricks

zaid@fi lmeventmedia.co.za

Sales and Marketing Assistant:

Robyn-Lee Malan

robynlee@fi lmeventmedia.co.za

57 2nd AvenueHarfi eld VillageClaremont7708South AfricaTelephone: +27 21 674 0646www.fi lmeventmedia.co.za

4 Loeries 2012

10 Jameson First Shot

13 New Film Offi ce For SA

14 SA Visas

15 DISCOP AFRICA

19 Bornfrees

20 Kunjanimation

22 Diarise/Events

24 Focus on Africa - Cover Story

38 Directory Listings

32 Trends

34 Association Spotlight

37 Opportunities

38 Directory Listings

Africa’s Leading Film Industry MagazineCallsheetThe

The search is on to fi nd a local scriptwriter good

enough to fl y to Hol-lywood and direct their

own short fi lm with Kevin Spacey and

Willem Dafoe.

Five Things You Need To

Know About DISCOP

Kunjanimation showcases the best in

African animation

Pg 20

Pg 15

Pg 10

A closer look at this year’s awards and what’s in store for 2013

The competiton for aspiring fi lmmakers is back

A closer look at the plans and goals for Port St. Johns

Are there changes ahead for the fi lm industry?

Where the Continent talks TV and fi lm

The popular documentary series returns

South Africa’s second annual animation festival kicks-off

Spotlight on Stills Photography on the Continent

04 |

NEWS

LOERIES 2012

V iva! The 34th Annual Loerie Awards were held in Cape Town, South Africa 21-23 September.

The Loeries, which recognise, reward, and foster creative excellence in brand communications, launched a new category this year “Africa & The Middle East” to attract submissions from outside of South Africa. They also compressed their judging schedule this year -- holding the awards show just 24 hours after judging as opposed to completing judging months before the show in the past. So what did the industry think?

Some attendees were left scratching their heads at the new category, “Africa &

The Middle East” at this year’s Loeries. Did this mean that South African entrants weren’t competing with those outside of South Africa, and vice-versa?

Loeries CEO Andrew Human explained that it was decided that a separate category was needed in order to keep regional entries from being “dwarfed” by the sheer volume of South African entries. “I think it worked well because the work got more exposure rather than being mixed among the South African categories,” Andrew remarked, “and the feedback we’ve received from the region was positive.”

So when will South African entrants compete with the rest of the continent? “If and when the volume of work is comparable,” says Andrew, “It is because of the volume of

work from South Africa and the region that I thought it worked quite well.”

Something that Loeries organizers also thought worked well was compressing the time between judging and the awards show. In the past, judging took place months before the show, and winners knew well before taking the stage if and what they had won. This year, “the buildup was much more excit-ing” says Andrew, “it builds up a nice environment to the awards show.” But production of the show was much more challeng-ing than it was in the past, so improvements are in store for the years to come. Industry leaders agree that there was an increase in excitement because of the short turnaround, and that the process is now more in line with other international competitions, like Cannes, for instance, but they now don’t have time to circulate the final-ist list and reward potential win-

ners with a trip to the Loeries. There simply isn’t time.

What about the content and quality of the material entered this year? The quality of the Loerie Gold winners was impressive, but judge Ahmed Tilly, Executive Creative Director, Black River FC, who has judged in the past, says he was “a little disap-pointed” in the entries for TV & Radio. “For me there was a big gap in quality between those that were awarded and gold,” says Ahmed, “so overall it wasn’t a vintage year.” He points to outside factors as an explanation. “I think that the general temperature in terms of spending power from clients is not great. I think people are having to work harder and faster with less money and that is starting to show.” Still, says Ahmed, South Africa is pro-ducing a globally competitive product. “I think our advertis-ing is bold and brave and I don’t

think it’s going to regress,” says Ahmed, “if anything it is get-ting stronger. It’s just not the best year for TV. I think it will adjust itself over the next twelve months.”

And in that time, will there be any changes in the Loeries? Yes. A new Effective Creativity Award has been announced. This award aims to link creativ-ity and effectiveness with the aid of solid data. To be eligible, a campaign must have won a Lo-erie in the past two years. This gives agencies and brands the opportunity to show the results of their work for up to two years after the original Loerie award. Andrew says it’s all part of the effort to keep the award catego-ries relevant. Impact is now very important in the industry. “If you look at all of the different categories that we have what it should display is the media landscape,” says Andrew.

Campaign Bronze

Campaign Bronze

Silver

Campaign Silver

Campaign Silver

Silver

Campaign Silver

Campaign Bronze

Campaign Bronze

Africa & Middle East - Inte-grated Campaigns

Africa & Middle East - TV, Film & Video

Communication

Africa & Middle East - TV, Film & Video

Communication

Design Mixed-Media Cam-paign


Africa & Middle East - Integrated Campaigns

Motion Graphic Design - Broadcast Design & Graphics



David Dddumba

Club 10

Stick

Slow

Bring Zack Back Home

Design Indaba 2012

Dolls House

Skip. The Evolution of Washing. Campaign

I am not a Designer

MetropolitanRepublic Uganda

Ogilvy Africa

Havas Tunisie

Grid Worldwide Branding & Tonic Design

Squad Digital Ltd

Wicked Pixels

Ireland/Daven-port

The Jupiter Drawing Room (South Africa)

Cape Town

The Jupiter Drawing Room (South Africa)

Cape Town

MTN Uganda/ SIM Card Registration Drive/ Uganda

Airtel/Club 10 Kobo/ Kenya

Protek/ Monitoring And Security Sys-tems/ Tunisia

Slow/ Slow/ South Africa

Kenya Paraplegic Organization/ Fund-raising Campaign/ Kenya

Design Indaba/ Design Indaba 2012 | I Am Not A Designer/ South Africa

Habitat for Humanity/ Habitat for Hu-manity Annual Report 2011/ South Africa

Instituto Criança Nosso Futuro /Human trafficking (Country: Mozambique)

Interactive Africa/ Design Indaba 15/ South Africa

Prize Category Title Entry Company Brand/ Product

06 |

NEWS

Craft Gold

Craft Certificate

Campaign Gold

Craft Certificate

Campaign Craft Certificate

Campaign Bronze

Campaign Bronze

Craft Gold

Campaign Craft

Certificate

Campaign Bronze

Craft Certificate

Campaign Bronze

Craft Certificate

Campaign Silver

Design Crafts - Writing

Design Crafts - Illustration

PR Communication Campaign


Design Crafts - Typography



Design Crafts - Photography





Design Crafts - Writing


King James Bible

Hip-hop

Back at Ya

Digital Heroes

We sent their briefs back

Wall of Hope

Fix A Smile Birthday Calendar

Nothing’s Put On

Polo GTI Date Drive

Wies Bang

Marmite Blogger Drop

The World’s First Alien Abduction Flavoured

Gum

OFM Change Your Tune

Darling to Carling

King James RSVP

OPENCO The Open Collaboration

King James

Machine (Big Wednesday)

TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg

Ogilvy Johannesburg

Saatchi & Saatchi

Ogilvy Johannesburg

Ogilvy Cape Town

Dojo115

Machine (Big Wednesday)

Ogilvy Cape Town

Joe Public Shift

Ogilvy Cape Town

King James/ King James/ South Africa

Vodacom/ African Music Site/ South Africa

Santam/ Santam/ South Africa

Habari Media/ Habari Media Digital Heroes Calendar/ South Africa

TBWA\ Hunt \ Lascaris/ TBWA\ Design/ South Africa

Yum Restaurants/ KFC Add Hope/ South Africa

Operation Smile/ Operation Smile/ South Africa

Multichoice KykNet/ KykNet/South Africa

Volkswagen/ Polo GTI/ South Africa

Van Coke Kartel/ Wies Bang/ South Africa

Marmite/ Marmite Sandwich Spread/ South Africa

Kraft Foods/ Stimorol Mega Mystery/ South Africa

OFM Change Your Tune/ OFM Change Your Tune/ South Africa

South African Breweries/ Carling Black Label/ South Africa

Campaign Gold

Digital Mixed-Media Campaign






Be the Coach Ogilvy Cape Town

South African Breweries /Carling Black Label


Campaign Bronze

Campaign Silver

Campaign Bronze

Campaign Silver

Campaign Bronze

Craft Certificate

Craft Gold

Craft Certificate

Digital Crafts - Interface & Navigation

Digital Crafts - Animation

Digital Crafts - Animation

Clover Way Better

Polo GTI Date Drive


Gum

MK Is

Etios here to make you smile

Peugeot

Clover

Power Of Stop

Joe Public and Gloo

Ogilvy Cape Town

Ogilvy Cape Town

Ogilvy Johannesburg

Draftfcb South Africa (PTY)Ltd & Hello

Computer JHB

Euro RSCG Group

Joe Public and Gloo

HelloComputer

Clover/Clover milk, cheese, cream and butter

Volkswagen/Polo GTI

Kraft Foods/Stimorol Mega Mystery

Multichoice M-Net/MK

Toyota/Etios

Peugeot/Peugeot 208


Continental/Continental Tyres

| 07

NEWS

Craft Gold

Craft Certificate

Campaign Gold

Craft Certificate

Campaign Craft Certificate

Bronze

Bronze

Craft Gold

Craft Certificate

Campaign Bronze

Craft Certificate

Bronze

Silver

Grand Prix

Digital Crafts - Writing

Media Innovation - Single Medium








TV & Cinema Commercials - up to 90s





The BlueMotion Label

Be the Coach

Little People

YouTube Interventions


Gum

Rehabilitation is Possible

Drive Alive 3D

Clover Way Better”microsite”

Team of Millions

I believe I can fly

The World’s First Bill-board for Dogs

Dog

Braille Burger

The Last Dictator Standing

Ogilvy Cape Town

Ogilvy Cape Town

Ogilvy Cape Town

Ogilvy Cape Town

Draftfcb South Africa (PTY) Ltd

Ogilvy Cape Town

Ogilvy Cape Town

TBWA\Hunt\Las-caris Johannesburg

Joe Public and Gloo

The Jupiter Drawing Room Johannesburg

Brand Activation

Metropolitan-Republic

MetropolitanRepublic

Black River FC

Volkswagen/BlueMotion

South African Breweries/Carling Black Label

Vodacom/Vodacom Mobile TV

Wilderness Foundation/Forever Wild Anti-Poaching Initiative


PBN/Prisoner rehabilitation

Drive Alive/Road Safety


ABSA/ABSA Springbok Sponsorship

Kraft Foods/Stimorol Taste Twist

Nestle Purina/Alpo Dog Food

First National Bank/Brand

Wimpy/Braille Burgers

Nando’s South Africa/Meal for 6

08 |

NEWS

Silver TV & Cinema Commercials - up to 90s







TV & Cinema Commercials - above 90s

TV & Cinema Commercials - above 90s

Face Off Ogilvy Cape Town

Kraft Foodsz/Stimorol Mega Mystery


Bronze

Silver

Silver

Campaign Gold

Silver

Campaign Silver

Bronze

Gold

Diversity

So Good

Time Flies

Sir Sneaky

Leila

Don’t Be That Guy

To the Masters

Baby’s on Fire

Black River FC

Ogilvy Johannesburg

King James

King James & Black River FC

Lowe Bull Cape Town

Net#Work BBDO

140 BBDO

Egg Films

Nando’s South Africa/Trinchado and Chips; & Peri-crusted Wings and Chips

Yum Restaurants/KFC

Allan Gray/Allan Gray

Santam & Nando’s South Africa/Santam

Organ Donor Foundation/Organ Donor Foundation

Ndalo Media/Destiny Man Magazine

Distell/Oude Meester

Die Antwoord/Die Antwoord

Campaign Silver

Craft Certificate

Craft Certificate

Campaign Gold

Craft Gold

Craft Certificate

Craft Gold

Craft Certificate

Campaign Silver

Craft Certificate

Craft Certificate

Craft Certificate

Campaign Silver

Craft Certificate

TV Trailers, Channel & Station Promos

TV Crafts up to 90s - Direction

TV Crafts up to 90s - Animation

TV Trailers, Channel & Station Promos

TV Crafts up to 90s - Cinematography

TV Crafts up to 90s - Special Visual Effects


Internet & Mobile Commercials




TV Crafts up to 90s - Production Design

Internet & Mobile Commercials


Life goes on. Again.


Clover - Way Better

MK Is

Dog

Time Flies

Face Off

YouTube Interventions

Time Flies

Face Off

Diversity

Pearl

Classic Romance Movies

Be the Difference

Ireland/Davenport

Bouffant

Blackginger

Ogilvy Johannesburg

MetropolitanRepublic

Velocity Films

Your Girlfriend

Ogilvy Cape Town

Velocity Films

Ogilvy Cape Town

Bouffant

Egg Films

JWT Cape Town

Velocity Films

Fox International Channels, TOP TV/The Walking Dead

Nandos/Nandos

Clover/Clover




Stimorol/Mega Mystery

Wilderness Foundation/Forever Wild Anti-Poaching Initiative



Nandos/Nandos

Old Mutual/Old Mutual

Kalahari.com/Kalahari.com

Eskom/Eskom 49M

| 09

NEWS Prize Category Title Entry Company Brand/ Product

Craft Certificate

Craft Certificate

Craft Certificate

Craft Certificate

Craft Certificate

Craft Certificate

Craft Certificate

Craft Gold

Craft Gold

TV Crafts up to 90s - Editing



TV Crafts above 90s - Direction

TV Crafts above 90s - Cinematography


TV Crafts up to 90s - Original Music & Sound

Design

TV Crafts up to 90s - Best Use of Licensed Music

TV Crafts up to 90s - Best Use of Licensed Music

P.S. I Love You

KFC - So Good.

So Good

To the Masters

Protection

Dog

The Masters


So Good

Upstairs Post Production

Upstairs Post Production

Sinister Studio

140 BBDO

Volcano Advertising

Metropolitan-Republic

Velocity Films

Black River FC

Ogilvy Johannesburg

Cadbury’s/P.S.

KFC/KFC Corporate.

KFC/Brand


Mutual & Federal/Mutual & Federal


Oudemeester/Oudemeester Brandy

Nando’s South Africa/Meal for 6

Yum Restaurants/KFC

Campaign Silver

Campaign Bronze

Campaign Bronze

Campaign Bronze

Craft Certificate

Grand Prix

Campaign Bronze

TV Crafts above 90s - Editing

Integrated Campaign

Integrated Campaign

Integrated Campaign

Integrated Campaign

Integrated Campaign

Integrated Campaign

The World’s First Alien Abduction Flavoured Gum

Run Jozi

If Mother didn’t tell you about Marmite,

what else didn’t she tell you?

MK is

The Masters

Be the Coach

To the Masters

Ogilvy Cape Town

Joe Public

Machine

Ogilvy Johannesburg

Velocity Films

Ogilvy Cape Town

140 BBDO

Kraft Foods/Stimorol - Mega Mystery

Nike/Nike Running

Marmite/Marmite Sandwich Spread


Oudemeester/Oudemeester Brandy

South African Breweries/Carling Black Label


10 |

NEWS

Calling All Aspiring Filmmakers - Jameson First Shot Is Back

Jameson First Shot was launched last year by Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti through their award-winning production compa-ny, Trigger Street Productions. This year Willem Dafoe has joined the team and will star in the chosen movie, giving the winner chance to direct one of Hollywood’s most versatile actors who has starred in more than 80 films from block-busters to independent movies.

Spacey will serve as the creative director while the winner occupies the director’s chair. Spon-sor Jameson Irish Whiskey is run-ning the contest in South Africa, America and Russia, which are its three largest markets, and a winner will be chosen from each country.The prize is probably the biggest step up the ladder a local film-maker could ever receive, said Thandi Brewer, chairman of the Writers Guild SA.

The Guild represents profes-sional screenwriters and supports Jameson First Shot because it’s a great opportunity to win the chance to work in Hollywood. “There are thousands of young filmmakers out there and I get emails all the time asking for help or advice. My advice is enter this competition,” said Thandi. “It’s

really exciting because they get the opportunity to work with world-class talent and can leverage that into building a strong career.”

Filmmakers must submit a script of no more than seven pages online at www.jamesonfirstshot.com by January 1, 2013. The script must follow one of three themes: legendary, humorous or a very tall tale. All entries will be judged by a team including Kevin, Willem and Dana, looking for freshness, originality, good structure and a great story.

Shortlisted candidates will be sent a short script that they must film to demonstrate their directive and creative abilities. A winner from each country will then fly to Los Angeles to shoot their own script with Willem in the starring role.

Thandi admires the competi-tion as it requires the writer to have the skills to direct too, and that’s what writers should be doing, she said. “It challenges our South African writers to think outside their boxes. They also have the chance to direct Willem, so they have to write to his quality. He has done some really experimental work so as a writer you can stretch your boundaries.”

Thandi hopes the winner will have the hunger and ambition to capitalise on this extraordinary op-portunity. “It’s not just something to put on your CV. It’s something you can use to leapfrog to the next step. You could walk into any film company in the country and say ‘I was good enough for Kevin Spacey, are you good enough for me?’ If you are smart enough to use it you have been given an opening to some of the top talent in the U.S. who are willing to sup-port young talent.”

Jameson’s events manager in South Africa, Clair van der Mescht, said additional rules are in place because it’s sponsored by a brand of alcohol. Entrants must be over 25 and the script cannot feature anyone under 25. The criteria of being able to direct as well as write also make it a very serious competition with a high standard expected, she said.

Last year’s local winner was Cape Town scriptwriter Alan Shelley, who worked with Kevin and directed him as the star in his short film Spirit of a Denture, the tale of a dentist visited by a disrup-tive pirate. Alan majored in direct-ing and has worked as a writer, director, editor and vfx supervisor.

He’s now working for himself as a freelancer. He beat 276 other local entries to win the prize. “It was a huge confidence boost and a large creativity boost,” he said. “I have more confidence in my ideas and about getting projects moving, and it makes people start to take notice of you. It’s made my ability to get crew and other people involved a lot easier.”

The experience of working with Kevin and a Hollywood crew was fantastic, and not at all as he had expected. “The people I worked with were warm and wel-coming and never once made me feel like an amateur from the dark continent trying to make a movie. I was very much in charge of my own film and even though we were on a budget I had a lot of creative freedom.”

He keeps in touch with many of the people he worked with in Hollywood, in a valuable addition to his contact book. Alan has no advice about the type of script or characters that might make the judges take notice, but he urged: “If you want to be a filmmaker, not entering is a huge mistake.”

Kevin Spacey said in its first year the contest discovered three outstanding filmmakers and made three incredible films. “Everyone’s expectations are extremely high for the second year so the entrants have a lot to live up to and, if it’s possible, they have even more pressure on them to write a great story and direct an amazing film,” he said. “The prize we’re offering is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; now we need to find the talent who are worthy winners. Willem is going to be a fantastic addition to the First Shot team and I can’t wait to see what people write for him – I hope entrants come up with some-thing completely unexpected.” So far more than 5.6 million people have viewed last year’s three win-ning films via YouTube.

By: Lesley Stones

T he search is on to find a local scriptwriter good enough to fly to Hol-lywood and direct their

own short film with Kevin Spacey and Willem Dafoe. That priceless experience is the prize in the Jameson First Shot competition, for screenwriters who also have the ability to direct.

| 1 1

LOCATION FEATURE

ADVERTORIAL

12 |

NEWS

T his month’s Film & Media Event Wrap Party, an evening of film industry

networking, was held on 27 September at the sophisticated Protea Hotel Fire & Ice Cape Town, South Africa, renowned for excellent service, chic atmosphere, and stunning interior decor.

Film & Event Media were happy to host Saving Private Rhino, an initiative to ensure the future conservation of Africa’s rhino and wildlife heritage by providing an anti-poaching solution free to every private game reserve in Africa that cannot afford to defend its wildlife. Film & Event Media publisher, Lance Gibbons, says

the event was another suc-cess. “This monthly wrap was well attended,” says Lance, “we would like to thank our sponsors, the Film & Publica-tion Board and Pioneer Frieght and we were extremely happy to support the Saving Private Rhino initiative. I hope the industry will continue to show its support.”

IT’S A WRAPIT’S A WRAPProtea Hotel Fire & Ice!

Tammy B & Dr Ross Tucker

Nolo Nojozi & Rudolf RiegerClive Borman

Lance Gibbons, Corné van Rooyen, Rene van Rooyen & Maya KulyckyEstelle Kyle, James Adams & Takalani Muvhall

Aren van Schalkwyk, David Price & Neil White

| 13

NEWS

The Port St. Johns Development Agency (PSJDA) has announced

plans to launch South Africa’s newest film office.

“We are steadily moving toward the launch of our plans to actively attract a variety of film and TV projects to Port St. Johns with the potential of impacting our tourism sector in particular and the Province as a whole.” says Thabisa Nodada, CEO of PSJDA.

The goal is to leverage film and tourism for socio-econom-ic development, says Dominic

Whilhelm, who developed South Africa’s first Film In-duced Tourism plan as part of the Port St. Johns project and led the feasibility study. “Film Commissions and Film Offices are...important drivers of direct economic benefits felt through production spend,” says Domi-nic, “this is why government and the Eastern Cape is in the film buisness!”

Port St. Johns intends to attract both local and international producers with exotic locations, a film friendly environment, a new Film Induced Tourism offering, infrastructure development,

Micro and SMME incubation, and creating permanent film artifacts with high tourism appeal such film sets, muse-ums and guided tours of film locations. But will it work? Some industry leaders say the challenge will be changing the minds of producers who think they already know what Port St. Johns has to offer.

Martin Cuff, an economic development specialist, says the new film office is great for South Africa since it is proac-tively suporting the positioning of what can be made there, particularly as competition in the film sector across the continent heats up. “I think the film industry in Africa is going to become more high-profile and I think we’re going to see a major growth in interest in the film sector,” says Martin.

“Though we have relatively few international standard film commissions across the continent at this time,” Martin adds, “I think the general

direction we see the continent going in means that we will see more come online.”

As one of the poorest mu-nicipalties in South Africa, Port St. Johns is hoping the film of-fice will be a driver of sustain-able economic opportunities for local communities, expand-ing business opportunities for businesses of all sizes. Port St. Johns currently has unemploy-ment figures exceeding 80%, and over 90% of the popula-tion lives below the Minimum Living Levels.

Martin also hopes the Port St. Johns film office will be part of a wider trend of growth for the film industry in Africa. Africa has only 3.9 percent of the world’s Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) members. “Hopefully the impact will be the greater harnessing of film, television, and new media as an interna-tional driver for the continent,” says Martin.

SOUTH AFRICA’S NEWEST FILM OFFICE LAUNCHING IN PORT ST. JOHNS

Source: Association of Film Commissioners International

14 |

NEWS

SA VISAS - CHANGES AHEAD FOR FILM INDUSTRY?

Recently, according to the Cape Film Com-mission, a film crew from Los Angeles,

California flew to Cape Town, South Africa to work on a project, but were turned away on arrival because of visa issues. The crew then had to fly from Cape Town to London, re-solve the visa issues, then fly once again to Cape Town to begin work. That “sounded a few alarm bells,” says Cape Film Commission CEO Denis Lillie, “so we decided we had better find out what the [visa] is-sues are.” Now a meeting will take place between members of the film

industry and the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs around “visa require-ments, work permits, those sorts of things,” says Denis. Currently, members of the film industry who are from a country that is not exempt from South African visa requriments, and do not intend to work for lon-ger than six months, must submit an application for a visa, provide supporting documentation, pay a fee, and request authorisation to work on the visitor’s visa from a South African embassy or mis-sion. If approved, the visa allows them to stay and work for a period of between 30 and 90 days. They may then apply once for an exten-sion - for a further 90 days (making the stay a total of 180 days or six months).

If a member of the film indus-try is from a country that is exempt

from South African visa require-ments, and do not intend to work for longer than six months, they may go to a South African port of entry with letters from the local or international agency or company confirming particulars, purpose and period of visit and designation for a visitor’s permit – valid for be-tween 30 days and 90 days – along with the required authorisation to work. They may also apply for an extension. But what if your project takes longer than the allotted pe-riod? Some industry members say in that case having to apply for a work permit is an obstacle to doing business. “You have to go through a medical, you have to get a chest x-ray,” says Vlokkie Gordon of Film Afrika, “we need a specific visa sys-tem for the film industry.” Without a simple way to enter South Africa, says Vlokkie, the country’s film in-

dustry could lose significant rev-enue and the ability to learn from film industry leaders from the rest of the world. “I want those people here because they are here on skills transfers,” says Vlokkie, “how else are we going to learn?” She points to the example of chariot builders coming to South Africa for a recent project and teaching local mem-bers of the film industry their craft. Denis says before the meeting, concerns from the indus-try are being solicited. If it’s found that there is a flawed visa system then, “when we’re ready to call the meeting, they’ve made themselves available,” he says. The goal is clarity. “Just so the industry knows what requirments there are so they can plan around it,” says Denis, “and obvioulsy if the clarity we get isn’t to the satisfaction of industry then we need to lobby for change.”

| 15

NEWS

FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DISCOP

DISCOP AFRICA is back for its seventh year, from 31 October to 2

November in Johannesburg, South Africa. Here’s what you need to know about Africa’s number one industry gathering dedicated to the commerce and co-production of multiplatform, film, TV content, formats, and packaged TV chan-nels.

1Who will be at DISCOP? Over 1000 non-exhibiting and exhibiting delegates

representing 700 companies from 85 countries. The exhibition will showcase African and major international suppliers of popular and high-quality film, series, ani-mation, comedy shows, formats, sports content, documentaries, educational programming and thematic channels, as well as distributors of international

digital broadcasting and content management solutions providers. Content acquisitions and pro-gramming executives represent-ing African broadcasters, Pay-TV platforms, mobile networks, broadband-based TV services, air-lines and closed-circuit networks will attend.

2 What’s new this year? This year DISCOP AF-RICA aims to reinforce it’s

relevance as a marketplace for independent television content producers operating in Africa. For the first time there will be a “Producer’s Village” which will provide private meeting spaces and matchmaking services to reach qualified partners and investors. Producers will also be able to take part in the “FORMATS FROM AFRICA” pitching competi-tion, an intiative launched to seek and promote orginial TV formats

created in Africa, and win USD $2,500 to produce a pilot. A co-production forum and conference program dedicated to regional and international partnerships aims to provide opportunities to sell content, initiate partnerships, ac-cess information, connect with key players, and learn from experts.

3What can you learn at DIS-COP AFRICA this year? The conference aims to

increase knowlege of new content distribution models and funding mechanisms, to allow independ-ent producers to learn from experts, and to increase regional and pan-African trade and partner-ships.

4What is unique about DIS-COP AFRICA? This year the conference

talks about the world-class facilities and recognized talent

available on the continent, how TV franchises entering the African market can build the strong and distinctive brands necessary to thrive here, and how recent televi-sion consumption trends indicate that a growing number of TV op-erators around the world are aquir-ing programming from around the region. As the DISCOP AFRICA program puts it, “The world loves content made in Africa.”

5 What trends can we learn about at DISCOP? Worldwide television

consumption trends will be under the microscope, as well as content trends. Telenovel-as, television novels, which originated in Latin America, have a hundred million viewers worldwide. DISCOP AFRICA will look at how Africa will impact Telenovelas production, adaptation, and distribution.

16 |

1 If one wants to pitch a new project idea or a project in de-velopment how should one

work DISCOP?

The 7th edition of DISCOP AF-RICA will reinforce its relevance as a marketplace for independent producers of multiplatform, film television content created in Africa, providing them with true and effi-cient opportunities to sell content, initiate coproduction partnerships, access valuable information, con-nect with key players and learn from experts.

Independent Film and TV con-tent producers can achieve the following:• They can take part in a whole 3-day conference program primar-ily dedicated to coproduction and partnership opportunities within Africa, and with non-African part-ners.• They can take part in the FOR-MATS FOR AFRICA pitching com-petition launched to seek and pro-mote original TV formats created in Africa, which can begin as local successes and end up as interna-tional hits.• Eligible independent producers are invited to forward original sub-missions that have local, regional and international appeal – that is the idea, content and structure of each format must not only attract viewers in the countries of ori-

gin but can also be adapted both across Africa and in other territo-ries across the world.• They can access the PRODUC-ERS VILLAGE strategically located on the main exhibition and request our staff’s help to set-up meetings with broadcasters and other con-tent distribution platform in town for DISCOP AFRICA.• They can take part in our numer-ous networking opportunities.

2 Who should someone pitch-ing a new project idea or a project in development

approach?

We have decided to stay fo-cused on TV Formats and organize the FORMATS FROM AFRICA pitching competition.

Ten shortlisted candidates will be invited to pitch their formats live in front of a qualified audience and a judging panel of African and international programming and coproduction executives, format commissioners and distributors, and advertisers, who will choose three winners to be rewarded with:

• US$2,500 in cash to further the development of a pilot based on their format.• Expert guidance provided by major format production compa-nies, to help ensure the winners’ vision is translated into a suc-

cessful end product.• A complimentary MEETING TABLE exhibiting package dur-ing the 2013 edition of DISCOP AFRICA.

3 What seminars should one go to if they have this goal?

Running parallel to the 3-day DISCOP AFRICA 2012 market, the general conference program (translated in French and English) will also contribute to the strength-ening of Africa’s independent film and television content produc-tion industries. It will foster closer cooperation among African and international key players as well as collaboration across African borders. The vast majority of the sessions and keynotes featured in the program will focus on issues of current relevance to producers of content created in Africa.

My recommendations would be:• TURN LOCAL SPORTS INTO TELEVISED EVENTS ( for sports content producers)• DEVELOPMENT, COPRO-DUCTION AND EXPORT CASE STUDIES ( for Francophone Af-rican TV content producers )• FORMATS FROM AFRICA PITCHING COMPETITION ( for formats producers )• NEW BUSINESS MODELS FOR TELEVISION ( for TV con-tent producers)

• COPRODUCTION OPPORTU-NITIES WITH BRAZIL ( for Film and TV content producers• THE WORLD LOVES CON-TENT MADE IN AFRICA

4What can you tell us gener-ally about the type of African content that is being bought

and who is buying it?

DISCOP AFRICA will welcome the largest contingent of television content suppliers avaialble under one roof producing TV Formats, Nollywood film and TV series, documentaries and packaged TV channels.

Distribution business is boom-ing across the Continent, and recent TV consumption trends indicate that a growing number of international television operators are acquiring Film and TV content created in Africa.

Furthermore, in the not so distant future, one of the main drivers of content business in Africa will be local program-ming. Inevitably, there will be a shift to regional coproduc-tion and distribution models as non-African content will play a lesser role. Africa will then tran-sition from massive importer of content to producer of content that is far more locally relevant.

NEWS

INSIDER TIPS FOR NAVIGATING DISCOP

If you’re headed to DISCOP AFRICA with a project to sell, who do you talk to? What events do you attend?

We asked Patrick Jucaud, DIS-COP AFRICA’s General Man-ager, to provide attendees with some insder tips.

| 17

NEWS

DISCOP AT A GLANCE

We spoke to Louise van Hoff , Joint CEO/Head of Development, Okuh-le Media about her upcoming trip to DISCOP AFRICA and what she hopes to achieve.

What are you hoping to get out of DISCOP?

I was hoping to use the opportu-nity to meet with African broad-casters and TV channels and co-production partners. I think my main focus will be selling Okhule as a media company.

What do you think about the DISCOP program this year?

The conferences they are off ering are fantastic. There is a lot to learn about doing business in Africa.

Why is DISCOP important for your industry?

Few of the African producers go to the international conferences so it’s very important that we all get to-gether to talk to one another.

WE’RE TALKING DISCOP

| 17

NEWS

DISCOP AT A GLANCE

We spoke to Louise van Hoff , Joint CEO/Head of Development, Okuh-le Media about her upcoming trip to DISCOP AFRICA and what she hopes to achieve.

What are you hoping to get out of DISCOP?

I was hoping to use the opportu-nity to meet with African broad-casters and TV channels and co-production partners. I think my main focus will be selling Okhule as a media company.

What do you think about the DISCOP program this year?

The conferences they are off ering are fantastic. There is a lot to learn about doing business in Africa.

Why is DISCOP important for your industry?

Few of the African producers go to the international conferences so it’s very important that we all get to-gether to talk to one another.

WE’RE TALKING DISCOP

| 19

NEWS

BORNFREES

Popular documentary series Bornfrees re-turned to e.tv on Sunday, 16 Sep-

tember. This third season again investigates the lives of young people born during the advent of democracy in 1994. Season 1 was filmed when the children were ten years old in 2004, followed by Season 2 at the age of fifteen. Bornfrees 3: Turning 18 returns to visit eight teenagers as they turn eighteen in 2012.

Since 2004 the Bornfrees goal has been to follow the lives of a selection of South African children who share the common-ality of being born in the year South Africa celebrated its first democratic elections. The show records their hopes and dreams and allows viewers to gain an

understanding of how their lives have been affected by freedom. “It has been an amazing and emotional experience to watch these kids grow over the past eight years, I am proud of them and very proud of this show. This season is going to be exceptional and I can’t wait for everyone to see it,” says Louise van Hoff, ex-ecutive producer and Okuhle Me-dia Joint CEO.

Representing the new gen-eration of 677 000 children who were born free are eight inspi-rational young South Africans. In KwaZulu Natal Sasha-Lee Subramoney is celebrating her eighteenth birthday with friends, Thandeka Mbokazi is estab-lishing a relationship with her biological mother and Thabisa Nkani is attending extra science

lessons in preparation for study-ing health sciences next year. In Johannesburg Khumbula Ngco-bo is excited to attend his matric dance when a serious injury on the rugby field seems set to ruin his plans for his matric. In Pre-toria, Aletta Beukes is preparing

to make her first step towards independence and is moving out of her parents’ home. In the Western Cape Kegan de Beer and Aminah Raciet attend the same school but their personal lives have been very different. Ami-nah’s life has been touched by tragedy when her father passed away but in this season of Born-frees there is renewed hope for her and her family. Kegan has had many challenges too but his girlfriend Jamie has changed his perspective. In George, Likhaya

Poni is still staying away from his parents who are in Nyanga, Cape Town so he can attend a good school. Matric pressure is mounting for Likhaya as he dreams of studying medicine in the future.

“With 3 years having passed since we last saw the Bornfrees, viewers are in for a real treat. In Season 3, we will witness these seemingly care-free and spir-ited youth transform into young adults with responsibilities and big life-changing decisions to make”, commented Monde Twala, Head of Channel for e.tv.

Bornfrees 3: Turning 18 considers what it means to be poised at the edge of a milestone: the Bornfrees all turn 18 in 2012. This translates into passing or failing matric, be-coming ‘legal,’ learning to drive, being allowed to vote, making deci-sions about tertiary education, leav-

ing home, engaging in adult rela-tionships, pursuing careers or pur-suing money, defining their identity as a new generation of school leav-ers in South Africa today. Bornfrees is based on the successful British documen-tary series 7-Up by filmmakers Mi-chael Apted, which has followed the same people every seven years; with 56 Up broadcasting in May this year. Follow the Bornfrees South Africa story on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Born-freesSa or twitter @BornfreesSA

Thandeka Mbokazi and her mum look at family photos

Aletta Beukes at 18 with photo of her as a child

20 |

NEWS

F rom 17-21 October, animators will gath-er in Cape Town for Kunjanimation

2012, the second annual South African Animation Festival. The event, part of France-South Africa Season 2012 & 2013, and supported by Wesgro and the NFVF, aims to showcase and celebrate South Africa’s emerg-ing animation talents, while building bridges with the indus-try and abroad.

Kunjanimation 2012 is aimed at helping South Afri-can animators “really up their game,” says Daniel Snaddon, Kunjanimation Festival Direc-tor. This year, the festival of-fers a platform for networking and collaboration between Af-rican and European animation

professionals, with the goal of improving both business ties and the quality of animation produced in South Africa. A workshop is being offered in partnership with Gobelins, the French animation school high-lighting this goal. It will be taught by Alexandre Heboyan, best known for his film Migra-tion Bigoudenn which won the special jury prize at Siggraph in 2005 and who also animated on Kung Fu Panda. “Compared to flying to Paris, you’re getting the value of a week’s course for a tenth of the price,” says Can-da Kincses, Cape Town Chair-person for Animation SA, of the sold-out workshop.

The festival has also at-tracted a delegation of anima-tors from France, “they are

coming to see if there are any synergies and opportunities for co-productions with South African companies,” says Dan-iel, “the idea is that they can go back with the idea of the quality and professionalism of South African animators.”

South Africa’s leading ani-mation studios, including Black Ginger, Triggerfish, Imaginari and Strikas Entertainment will attend Kunjanimation, with some providing guidance to as-piring animators. Canda says it is all part of the wider goal of putting South African anima-tion on the map. “It’s almost there. People are very curious to see what kind of work is coming out of Africa...It seems a lot of opportunities are start-ing to align and we are afraid if

we don’t take advantage of that we may slip back a few years.” That could have consequences for the film industry more wide-ly, not just animators. Anima-tion SA point to the key role an-imators play in the industry as a whole. “What is important for them is the part of animation that has to do with the visual ef-fects industry. It’s all to do with post, and has to do with visual effects. If we could make the complete offering in South Af-rica we wouldn’t have little bits being offered to South Africa,” says Canda, “We don’t want to take too much of our business offshore Like building fighting robots, we can do all that here.”For a full schedule, visit www.kunjanimation.org.

ANIMATION SOUTH AFRICA BRINGS YOU KUNJANIMATION – THE SEQUEL

20 |

NEWS

F rom 17-21 October, animators will gath-er in Cape Town for Kunjanimation

2012, the second annual South African Animation Festival. The event, part of France-South Africa Season 2012 & 2013, and supported by Wesgro and the NFVF, aims to showcase and celebrate South Africa’s emerg-ing animation talents, while building bridges with the indus-try and abroad.

Kunjanimation 2012 is aimed at helping South Afri-can animators “really up their game,” says Daniel Snaddon, Kunjanimation Festival Direc-tor. This year, the festival of-fers a platform for networking and collaboration between Af-rican and European animation

professionals, with the goal of improving both business ties and the quality of animation produced in South Africa. A workshop is being offered in partnership with Gobelins, the French animation school high-lighting this goal. It will be taught by Alexandre Heboyan, best known for his film Migra-tion Bigoudenn which won the special jury prize at Siggraph in 2005 and who also animated on Kung Fu Panda. “Compared to flying to Paris, you’re getting the value of a week’s course for a tenth of the price,” says Can-da Kincses, Cape Town Chair-person for Animation SA, of the sold-out workshop.

The festival has also at-tracted a delegation of anima-tors from France, “they are

coming to see if there are any synergies and opportunities for co-productions with South African companies,” says Dan-iel, “the idea is that they can go back with the idea of the quality and professionalism of South African animators.”

South Africa’s leading ani-mation studios, including Black Ginger, Triggerfish, Imaginari and Strikas Entertainment will attend Kunjanimation, with some providing guidance to as-piring animators. Canda says it is all part of the wider goal of putting South African anima-tion on the map. “It’s almost there. People are very curious to see what kind of work is coming out of Africa...It seems a lot of opportunities are start-ing to align and we are afraid if

we don’t take advantage of that we may slip back a few years.” That could have consequences for the film industry more wide-ly, not just animators. Anima-tion SA point to the key role an-imators play in the industry as a whole. “What is important for them is the part of animation that has to do with the visual ef-fects industry. It’s all to do with post, and has to do with visual effects. If we could make the complete offering in South Af-rica we wouldn’t have little bits being offered to South Africa,” says Canda, “We don’t want to take too much of our business offshore Like building fighting robots, we can do all that here.”For a full schedule, visit www.kunjanimation.org.

ANIMATION SOUTH AFRICA BRINGS YOU KUNJANIMATION – THE SEQUEL

| 21

NEWS

ADVENTURES IN ANIMATION SUCCESS

South African Animated Feature “Adventures in Zambezia” has been

making African animation history. When it was picked up by Sony Pictures for distribution in English-speaking territories it was the first time a South African animated feature has secured such a pres-tigious U.S. distributor. In it’s 13th week on the international circuit, 1 million tickets had been sold. In Israel, it was the number one independent film of the summer. In Russia it reached number two at the box-office.

Triggerfish, the producers of “Adventures in Zambezia”, are being credited with putting African animation on the map. We asked Wayne Thornley, Director of

“Adventures in Zambezia” for his thoughts on Triggerfish’s success.

1Is “Adventures in Zambezia” the most successful South Af-rican animated film ever? So

far it seems that way. It certainly has had the widest release of any SA animated film.

2How does this film fit into the South African animation landscape? (i.e. the scope of

the production, etc.) In terms of budget and size of crew etc. it’s the biggest animated film ever produced in Africa.

3 What feedback have you got-ten on the quality of the film? As large as the budget is

by South African standards, it’s

still pretty small by international standards, so the reaction to the film is often real surprise at what we achieved with what we had. We got a lot of compliments on how beautiful it looks. To many people the film looks a lot more expensive than it actually was.

4What impact do you expect this film to have on the South African animation in-

dustry? It’s had a massive impact already: the whole crew of the film have gone from being quite inex-perienced to being on the cutting edge of what’s happening in long-form animation in South Africa. The film has taken many great art-ists in the industry to a whole new level. I think that’s going to shine through in Triggerfish’s next film, Khumba. I hope it opens more and more opportunities for long-form animated films in South Af-rica. I also hope that not too many of our great artists get poached by overseas companies, but I think this might be an unfortunate side effect of making something people are impressed by. Though I must say, the Zambezia team deserve whatever opportunities that come their way.

5 What has Triggerfish learned from the process that it would like to share with the

rest of the SA animation industry? The full answer to that question would take hours! Here’s one, tiny part of it: As SA filmmakers, we really can compete on the world stage with a lot less than we thought we could, but we have to be very flexible and very strategic. We may have to compromise on things we thought were sacred. I also think animation may be one of the best ways for South Africans to get their stories out there, because the medium travels exceptionally well. We do, however, need to understand something important: we serve the audience, they don’t serve us. We shouldn’t take ourselves so seriously. A lot of South African films seem bent on teaching the audience something important, but they completely forget to entertain the audience. We’re in the entertain-ment business, not the teaching and preaching business. We will attract a broad, world audience when we start making warm, fun, quirky works of entertainment that serve the audience and not some “important” issue.

22 |

DIARISE

KUNJANIMATION17 October - 21 October

Cape Town , South Africa

DISCOP AFRICA31 October -2 November

Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg,

South Africa

FILM & EVENT MEDIA WRAP PARTY

1 NovemberJohannesburg, South Africa

| 23

Shnit International Film Festival3 October - 7 October

Cape Town, South Africa

In-Short Film Festival 11 October - 13 October

Lagos, Nigeria

Black Power Mixtape 1967-19755 October – 17 October

Johannesburg, South Africa12 October – 18 October Cape Town, South Africa

The NFVF Macufe Film Week 9 October - 13 October

Bloemfontein, South Africa

Africa in Motion (AiM) Film Festival 2012 25 October -2 November

Scotland

Photo & Film Expo18 October -21 October

Johannesburg, South Africa

Namibian Premiere of Sobukwe A Great Soul

27 OctoberWindhoek, Namibia

Kenya International Film Festival24 October - 8 November

Nairobi, Kenya

International Documentary Festval Amsterdam

14 November - 25 NovemberAmsterdam, Holland

IDA Documentary Awards7 December

Los Angeles, United States2013

Berlin International Film Festival7 February -17 February 2013

Berlin, Germany

African Movie Academy AwardsApril 2013

Nigeria

28th DOK.fest Munich8 May -13 May 2013Munich, Germany

EVENTS

| 23

Shnit International Film Festival3 October - 7 October

Cape Town, South Africa

In-Short Film Festival 11 October - 13 October

Lagos, Nigeria

Black Power Mixtape 1967-19755 October – 17 October

Johannesburg, South Africa12 October – 18 October Cape Town, South Africa

The NFVF Macufe Film Week 9 October - 13 October

Bloemfontein, South Africa

Africa in Motion (AiM) Film Festival 2012 25 October -2 November

Scotland

Photo & Film Expo18 October -21 October

Johannesburg, South Africa

Namibian Premiere of Sobukwe A Great Soul

27 OctoberWindhoek, Namibia

Kenya International Film Festival24 October - 8 November

Nairobi, Kenya

International Documentary Festval Amsterdam

14 November - 25 NovemberAmsterdam, Holland

IDA Documentary Awards7 December

Los Angeles, United States2013

Berlin International Film Festival7 February -17 February 2013

Berlin, Germany

African Movie Academy AwardsApril 2013

Nigeria

28th DOK.fest Munich8 May -13 May 2013Munich, Germany

EVENTS

24 |

COVER STORY

When pho-tographers outside the continent

think of images Africa has to offer, pictures of the pyramids in Egypt and the Big Five in the savannah often come to mind. But the Continent offers many more notable settings, a vast ar-ray of landscapes and locations for still photography and film. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organiza-tion (UNESCO) has designated 129 World Heritage Sites in Africa – 41 of which have been selected because of their natural heritage. The following is a list of standouts that showcase the natural diversity Africa has to offer:

Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles: Four coral islands and a la-

goon, surrounded by coral reef. Home to the world’s largest population of giant tortoises.Cape Floral Region Protected Areas, South Africa: Eight protected areas that are among the richest plant life in the world, containing nearly 20% of Africa’s total flora.

Dja Faunal Reserve, Cameroon: One of Africa’s largest and best protected rain forests.

iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa: Features a variety of landforms including coral reefs, beaches, coastal dunes, lake systems, and papyrus wetland.

Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

Contains two extinct volcanoes and abundant fauna, including gorillas.Kilimanjaro National Park,United Republic of Tan-zania: Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest point and is surround-ed by a park with savannah.

Lake Turkana National Parks, Kenya: Home to Africa’s largest saline lake and the breeding ground for the Nile crocodile.

Mana Pools National Park, Matabeleland North, Zimba-bwe: On the banks of the Zambezi river, home to buffalo, leop-ards, cheetahs, and Nile crocodiles.

Victoria Falls, Zambia and

Zimbabwe: Falls of the Zambezi River.

Mount Kenya National Park/Natural Forest, Kenya:Features Mount Kenya and twelve glaciers

Niokolo-Kobo National Park, Senegal:The forests and savannahs bordering the Gambia river with Derby Eland, chimpan-zees, lions, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.

Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo: Rainforest containing many threatened species of primates and birds.

Rewenzori Mountains National Park, Uganda:Contains Africa’s third highest

FOCUS ON AFRICA

Seychelles-Africa © image courtesy of paradise in the world

The Marakele National Park

Victoria Falls

Aldabra Tortoise, Seychelles.

peak, glaciers, and waterfalls in an Alpine landscape.

Salonga National Park, Demo-cratic Republic of the Congo: Africa’s largest tropical rain forest reserve.

Selous Game Reserve, Tanza-nia:Varied vegetation from dense thickets to open wooded grass-lands. Home to elephants, Black Rhinoceros, cheetahs, gi-raffes, hippos, and crocodiles.

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania:Vast savannah known for the annual migration of wilde-beest, gazelle, zebras, and predators. Simien National Park, Ethiopia: Jagged mountain peaks, deep

vales and sharp precipes.

Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria: Site of cave engravings, record climatic changes, and animal migrations.

Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Na-ture Reserve, Madagascar:A canyon of karstic and limestone landscapes cut into peaks and forests, lakes, and mangrove swamps.

Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve, Seychelles:Natural palm forest preserved in a near-original state

Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: Swamps, savannahs, and snowfields.

| 25

COVER STORY

FOCUS ON AFRICA

Selous Game Reserve- by Derek Kverno or Aimee Dowl

Mount Kenya Trek © auldhippo

Chefferie-De-Bafut-Cameroon

Pincushion Protea

Kilimanjaro Image Courtesy of Africa Smart Safaris Ltd.

26 |

COVER STORY

FOCUS ON AFRICA “PRO”SPECTIVE

Michael Myersfeld has been a professional stills photographer in the advertising industry for over 35 years.

Q. When you started in the business what kind of equipment did you use?

A. Prior to becoming profes-sional, I was what one might call a dedicated amateur, and worked only in black and white, with avail-able light, and with a Leica.

Q. When you started in the business what kind of obstacles did you face? Do you still face them?

A. Probably every obstacle you can think of. I had been in the steel industry for many years, and whilst being an avid photog-rapher, I had no formal training. From a professional point of view, I simply jumped in at the deep end. I got myself a Hasselblad, and then a Sinar and some flash equipment, and started learning.

Q. What kind of equipment do you use now? What piece of equipment do you think you couldn’t live without?

A. With the digital age, which I have embraced, I use a Hassel-blad and a Leica M9.

Q. Has technology impacted your business? How?

A. Digital photography, and photoshop, has changed the face of photography forever, not only in the method of image making but

often in the very approach to how an image is made. The debate be-tween the virtues of analogue ver-sus digital will probably continue for many years, and both have their good points, and bad. What is certain is that a great image is made by a great photographer, and not the equipment used.

Q. How do you think your business will have changed in ten years? The equipment that you use?

A: I started off my career as a Fine Art Photographer, and am dedicating more and more of my time to personal projects, and ex-hibitions.

Q. What is your favourite sub-ject to photograph? Location in Africa? Why?

A. I find it more interesting to do work that is thematic, where a story unfolds, and where the viewer has the possibility of vary-ing interpretations.

Africa doesn’t just boast diverse set-tings, it is also home to some

of the most talented commer-cial photographers in the world. We had conversations with some of the industry’s leaders -- asking them to tell us about industry trends, how things have changed, and what’s next in stills photography.

Michael Myersfeld

Michael Myersfeld

Alexa Singer has been a photogra-pher for 12 years.

Q. When you started in the business, what kind of equip-ment did you use?

A. I used film and a mamiya camera. It was a good way to learn.

Q. When you started in the business what kind of obstacles did you face? Do you still face them?

A. I faced a lot of obstacles from the local industry, not so much from the international industry, which has always embraced my work. I found a lot of small-mindedness and prejudice in this country, and a

lot of comments from people I had never met, or never worked with.

Q. What kind of equipment do you use now? What piece of equipment do you think you couldn’t live without?

A. I use a 5d mark 11 which I couldn’t live without. I pre-scribe to the philosophy that the best camera is the one you’ve got on you. I’m not a technical junkie.

Q. Has technology impacted your business? How?

A. It’s great that you can leave a shoot knowing that ev-eryone is happy, including cli-ent and art director. No nasty surprises or come-backs, un-less you have a digital assistant who really doesn’t know what they are doing!

Q. How do you think your business will have changed in ten years? The equipment that you use?

A. I think it’s got harder to

make money, and one has to re-ally up their game to compete, which maybe is a good thing.

Q. Over the course of your career do you think the per-spective of international clients of Africa has changed? How about local clients?

A. I think people realise they have great crews,locations etc. in Africa, I feel Africans work re-ally hard,and this is appreciat-ed overseas. Also obviously,we have a preferred currency, and great weather, compared to most parts of Europe. Local clients dont really have a wide parameter to judge things by.

Q. What is your favourite subject to photograph? Loca-tion in Africa? Why?

A. I am constantly inspired by all facets of nature. Africa is my favourite continent as we still have space, and a rawness which I haven’t found else-where. What a great continent!

| 27

COVER STORY

FOCUS ON AFRICA “PRO”SPECTIVE

Alexa Singer

Alexa Singer

28 |

COVER STORY

UP AND COMING...

Michael Lewis has been a pho-tographer for over 25 years. He answered the following questions with Nick van Renen, the art direc-tor with whom he creatively col-laborates.

Q. What kind of camera gear do you use, and why? A. While we are new in the Nikon stable and are totally in awe of the quality of the images that we are getting from the new D800/E’s, there are times when we need to shoot on higher resolution cam-eras. But we are currently shoot-ing our high end medium format 60 million pixel cameras side by side with the Nikon equipment and there are enough instances where the images coming out of the Nikons are on par with the me-dium format (MF) system. Now this is very very exciting for us, because camera size affects your shooting style and the way that you approach a project - we are now able to look at doing things that we used to do in MF and do them with our Nikons in ways that the MF sys-tem couldn’t, and still getting the quality that doesn’t compromise the project and where the images will be used. Exciting times ahead - what we would love to see is a D4 (with its characteristics and abili-ties) with a 40 million pixel chip - lets call it the D4 Pro - it would be the end of MF in the same way that Paul Delaroche said “AS OF TO-DAY PAINTING IS DEAD” - bring it on Nikon, bring it on !

Chris Saunders has been a professional photographer for eight years.

Q.How long have you been a professional stills photogra-pher?

A. I have been a stills pho-tographer since I was 15 years old, but a professional since 2004.

Q. When you started in the business what kind of equip-ment did you use?

A. When I first started out I had Canon T90 (1980’s) with a set of prime FD canon lenses and then later moved onto Canon EOS Digital system, a 10D 8megapixel if I remember correctly.

Q.What kind of equipment do you use now? What piece of equipment do you think you couldn’t live without?

A. I mostly use a Canon EOS 5D mk2 or now recently the mk3, the piece of equipment I love the most is defiantly my

Zeiss Distagon 35mm F2. This is my favourite lens.

Q. Has technol-ogy impacted your business? How?A. Most definitely, the internet most importantly, my works’ online pres-ence has opened the world to me...I believe if you shoot great personal work it’s much more likely to be noticed if you have a good online presence.

Q.How do you think your business will have changed in ten years? The

equipment that you use?A. This is a difficult question to answer, I think it’s important to keep on the pulse and never think you know everything. Al-ways ask questions and always continue to learn. Things are al-ways going to change and there is always someone better than you.

Q. Over the course of your career do you think the per-spective of international clients of Africa has changed? How about local clients?

A. I think this is a given, we have just completed a project for a big magazine/travel client in the USA called AFAR, they de-cided to bring 60 international guests to Johannesburg for a travel experience and asked us to make a travel video about the city and how amazing it is. With this in mind, magazines like Dazed&Confused, W and the NY Times have recently done positive travel stories on Johan-nesburg. This shows without a doubt the world perception on a city previously seen as ‘the most dangerous city in the world’, a great example of the world’s changed perception of cities on this continent. Local clients have a lot to work on, I think they need to realise the gold mine we sit on culturally here in South Africa and in the rest of the continent. There is amazing work to be made and we should pioneer it.

Q. What is your favourite subject to photograph? Loca-tion in Africa? Why?

A.The youth culture of Jo-hannesburg and ever-chang-ing social landscape of Johan-nesburg. I have recently been shooting in Kumasi and Accra Ghana, great safe and interest-ing cities in the country that pioneered independence in Sub-Sharan Africa.

A PRO ON GEAR

Michael Lewis

Chris Saunders

| 29

COVER STORY

FOCUS ON AFRICA - PHOTO ARCHIVE

The Photographic Archival Preserva-tion Association (PAPA) is an orga-

nization established to collect, catalogue and archive unique photographic images of his-toric, contemporary, political, social, and cultural importance. We spoke to photographer Gavin Furlonger about his com-mitment to PAPA, unearthing and salvaging undiscovered bodies of photographic work and championing the preserva-tion of South Africa’s collective photographic heritage.

Q. Tell us about your proj-ect archiving photos. Are you archiving commercial photog-raphy exclusively? From what time period?

A. The photographs that in-terest me most are not so much commercial but what I consider valuable to our local heritage. Any image that has a story to tell that is relative to our his-tory immediately inspires my romantic curiosity. I love old stories and a single image can reveal so much about the days gone by and the way the world was in contrast to the way it has become. At the moment the time period that I am concen-trating on is between the1940’s to the turn of the Millenium. More significantly it is the time when analogue photography was the norm and photogra-

phers loaded film in their cam-eras and spent endless hours in the darkroom developing and printing their chosen images. It was an art form, quite unique to its time, and a discipline that re-quired great craftsmanship. It is fair to say that one of my main objectives is to bring attention to the quality of an image in ev-ery aspect as much as the his-torical value.

Q. Why did you decide to un-dertake this project?

A. It all began when I re-turned to Cape Town in the mid 90’s. All too often I would hear about some well known photographer who had passed away and my immediate ques-tion would be what happened to all their work. Considering that a lifetime body of work would probably span some 50 years, or more, that is a lot of imagery that is suddenly lying around ei-ther in filing cabinets or, worse still, in boxes either in the at-tic/basement or, of course the garage. It becomes a daunting decision for the family on what to do with all this and whilst time goes by the transparencies and negatives are slowly erod-ing away. In some cases where there is no immediate family left, the estate is wound up and those boxes end up in some auction house to be eventually rediscovered or, at worst, on some rubbish heap. Therein lies the tragedy -- that possible sig-nificant images that could have been valuable to the making of our history have now been lost forever.

Q. What is the historical sig-nificance of the project?

A. Above all it is my true be-lief that it is the responsibility of every concerned society to collect and preserve all man-ner of records that showcase the significant changes that

have shaped the passages of time right up to its existing days. In the name of posterity every existing and future gen-eration should be made aware of the history of its country’s background. To have access to the records that help them to understand, for better or worse, the past and help shape their future. In times like these when the world is spinning out of control and technology has overwhelmed their lives how important to reflect on the way it was. It should be a necessary part of every child’s early curric-ulum to have that knowledge. It is for this reason that significant photographic images are so very powerful to that process.

Q. Whose responsibility is it to archive photos like these?

A. Primarily this responsibil-ity lies with the appropriate in-stitutions that are allocated to undertake the task of preserving our archives. Various govern-mental archival departments, universities, national muse-ums, libraries, NGO- sponsored and privately funded bodies that are in existence.

Q. How are you preserving the photos?

A. PAPA (www.papasa.co.za) is a small, self funded, one-man, operation, now in existence for some five years, that predomi-nantly aims to contribute to the preservation, and awareness, of important photographic life-works of prominent photogra-phers of a designated time. Fur-thermore, to build a documen-tary of those same people to give an insight to their journey that will give testimony to their enduring craftsmanship.For instance I met just such a photographer, Gunther Kom-nick, some years ago who showed me photographs he had taken in the streets of Cape Town from the mid Fif-ties through to the early Sixties. They were hidden in a box for how long I can’t imagine and are the most compelling images of a world, now forever gone, that existed all around us. This col-lection of hidden treasures has now been compiled into a book that I believe is a legacy that will take its place in our local history for many years to come.

Gavin Furlonger

TCS Ginger Odes

30 |

Q. What will you do with the collection once you are finished?

A. The process of searching, discovering and preserving is a lifelong assignment and has no foreseeable deadline. Having spent over 45 years of my life as a professional pho-tographer and now representing photographers ( www.hurricane-sphoto.co.za ) I am convinced that this has all been in prepara-tion for this undertaking. It is at times quite daunting just knowing how to maintain the level of enthusiasm each and

every day that passes but each time I discover a new treasure I am completely reassured that I am after all on the right road. Hopefully PAPA will become its own recognisedestablishment, and even aligned or allied with one of the bigger Institutions.

Q. What is the most interest-ing photo you have found? Tell us why?

A. It is almost impossible to pick out any single image as being more interesting than another. In the short time that PAPA has been searching through various works I have come across many hundreds of images that have fulfilled a striking criteria from my own point of view. On the other hand each person looking through the collection will be ‘touched’ by a particular image that resonates more than any other for them. Certainly the [one at the beginning of this article]

sits at the top of the list. What grabs me most is that this street scene shot in the 60’s is a spontaneous moment. It was shot by Ginger Odes who, in my opinion was the consum-mate craftsman with an eye for the unusual. It was shot on a Hasselblad which means that it required forethought rather than to simply ‘point and shoot’ as one might with a 35mm camera. It speaks volumes in terms of the moodand style of it’s time in the height of the Apartheid Era in Cape Town and the quality issuperlative.

Q. How can people give you a photo if they would like to?

A. Anyone reading this article, or knows of PAPA’s ex-istence can make contact if they have, or know anyone who has, early photography or what could be considered ‘endangered‘ works. When I say endangered it

refers to the age and sensitiv-ity of the photograph. What we would first do is to research the photographer and consider the body of work and it’s signifi-cance. Archiving photography is a long and tireless process and the first thing that must be established is it’s originality and significance in terms of content. Another important aspect is stories related to any photog-raphers that someone may have that will help lead us to the source or bring constructed information regarding names and events that help to fill in the missing pieces to our ongoing research. All the photographers whose images we work with were discovered throughrefer-rals. For more information on PAPA (Photographic Archival & Preservation Association ), visit

wwwpapasa.co.za

COVER STORY

FOCUS ON AFRICA PHOTO ARCHIVE (continued)

Parade-sales-010-2

32 |

TRENDS

Crowdfunding is a way to raise money for projects collectively – usually through the Internet. A project organizer, a fi lmmaker for instance, creates a “cam-paign” on a crowdfunding web-site to raise a certain amount of money. People who like the project donate money. If the fundraising goal is reached, the project organizer gets the cash and the project moves forward. Since the crowdfund-ing model was launched in America over ten years ago, hun-dreds of millions of dollars have been raised through crowdfund-ing sites, such as GoFundMe, Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. For instance, American fi lmmaker Ryan Koo (NoFilmSchool) raised USD $125 000 (more than his intended $115 000 budget) through Kickstarter for his fi rst feature fi lm Man Child. His suc-cess was due, in part to him gen-erating a strong online following before launching his Kickstarter campaign using his blog and Facebook. But does crowd-funding work for fi lmmakers in Africa? Yes, but so far for projects with a smaller funding goal. Producer Steven Markovitz

(Viva Riva) was involved in the crowdfunded South African fi lm A Boy Called Twist (2002), which was funded by 1000 investors each contributing about USD $191. His newest crowdfunding eff ort, to fund a fi lm called Rolla-ball, which documents the story of a skate soccer team whose members are Ghanaian polio survivors, has raised over USD $38,000 from nearly 300 sup-porters on Kickstarter, making it Kickstarter’s most successful African campaign ever. “Crowd funding has given producers new ways of generating funds for fi lms, and is something the African fi lmmaking community should embrace completely,” says Markovitz. Still, there are chal-lenges to crowdfunding in Africa. People who’ve done it say there are pitfalls to be avoided and obstacles to overcome. Chris Ro-land (ZenHQ), whose fi rst eff ort at raising money through crowd-funding was unsuccessful, says African fi lmmakers should keep in mind that creating a success-ful campaign takes signifi cant eff ort and that the continent has limited internet users and small-er populations with expendable

income. “We created a video and artwork after research revealed that pages without good videos and artwork gen-erally did not succeed,” Chris refl ects, “we were seeking $75 000 and we knew we needed a large number of international contributors. Even with being Kickstarter’s “pick of the week” for the fi rst three days, we noticed we were not getting repeat contributors. We concluded that foreign language fi lms struggle, especially for higher

amounts.” Still, Chris says, crowdfunding can be a valuable resource for those willing to learn how to use it. “It was clear there were challenges,” Chris says, “but we made a decision that the only way we would learn was to go for it. We now under-stand why we weren’t success-ful.” African fi lmmakers need to be mindful that crowdfunding an African language fi lm is challeng-ing without an already existing strong online community and a valued return on investment. So, if you’re an African fi lmmaker who wants to crowd-fund a project, which website should you use? Kickstarter is possibly the largest online crowdfunding platform for fi lm and TV, providing access to a great deal of potential funders, but the number of alternative crowdfunding sites continues to grow. Users should consider where most of their potential funders live. Some sites restrict the currencies used. Kickstarter, for instance, only allows users to raise money in U.S. dollars. Africa now boasts a local alter-native, StartMe (http://www.startme.co.za) in South Africa, but that deals solely in ZAR

Rands. Some fi lmmakers say a global reach is key. South African student fi lm-maker, Kyle Stevenson, used IndieGoGo, which utilizes PayPal accounts, to raise $2400 dol-lars to lengthen his fourth-year sci-fi fi lm There Are No Heroes (2011). “I decided to attempt crowd funding as a last resort. Once the campaign went live, I contacted hundreds of blogs and twitter bloggers from around the world,” says Kyle, “with a focus on Europe, UK and USA. I only got a handful of people to pro-mote the campaign. After fi ve days of no activity, we got our fi rst $100 invest. Then it started moving, and eventually we over-shot our target by $200. This made us the fi rst South African crowd funding campaign to raise over its goal in 30 days (most average 60 days).”Supporters of crowdfunding think it’s a trend that will last, but that it will bring in the most money for fi lmmakers in coun-tries where the government creates legislation that helps it thrive. “We do not have the e-commerce legislation to support crowdfunding in Africa, whereas North America recently passed legislation that allowed Indi-eGoGo and Kickstarter users to off er shares to investors,” says Kyle, who thinks Africa’s crowd-funding muscle can be fully realized when mobile banking is widespread enough to allow easy money transfers by mobile users across the continent. “Brazil is a great example of how they’ve adapted to their cell phone population,” Kyle notes, “the majority of crowdfunding tools are cell phone-based where people in the poor communities have the ability to invest in small businesses.”

CROWDFUNDING - CATCHING ON IN AFRICA

You hear the word at hip cocktail parties, univer-sities, and wifi hotspots where entrepreneurs

congregate. Is it a useful tool for the African fi lmmaking industry or a trend that will soon fi zzle? We found out more about this new fundraising tool.

| 33

TRENDS

CROWDFUNDING... AT A GLANCE

http://www.appsblogger.com/behind-kickstarter-crowdfunding-stats/

http://www.appsblogger.com/behind-kickstarter-crowdfunding-stats/

34 |

MICT SETA

ASSOCIATIONS SPOTLIGHT

POSITIONS FILLING UP FAST!MICT SETA INTERNSHIP1 NOVEMBER 2012 – 31 AUGUST 2013

The Film Industry Learner Mentorship (F.I.L.M.) program still has a few places available for a 10-month MICT Seta Internship - from 1 November 2012 – 31 August 2013. A basic stipend of R3500 per month is provided. Additional monthly top-ups are discretion-ary.

In seeking the final interns, the program is keen to partner with production companies who may wish to take on these top-quality interns for this 10-month period.

The core focus in the not-for-profit F.I.L.M. program – via ac-credited training, hands-on experiential learning and employment channeling - is to provide scarce and critical skills and to place people in the film and electronic media industries.

The MICT Seta Internship is a learning program combining structured learning (which is provided) and hands-on, experiential learning, work experience (which the company and/ or produc-tions provide), leading to a registered qualification.

The focus is primarily, but not exclusively, on previously disad-vantaged individuals. Of vital importance is the fact that the pro-gram is also looking for eligible disabled people for the internship.

The F.I.L.M. program works hand-in-hand with partner com-panies across the industry offering trainees the opportunity to gain priceless learning opportunities, working hands-on on films, television, and in production companies.

The theoretical component of the internship will require 1-2 days per month formal work-shopping & training with F.I.L.M. The

remainder will be fulfilled through the submission of a portfolio of evidence relating to work experience.

Entry-level requirements are broad and applicants require either: A Grade 12 Certificate National Certificate at NQF Level 4; Or a post-Matric tertiary education qualification in film & electron-ic media; or are studying towards said tertiary qualification and have withdrawn for financial reasons.

They should further: be functionally numerate and literate; be computer literate; possess foundational skills in reading and writing English and be fully conversant in English.

Applicants should have experience in film, be passionate about or fully committed to film, electronic & digital media as a sector skills choice.

Required: Certified copy of SA I.D.; Certified copy of highest Grade 12-and-above qualification; An Up-to-date CV

Please contact F.I.L.M. immediately if you would like to participate as a Production Company or as an Intern.

Please contact Sharon Bradshaw or Eddie Davids URGENTLY at F.I.L.M. on 021 4617950 Ext 143 or e-mail them on [email protected] ; [email protected] ; www.filmsa.co.za ; Facebook: Just-call-us-F.I.L.M.;

YouTube: filmsa.

| 35

NFVF


NEED A BASE CAMP IN CONSTANTIA??FALSE BAY RUGBY CLUB OFFERS:

PARKING FOR LARGE UNITS NEAR BROMMERSVLEI RDCLUBHOUSE, KITCHEN AND TOILET FACILITIES

SPORTS CLUB, BAR/PUB ANDFIELD SHOOTING LOCATIONS

PLUS YOU CAN CALL YOUR CREW EARLY –PROVIDE BREAKFAST AND PREP ARTISTS ETC -

AND ENTER CONSTANTIA AT 7AM SHARP

CALL BOB THE MEDIC FOR BOOKINGS+ 27 82 8644 982

[email protected]

False Bay Rugby Football Club

The National Film & Video Foundation (NFVF) is a statutory body mandated by parlia-ment to spearhead the development of the South African fi lm and video industry. The vision of the NFVF is to strive for a quality South African fi lm and video industry that is representative of the nation, commercially viable and encourages development. The NFVF aims to support this by creating an environment that develops and promotes the South African fi lm and video industry, domestically and internationally.

NFVF Concludes 2nd Round of Industry Consultations for SA Film Criteria

NFVF has concluded second round of Industry consultations for the South African fi lm criteria. The sessions were held in Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Durban and Johannes-burg, bringing fi nality to the public consultation process. “During the sessions, we requested participants to provide us with further submis-sions, however, no further information was received by the NFVF after the workshops,” says Aifheli Makhwanya, Head of Policy and Research. Ms. Makhwanya further states that, “the NFVF appreciates all the comments received from the industry since the beginning of the consultation process in December 2009. The process has not been an easy one; however we believe that the industry will benefi t from the introduction of a uniform system that allows for self assessment on local and offi cial co-production projects.”

Once the criteria has been published, the fi rst year will provide the NFVF with an opportunity to further address grey areas and any other chal-lenges that the foundation will encounter during the implementation and monitoring stage.

Reminder for the NFVF Quarterly Call for Application Submissions

The National Film and Video Foundation now issues quarterly calls for applications for funding in the areas of training, marketing and distribu-tion support, script development and production fi nancing. These are aligned to the quarterly meetings of council and are designed to provide the industry with clear deadlines for submissions each quarter.

Call for proposals for NFVF Female Filmmaker Project

The National Film and Video Foundation invites all eligible female fi lmmakers to respond to the Call for Proposals for the production of a low budget fi lm aimed at female fi lmmakers as part of the Tier 2 development process.

Call for proposals for NFVF First Time Filmmaker Project

The National Film and Video Foundation invites all eligible fi rst time fi lmmakers to respond to the Call for Proposals for the production of a low budget fi lm aimed at female fi lmmakers as part of the Tier 2 development process.

| 35

NFVF


NEED A BASE CAMP IN CONSTANTIA??FALSE BAY RUGBY CLUB OFFERS:

PARKING FOR LARGE UNITS NEAR BROMMERSVLEI RDCLUBHOUSE, KITCHEN AND TOILET FACILITIES

SPORTS CLUB, BAR/PUB ANDFIELD SHOOTING LOCATIONS

PLUS YOU CAN CALL YOUR CREW EARLY –PROVIDE BREAKFAST AND PREP ARTISTS ETC -

AND ENTER CONSTANTIA AT 7AM SHARP

CALL BOB THE MEDIC FOR BOOKINGS+ 27 82 8644 982

[email protected]

False Bay Rugby Football Club

The National Film & Video Foundation (NFVF) is a statutory body mandated by parlia-ment to spearhead the development of the South African fi lm and video industry. The vision of the NFVF is to strive for a quality South African fi lm and video industry that is representative of the nation, commercially viable and encourages development. The NFVF aims to support this by creating an environment that develops and promotes the South African fi lm and video industry, domestically and internationally.

NFVF Concludes 2nd Round of Industry Consultations for SA Film Criteria

NFVF has concluded second round of Industry consultations for the South African fi lm criteria. The sessions were held in Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Durban and Johannes-burg, bringing fi nality to the public consultation process. “During the sessions, we requested participants to provide us with further submis-sions, however, no further information was received by the NFVF after the workshops,” says Aifheli Makhwanya, Head of Policy and Research. Ms. Makhwanya further states that, “the NFVF appreciates all the comments received from the industry since the beginning of the consultation process in December 2009. The process has not been an easy one; however we believe that the industry will benefi t from the introduction of a uniform system that allows for self assessment on local and offi cial co-production projects.”

Once the criteria has been published, the fi rst year will provide the NFVF with an opportunity to further address grey areas and any other chal-lenges that the foundation will encounter during the implementation and monitoring stage.

Reminder for the NFVF Quarterly Call for Application Submissions

The National Film and Video Foundation now issues quarterly calls for applications for funding in the areas of training, marketing and distribu-tion support, script development and production fi nancing. These are aligned to the quarterly meetings of council and are designed to provide the industry with clear deadlines for submissions each quarter.

Call for proposals for NFVF Female Filmmaker Project

The National Film and Video Foundation invites all eligible female fi lmmakers to respond to the Call for Proposals for the production of a low budget fi lm aimed at female fi lmmakers as part of the Tier 2 development process.

Call for proposals for NFVF First Time Filmmaker Project

The National Film and Video Foundation invites all eligible fi rst time fi lmmakers to respond to the Call for Proposals for the production of a low budget fi lm aimed at female fi lmmakers as part of the Tier 2 development process.

36 |

ACHEIVEMENTS

AWARDSMAN ON GROUND WINS BEST SOUTH AFRICAN FILM AT THE 10TH TRI CONTI-

NENTAL FILM FESTIVAL

Man on Ground has won the Best South African Film at the 10th Tri Continental Film Festival (TCFF). This year’s festival, which exclusively bases its awards on audience votes, took place from the 7th to the 23rd of September 2012 in Johannesburg, Soweto,

Pretoria and Cape Town.

PENDORING AWARD: LUCIAN BARNARD

Title: DeonAgency: OgilvyProduction Company: 7fi lmsProduct: Pendoring 2011Category: TV/CINEMA (With production budget under R5000 Editor: Lucian BarnardWinnings: SilverDate: September 2011

“Little One” has been selected to represent South Africa for consideration into the Best Foreign Language Film

category of the 85th Oscars

The South African Academy Award Selection Commit-

tee and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) announce the selection of “Little One” for consideration as South Africa’s offi cial entry into the Best Foreign Film

category for the 85th Annual Academy Awards (Oscars). If approved by the Oscars Academy Award Selection Com-

mittee, the fi lm will represent South Africa as the nominee for the 85th Oscars to be held in 2013.

Otelo Burning selected for Brisbane International Film Festival

Local feature fi lm Otelo Burning has been selected for the long fi ction fi lms competition for the Brisbane Interna-

tional Film Festival (BIFF) which is scheduled to take place from the 14th to the 25th of November 2012 in Australia.

BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (BIFF)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM CATEGORY OF THE 85TH OSCARS

RUBY MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL

2012 INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR®

Stuart Forrest of Triggerfi sh Animation Studios, has been recognised for his entrepreneurial excellence and innova-tive business skills by being awarded the 2012 Innovator of the Year® award in the Sanlam / Business Partners

Entrepreneur of the Year ® Competition.

PENDORING AWARDS: LUCIAN BARNARD

Title: Your Hair and Nails can Save the RhinoCategory: TV Awareness documentaryAgency: Lowe BallProduction Company: 7fi lmsEditor: Lucian BarnardWinnings: GoldDate: 2012

James Walsh’s documentary “An Epic Tale” has won the best documentary feature fi lm at the Ruby Mountain

Film Festival in Nevada, USA.An Epic Tale is set against the diverse South African

landscape of the Western Cape and the fi lm showcases the lives of two local professional athletes.

5 AFRICAN FILMMAKERS AWARDED $10,000 THROUGH FOCUS FEA-TURES’ AFRICA FIRST PROGRAM

Focus Features offi cially announced the fi ve winners for its 2012 Africa First Program, an initiative launched in 2008 that is dedicated to providing fi nancial assistance for up-coming African fi lmmakers. The fi lmmakers selected this

year are Vincent Moloi(South Africa) with his fi lm “Berea,” Samantha Nell (South Africa) with her fi lm “One Way Tick-

et,” William Nicholson (South Africa) with “The Second Law,” Jeremiah Mosese (Lesotho) with his fi lm “Moson-goa,” and Ekwa Msangi-Omari (Tanzania) with “Soko.” The fi lms’ subjects range from a neurotic undertaker to a Jewish man living in Johannesburg, to a Kenyan father and daughter, to a teenage girl in stick-fi ghting contest,

to a schoolgirl and her grandmother. All of the shorts are fi lmed in Africa.

| 37

OPPORTUNTIES

2013 INTERNATIONAL DIGITALEMMY® AWARDS COMPETITIONDeadline is Thursday November 1, 2012Digital Award Categories- Digital Program: Children & Young People- Digital Program: Fiction- Digital Program: Non-Fiction

Submission Requirements3 - 7 Minute Video Presentations of your Digital Programs.

For more information contact the International Emmy® Awards Department:Email: [email protected]: +1-212-489-1946www.iemmys.tv

AMAA 2013 Call For Entries The Africa Movie Academy Awards

(AMAA) is calling for feature length films, short and documentary entries for its 2013 edition which will be held in April in Nigeria, home to Nollywood–the world’s third largest film industry.

AMAA is an original African brand that is celebrating the art of filmmaking from all over Africa. Only films produced, premiered or re-leased between December 2011 and November 2012 are eligible,” says Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, Founder and CEO of AMAA. “Features may not exceed 120 minutes and shorts should not be longer than 40 minutes.”

The deadline for submission is December 30, 2012. Submission forms can be download-

ed at www.amaa-awards.com. Nominated films will be announced in February 2013.

ONE Country ONE Film 2013 Call for Films

Entries for the 2013 ONE Country ONE Film International Festival are now open until the 31st of March 2013. The 4th edition of the festival will take place in Apchat in France from the 26th to the 28th of July 2013.

The concept behind ONE Country ONE Film International Festival is that all films selected are the sole (except for the honoured country) representative for their country (coun-try of productionor in some cases country of shooting).Films that can participate:• All categories : Documentaries, fiction,

animation, and experimental films (no music videos, commercials or corporate films)

• All genres (except pornography)• All durations : from short films to feature

lengths films• All shooting formats• All films completed 2 years or less prior to

the festivalFilmmakers can enter their films and view the festival’s regulations by visiting: http://www.onecountryonefilm.com/

Durban Film Office announces the launch of ‘My Reel Stories Monthly Event’ for budding filmmakers

The Durban Film Office will host a monthly networking event for budding filmmakers as of the end of November 2012. The initiative has been designed to meet the growing need to develop a film culture in Durban to support the development of a robust film industry.This exciting new initiative will take place on the last Saturday of every month at Durban’s famous cultural hub, the BAT Centre, and the monthly one -day event will include a workshop programme on scriptwriting, content origina-tion, and the creative, technical, business aspects of the industry such as producing, directing, new technology, funding, distribu-tion, marketing and craft of content creation. In addition the programme will include screen-ings of local and groundbreaking films, and an open pitching session, where budding filmmak-

ers can develop their presentation skills.The initiative forms part of a drive to make local films accessible to a wider audience and is poised to provide a platform for Durban filmmakers to develop their craft, promote their projects, network and collaborate with other filmmakers on new projects.

Durban, ‘My City, My heritage short film making competition’

Runs from 1st of October to the 31st October 2012. Top three films will be selected and will be screened at the inaugural “My Reel Story Event” on the 24th of November 2012 at the Bat Centre. Interested filmmakers have a month to write, shoot and edit a short film or video, the content of the films/videos must have the following key words: Durban, My City, My Heritage. For more information visit: www.durban.gov.za Call for film project applications – SA Season in France 2013 Guidelines

The France – South Africa Seasons 2012 & 2013 is a multifaceted bilateral collaboration between France and South Africa, concluded last year by the heads of states of France and South Africa. The Season’s organizers call upon the citizens of South Africa to submit pro-ject proposals that would reflect the creativity and diversity of our people; projects that the French citizens can interact with daily during the Season May-December 2013.

Guidelines• It is desired for projects to be a collabora-

tion between SA and French production• Projects that do not have a French partner

should discuss the issue with NAC, who will assist in securing a suitable partner

• If a particular production is considered, this must be stipulated

• The South African partner will be obliged to submit a Tax Clearance Certificate to receive funding, if granted.

The closing date for the second round of

funding is 26th of November 2012, for review in December [email protected] and [email protected] [email protected]

CALL FOR ENTRIES 2013 INTERNATIONAL DIGITALEMMY® AWARDS COMPETITION

Emmy award

38 |

DIRECTORY LISTINGS

SUPPLIERS

STILLSCOMPANY REGION TELEPHONE EMAIL WEBSITE

2 Productions Cape Town +27 21 461 1153 [email protected] www.2prod.com

African Imagery Durban +27 82 829 5852 [email protected] www.africanimagery.com

Beachhouse Productions Cape Town +27 21 461 4858 [email protected] www.bhproductions.co.za

Big Sky Productions Cape Town +27 21 423 2144 [email protected] www.bigskyprod.com

BLM Productions Durban +27 31 207 8117 [email protected] www.blmsa.co.za

Cape Town Productions Cape Town +27 21 464 4500 [email protected] www.ctprod.co.za

Cool Banana Production Cape Town +27 21 425 7900 [email protected] www.coolbanana.co.za

Evidencia Africa Productions Cape Town +27 21 702 4947 [email protected] www.evidencia.co.za

First Productions Cape Town +27 21 461 5911 [email protected] www.firstproductions.co.za

Hurricanes Photographers Agency Cape Town +27 83 594 8959 [email protected] www.hurricanesphoto.co.za

Magic Mountain Productions Cape Town +27 21 465 4143 [email protected] www.magicmountainprod.com

Nomad Production House Cape Town +27 21 461 1300 [email protected] www.nomadprod.com

One Productions Cape Town +27 84 663 5990 [email protected] www.oneproductions.co.za

Prinz Productions Cape Town +27 21 447 7437 [email protected] www.prinzproductions.com

Steel Productions Cape Town +27 21 430 5788 [email protected] www.steel.co.za

Townsend Productions Cape Town +27 21 434 4955 [email protected] www.townsendproductions.co.za

Bird On A Wire Cape Town +27 21 448 5809 [email protected] www.birdonawire.co.za

One League Creative Management Cape Town +27 21 462 7607 [email protected] www.oneleague.co.za

The Fotofactory Photographic Agency Cape Town +27 21 423 2268 [email protected] www.fotofactory.co.za

Roodebloem Studios Cape Town +27 21 447 6326 [email protected] www.roodebloemstudios. co.za

Sunshine Company Cape Town +27 21 465 8262 [email protected] www.sunshinecompany.co.za

Media Film Services Johannesburg +27 11 258 5000 [email protected] www.mediafilmservice.com

Orms Direct Cape Town +27 21 465 3573 [email protected] www.ormsdirect.co.za

Cameraland Cape Town +27 21 423 4150 www.cameraland.co.za

Photo Hire & Sourcing Cape Town +27 21 462 6933 [email protected] www.photohire.co.za

SACamera Cape Town +27 21 418 4885 [email protected] www.sacamera.co.za

Singer Photographic Services Johannesburg +27 11 791 2208 [email protected] www.singerphoto.co.za

Red Hot Ops Johannesburg +27 11 463 4408 [email protected] www.rho.co.za

Flash Photo Cape Town +27 21 418 0618 [email protected] www.flashphoto.co.za

Direct Photographic Cape Town +27 11 421 3224 [email protected] www.directphotographic.co.za

| 39

DIRECTORY LISTINGS

ADVERTISERSCOMPANY REGION TELEPHONE EMAIL WEBSITE

Aon Nationwide +27 11 944 7290 [email protected] ww.aon.co.za

Bidvest Premier Lounge Nationwide +27 86 124 3247 www.bidvestlounge.co.za

Media Film Service Nationwide +27 21 511 3300 [email protected] www.mediafilmservice.co.za

Off the Fence Cape Town +27 21 468 6050 [email protected] www.offthefence.com

Media Gear Cape Town +27 21 802 0709 [email protected] www.pinnacleav.co.za

Roodebloem Studios Cape Town +27 21 447 6326 [email protected] www.roodebloemstudios.co.za

Sitewise Cape Town +27 21 447 3151 [email protected] www.sitewise.co.za

UVS Nationwide +27 21 686 2404 [email protected] www.uvsrent.co.za

Wizardz Cape Town +27 21 461 9334 [email protected] www.wizardz.co.za

Aquila Private Game Western Cape +27 21 430 87260 [email protected] www.aquilasafari.co.za

IDC /Mindshare Johannesburg +27 11 269 3813 [email protected]

Capital Medical Services Cape Town + 27 82 8644 982 [email protected] www.falsebayrugby.co.za

Jameson First Shot Nationwide +27 21 405 8800 [email protected] www.jamesonfirstshot.com

Mandela Rhodes Place Cape Town 27 (0)21 481 4044 [email protected] www.mandelarhodesplace.co.za

the callsheet - september

Documents

fi lm industry

short fi lm

year africa

aspiring fi lmmakers

sa visas15 discop africa

new category

years awards

years loeries