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AFDA (The South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance) hosts Holiday Workshop on March 29

Following numerous requests by prospective students, AFDA (The South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance) Durban will host another Holiday Workshop, on March 29 from 08:30 to 16:30. Prospective students who are in Grade 11 or 12 or have already matriculated and are keen to experience a day in the life of a career in entertainment, whether in film, television or acting, are encouraged to attend.

The Holiday Workshop will provide prospective students with a taste to key information and skills that are important in creating a good entertainment product, whether this is about performance or making films or TV productions.  A series of masterclasses will be given and  participants will be have an opportunity to experience how to conceptualise a scene from a movie or TV show, and then go about shooting it in the afternoon.

 

The AFDA Campus is situated in Glen Anil, Durban North and boasts a strong line up academic staff drawn from the film and live performance industries who will host the workshop.

 

The workshop costs R60 per person and includes a light lunch. Space is limited and attendance is on a first come first served basis – so booking is essential. 

Prospective students can contact Milena or Purity at the Durban campus for more information and making a booking. (dbncampus@afda.co.za / 031 569 2252). For more info about the school go to www.afda.co.za

 

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Westville Girls High School presents THE WIZ with help from some of Durban’s top theatre personalities

As part of its celebration of 50 years of excellence, Westville Girls’ High School presents the groovy, soulful and feisty version of the classic tale of Dorothy’s journey to Emerald City, The Wiz from Friday, March 21 to March 27.

 

The Wiz, the urbanized retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which is present by kind permission of DALRO, promises great entertainment for the whole family as the audience is taken down the yellow brick road with ever-earnest but resolute Dorothy, scaredy-cat Lion who seeks some courage, a rusty Tinman who seeks a heart and the adorable Scarecrow who joins this motley crew in the hopes that he will get some brains from the Wiz.

 

“We are thrilled to present this delightful musical production as part of our 50th celebrations,” says Catherine Raw, Principal of WGHS. “We chose a musical to give our pupils the opportunity to showcase the huge variety of talent they possess and to involve as many girls as possible.”

 

Over 100 girls from the school are performing in the musical with some male contrinbutions  from Westville Boys High. The show is directed by drama teacher Claire Spinelli assisted by Roxanne Fuller, with costume co-ordination by Chelsea-Rae Martin.

 

The show boasts involvement of top Durban theatre professionals with Evan Roberts as musical director,  set by well-known Durban theatre personality Bryan Hiles and graphics by MC, poet and artist Ewok Robinson.  Award-winning lighting designer Michael Broderick adds his ambient-magic to the show and the technical stage management is being run by Jane Cross and Megan Levy of Darkhorse Productions.  Some impressive choreography by Lyn Tottem and Chantal Laubscher of ‘The Studio’ allows the talented cast of learners to shine in a variety of dance forms including ballet, tap and hip hop.

 

This updated and vibrant musical of the timeless tale of determination againast all odds, will be presented in the WGHS new Mary Johnstone Centre, which will be transformed into a unique performance space.

 

Shows are at 7pm on March 21, 24, 26 (special Gala/VIP performance) and 27 with matinees on March 22 at 2pm, March 25 at 3.30pm and a special performance for primary schools on March 27 at 10am. 

 

Tickets are R50 for adults and R30 for scholars with a special price of R20 for the primary schools’ production and can be booked through the school on 031-2661258 or emailed to  tickets@wghs.co.za.

 

For more information go to the Facebook site Westville Girls’ High School High – Alma Mater

 

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FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY presents “fragile”

Durban’s inimitable FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY begins its 11th year in 2014 with a full blown performance season of new dance works to lure, cajole, amuse and sheer-out entertain audiences. Entitled ‘fragile’, this dance season, which takes place from 12 to 15 March at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, features the pairing up of long time choreographic partners David Gouldie and Lliane Loots. Both of them have enjoyed, with FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY, two previous joint seasons together, the first of which (“Premonitions”) saw them being awarded the prestigious KZN DanceLink award for choreography.

While Gouldie and Loots have divergent choreographic styles and roots, the two have found a working synergy that speaks of mutual respect and a deep understanding of the need to truly honour the power of the South African dancing body to tell stories. ‘fragile’ offers a contemplative and highly charged season of new dance theatre. With 20 years of democracy being celebrated, Gouldie and Loots, and the incomparable talent of the 6 resident FLATFOOT dancers (Sifiso Khumlo, Tshediso Kabulu, Sifiso Majola, Jabu Siphika, Julia Wilson and Zinhle Nzama), begin to pick apart any grand images of rainbows and dive fearlessly into the personal and political waters of our 20 years of good dreams and painful nightmares. 

Gouldie’s history is one flowing with a career in ballet and with a reputation for being the “naughty boy of South African Ballet”, Gouldie has never been shy of taking the form – so deeply loved – and twisting and tweaking it; sometimes violently and sometimes with such humour that audiences have laughed their way out of the auditorium. His theatrical flair has seen him recently choreograph some of South Africa’s national biggest musical successes, from Evita to High School Musical. He comes to this season with FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY with a dance theatre work unabashedly entitled “dusting off my history”. In a flourish of ironic and, at times, self-depreciating humour, Gouldie looks back to his own South African ballet and dance history - written on and with his body – in a dance work that appears quirky and humorous but which shifts like dark and faded images trapped in a broken antique mirror; a mirror Gouldie has never been afraid to turn on himself. Gouldie has the FLATFOOT dancers embellishing all of his classical ballet history to the point of intense comedy, and then it takes a turn and we, the audience, are left breathless as we glimpse a fragile and wounded heart trying so hard to find home.

Lliane Loots, artistic director and resident choreographer to FLATFOOT, is no stranger to Durban audiences and has a reputation for offering slightly risky political dance theatre that has caused no end of ruckus these past 11 years of FLATFOOT professional history. Her work has toured the world where her bold choreographic voice and vision for FLATFOOT, has seen her and the company receive numerous international and local awards and commissions. Never shy to “tell it like it is”, Loots has recently started working on more personal and intimate dance journeys.

For the season ‘fragile’, Loots has created a work called “the inheritance of loss” and is a profound reflection of her own, and FLATFOOT’s, history. Rather than a single narrative or story, “the inheritance of loss”, offers small fragmented moments of personal and political history and memory, that, when weaved together on the stage, offer a ruminating internal monologue. Edging close to sadness, fragility and loss, this dance work is, ultimately, like all art, an act of love that asks if more is possible? While this is a brooding work, Loots reminds us that the ability to use our art to go to difficult places and ask hard questions is – in the end – the triumph of 20 years of democracy.

Exulting the 6 resident FLATFOOT dancers Loots says, “my dance work would not be possible without the in-put of the FLATFOOT dancers. Not only is it their bodies that get on stage and defend my choreographic visions and dreams, but working with them is a profound negotiation of the histories we wish to tell, those forgotten and those unspoken. I rely on them to be my internal compass when we make work together; they are quick to remind me to question and to ask me why – what a glorious gift for an artist”.

“the inheritance of loss” also features Loots in collaboration once again with local Durban filmmaker Karen Logan. Logan has worked alongside Loots for over 6 years on various dance theatre works and brings with her a filmic sensitivity that layers Loots’s dance visions.

“fragile’ (supported by project funding from the National Arts Council of South Africa) runs from the 12 to 16 March with shows at 7.30pm each evening and a 3pm matinee on Sunday 16 March. Booking is open at COMPUTICKET and tickets cost between R60 – R85.

Thursday’s performance (13 March @ 7.30pm) features a special after show “DANCE TALKS BACK” hosted by awarding winning arts journalist Adrienne Sichel in conversations with Loots, Gouldie and the dancers. This is a unique opportunity to listen to the dancers and choreographers unpack and answer questions about their work. Sichel comes to Durban as a guest from The Ar(t)chive at the  Wits School of Arts.

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AFDA Durban Campus Invests in new Facilities and Technical Gear

Investing heavily in the quality of its educational programme and students’ creative output, the AFDA Durban Campus has recently spent over R 1, 2 Million to add to their technical equipment and campus facilities.

 

All post-production facilities have been furnished with new workstations, the library has couches, and the entire campus sees 150 new chairs and new signage on all venues along with the inclusion of a new 5.1 surround sound studio.   Editing, sound and visual effects studios see a number of new iMac machines installed with the latest industry software.   A new 5.1 Mix Surround Sound Suite has been kitted with the latest sound equipment ranging from perception 220 microphones, cross-faders, 20 channel sound-card to the new Avid Control software as well as a sound-proofed voice-over / Foley recording studio which enables filmmakers to reproduce everyday sound effects and quality voice over dialogue which are added to film, video and other mediums in post-production to enhance audio quality.

 

The Actor’s Studio has also seen an extension with a new fully equipped stage being installed and is fitted with high powered Par Can LED lights, Axial spot lights, Fresnel lanterns with barn doors and a control desk for all electrical equipment.

 

The most exciting, high tech equipment has been acquired for the Film School with the cinematography department receiving the latest camera equipment - some of the exciting gadgets include pocket sized Black Magic cinema cameras which record 1080HD ProRes 422 (HQ) direct to fast SD cards for quick editing or colour correcting on a laptop or pc, along with a steadicam and a DJI Phantom helicam with a GoPRo for overhead filming. 

 

AFDA Durban Campus Dean and Chief Operating Officer, Franco Human said “The new additions to an already successful learning program, are a clear indication that our campus is on a par with our Johannesburg and Cape Town Campuses who are considered to be above international standards when it comes to educational content and the production of film content”.

 

The AFDA Durban Campus will also be hosting an Open Day on Saturday, 08 March for students interested in enrolling into either their first, second or 3rd year programme. For more information on the event or about AFDA you can contact Milena Gevers on (031) 569-2252 or e-mail her on milenag@afda.co.za.

 

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AFDA Durban Campus’ New Faces

New faces join the AFDA Durban Campus this year to bolster the already impressive lecturing line up with a mixture of experience and youth.

 

 

Respected and well-known television personality Carmen Langston Mitchell joins the Durban team with a wealth of experience and will be lecturing and mentoring first and second year television students. Langston Mitchell has an impressive career in the media industry, having worked locally and internationally as a producer, director, scriptwriter and presenter for programmes including “Top Billing” on SABC 3, “The Cosmo Show” and “Carte Blanche” on M-Net, “60 minutes”, BBC’s “Changing Rooms”, BBC’s “Newsround” and “BBC World News”. She also worked as a social editor and features writer for Style Magazine and was the celebrity lifestyle columnist for Media 24’s YOU Magazine.

 

Former AFDA Cape Town Campus student, Ashleigh Hart who obtained an AFDA Bachelor of Arts Honours in Motion Picture Medium joins the Screen Design Department in the school of film as Costume, Make Up and Styling & Production Design Lecturer. Ashleigh recently won Gold at the AFDA 2013 Awards for Costume, Make-up and Styling for the film The Other Woman (an Honours Graduation Film) directed by former AFDA Cape Town Campus student Thea Small as well as Best Postgraduate Film and the Critics Choice Award. During postgraduate year at AFDA she also worked on the feature film Die Windpomp, as well as a Ster-Kinekor Vision Mission commercial.

 

New Marketing Assistant, Purity Shezi-Magaya joins the Marketing Department headed by Milena Gevers at the AFDA Durban Campus. Having graduated with a National Diploma in Marketing Management, Purity comes with a bag of experience having worked with the Vodacom KZN Regional offices and working with various brands at The Creative Council promotions agency.

 

Franco Human, Dean of the AFDA Durban Campus commented “We welcome the new staff to the Durban Campus. I am sure that they will add much value to their respective departments. It’s our second year since our opening of this campus and we look forward to adding to the benchmark set by our first intake of students.”

 

Registration for AFDA Durban is open till Friday, 07 February. For registration details and general information call (031) 569-2252 or e-mail milenag@afda.co.za.

 

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GO!Durban starts moving towards its delivery of the IRPTN.

The GO!Durban project which will provide a fully integrated rapid public transport network for the people of eThekwini has started to roll-out ahead of major milestones in the first quarter of 2014. The City’s future vision to be one of Africa's leading metropolitan areas by 2030 will soon revolutionize and modernize the way of life for all citizens, tourists and business people travelling through our City.

The award of 6 construction contracts to the value of R 3 billion for the C3 (Pinetown to Bridge City) corridor will take place shortly. The 7th contractor is already on site. Tenders for construction on corridors C1 (Bridge City to CBD) and C9 (Bridge City to Umhlanga) are scheduled to be advertized before the end of the financial year. Tenders for the Integrated Fare Management Services (IFMS) and (Intelligent Transport System (ITS) have already been advertised, and should be awarded by May 2014. The commencement of construction, consolidation of the ”Muvo” card (the cashless card system), engaging with community stakeholders, businesses and the eThekwini citizens, as well as the launch of a mobile marketing bus will drive the project in early 2014.

The roll-out of GO!Durban is based on a “wall to wall” plan, which details a network of 9 trunk corridors supported by feeder and complimentary services covering the whole City, with different modes of public transport (rail, bus and taxi) integrated to provide seamless, efficient and affordable service. Phase 1, which consists of C1, C2 (Bridge City to Umlazi – rail), C3 and C9 corridors, is planned for completion by 2018.

The Phase 1 network will accommodate approximately 25% of the City’s public transport demand on corridors C1, C3 & C9, with a further 40% being accommodated on the C2 rail corridor, as part of Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) implementation plans. This approach ensures a recognisable benefit to the maximum number of users in the shortest period of time.

Construction on the C3 corridor will see construction of dedicated median bus lanes, as well as platforms for transfer stations, which will be built under a separate contract. On some sections of the corridor, like through the Pinetown CBD, the road will be rehabilitated, strengthened and widened, as necessary, and current traffic problems in the area addressed.

The commencement of construction activities will also mark the start of the implementation of the GO!Durban Empowerment Charter, which promotes participation of priority business entities in all contracts, subcontracting to local contractors , and sourcing of materials from local suppliers. The Charter also promotes the utilization of local unskilled labour, skills development, employment of unemployed graduates, and corporate social investment.

Negotiations with existing minibus taxi and bus operators with regard to their participation in the GO!Durban system will be crucial for the success of the system. Consultation between the ETA and operators has been ongoing for quite some time. The primary aim of this consultation has been to achieve in principle support for the new system, as well as set out the framework and principles to guide the negotiations around service delivery contracts to be signed with operators. Memoranda of Agreement between the City and the operators are planned for signing in the near future.

PRASA (Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa) continues to drive the improvements along the C2 Corridor, with approximately R1bn being earmarked for upgrade of their stations as part of the National Modernization Programme. Additional investments will go toward upgrading the signalling system and infrastructure on the corridor, as well as the acquisition of new rolling stock, with delivery of new train sets expected to start toward the end of 2015.

The GO!Durban activation bus has been launched which provides a mobile promotional and information platform to engage with communities, schools and public forums from meetings to events to disseminate information about the project. The bus was launched at the ETA by His Worship The Mayor Cllr James Nxumalo and Head of ETA Mr Thami Manyathi.

“As GO!Durban will have a significant impact on every single one of our citizens,  we  wish to extend our communication into the heart of as many communities as we can.” said Cllr Nxumalo, “While we will have an information centre at our project office in Morningside, and we have numerous engagements planned with stakeholders, we want to be able to speak to as many people as we can, to inform them about  the project, to help them understand the benefits of the new system, and to get them excited about their future, living in the city. This activation bus will mean that we are mobile, and accessible to an optimum number of the people in the city.”

The vehicle was used for transport between the Airport and Moses Mabhida Stadium for the World Cup and has been customised to provide information screens, a Muvo card machine and mobile PA system for interactive and experiential promotions in all environments. The Bus will activate information days to communities and schools prior to the roll out of the GO!Durban system.

Access to more information on Tender Applications, Construction, Information Days, Community engagement and other public forums or engagements can be found on the GO!Durban website www.godurban.co.za

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Flatfoot Dance Company Auditions

Award winning African contemporary dance company, Flatfoot Dance Company, will be hosting auditions on Saturday, 25 January from 13:30pm – 16:00pm at the Dance Studio 2 located at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Howard College Campus for prospective full time dancers who would be interested in joining the company.

 

Based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College Campus the Flatfoot Dance Company are looking for a female dancer (over 19 years of age) who would be interested in joining the company on a full-time professional contract (35 hours a week) as of 1 February 2014. The company has a full time annual programme that includes performance season both in and out of South Africa, dance education and development programmes, and schools/university dance education work. Working in a contemporary idiom based on Hawkins, Graham and Release Technique and also do a weekly ballet and pilates/yoga class. All flatfoot dancers form part of the administration of the company and its programmes and, as such, the new company member will need to be able to write reports (guidance is always offered!) and assist with negotiated administrative tasks.

 

Applicants must have a minimum of two years full time or part-time contemporary dance training or professional dance work, proven dance or arts education experience (formal or non-formal education will be considered). Only applicants over the age of 19 will be considered and must be computer literate and must have a valid South African Passport. Drivers licence is not a must but will be advantageous for applicants.

 

For more information on the auditions and to pre-book an audition please contact the flatfoot dance company manager Clare Craighead on (082) 875-6065, applicants are also required write a maximum 3 page CV and e-mail it to flatfootdancecompany@gmail.com more information on the auditions is available on www.flatfootdancecompany.webs.com/whatsonwhatsnew. 

AFDA Durban Campus Awards


South of the West, a first year student’s Western Film took home Best First Year Film Award at the inaugural Durban AFDA year end awards on Campus last Friday.

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The awards ceremony was an intimate celebration of the pioneering group of first year students who enrolled in AFDA’s Durban campus at the beginning of this year. Excellence was acknowledged in the following categories: Best First Year Film, Best First Year Animation, Best Television Production, Best Song, Best Group Document Pitch, CLVA Award (student representative body) and most Dedicated Student. “All the students’ awards were nominated through the marks they received for the projects or individual work for the individual awards.  The CLVA award is for the student who is on the CLVA committee who has shown the values of AFDA and voted for by the students in the council” said AFDA Durban Campus Dean, Franco Human.

The keynote speaker at the Awards was AFDA co-founder and CEO, Mr Bata Passchier who congratulated the students on their difficult and enjoyable journey as the pioneering group of students at the Campus. He also went on to thank staff members at the campus along with the parents of the students by saying, “The task of an excellent teacher is to stimulate seemingly ordinary minds into unusual effort and guide them to their success, and it is no easy task.  After a short journey we all sit here this morning overwhelmed with pride and I would like to congratulate the staff and students for getting this far.  A special thanks and congratulations need to be extended to your parents.  Without their support none of this would be possible”. 

Lloyd O’Connor, Head of the Performance School commented by saying “Bryce Courtney, the author of The Power of One, once said, ‘Winning is a state of mind that embraces everything you do’. Reflecting on this I think to one degree or another all the students are winners but those who won awards had an extra edge. What it means to win for a performer in any discipline is nothing short of a self-actualising experience.”
In his first year project straight out of the Wild West, Nathan Rice, first time director and writer wanted to pay homage to the great Hollywood Westerns, but with a distinctly South African subtext. Our hero, played by Zwakele Majozi enters what seems to be a “whites only” bar, he asks for Whiskey. Super bad cowboy played by AFDA student Charles Matthews, confronts him and a shoot- out ensues. Our hero shoots  dead the bad cowboy and his two cohorts. He again asks for Whiskey, and Whiskey comes in the door - turns out she’s the local good time girl  - and they leave the bar hand in hand, watched by a bemused barman. “The film is slick, well shot, great production design and almost flawless continuity in lighting, shot selection and performance. These disciplines along with the editing, VFX and sound design have set a bench mark for first year films” said Lecturer Richard Green, Head of the Film School.

Other winners on the night were Man In a Box for Best Group Pitch, Kryptoheight for Best First Year Animation, 031 Pulse for Best Television Production, Do Not Disturb for Best Stage Performance, Lauren Flockhart for Best Song, Anja Schuulst for the CLVA Award and Temara Prem for Most Dedicated Student.

Applications and registrations for AFDA’s first year students for 2014 are open. To apply, register for enrollment or find out more information contact Milena on milenag@afda.co.za.
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The Legend of Blue Mamba a graphic novel created by N.D. Mazin - Durban launch December 6 at KZNSA

To be launched at the KZNSA Arts Café in Bulwer Road, Durban, on Friday 6 December at 6pm, The Legend of Blue Mamba a graphic novel created by N.D. Mazin (aka Andy Mason) is a wild and wacky look at the South African surfing scene, wrapped up in a horror comic about a legendary surfer’s valiant struggle against the exploitation of surf culture by big business and the not-so-secret plundering of our coastal resources by international mining companies. 

The story began in the mid-1990s when Andy created his own Blue Mamba surf brand for his pre-teen sons and their surf-mad friends, but soon found its way into a Durban surf mag, before becoming an underground comic series published in the Durban fanzine Mamba Comix. The strip then morphed into the web-comic Azaniamania on the surfing website wavescape.co.za, before taking its final shape as a colourful graphic novel in which all of these previous strips are collected alongside a substantial addition of new material.

Drawn in the classic underground comix style pioneered by Gilbert Shelton and R. Crumb, the book documents the rise and fall of Blue Mamba, a homeless urchin who becomes a wave-riding champ and legendary soul surfer before being lured by Y.T. Sharke, the Mephistophelian CEO of Toxacorp (Pty) Ltd, into selling his face to be used in the branding of their toxic products.

When he tries to back out of this Faustian pact, Blue’s face is literally “ripped off” and he is left faceless and bleeding in the gutters of a sleazy Durban precinct known as Nu Babylon. Determined to get his face back, he becomes SubCommandante Mamba of the World Revolutionary Ecological Combat Kabal (WRECK) and mounts a fierce but ultimately doomed “armed struggle” against Toxacorp.

According to Andy, “Blue Mamba is a chameleonic repository of our deepest hopes, fears and contradictions. I suppose in the end the book asks the question: how can we live as authentic beings in a world where our heroes become brand ambassadors for corporate enterprises motivated purely by greed, our most treasured beliefs are trashed by cynical manipulators, and our everyday lives are a constant involuntary participation in the reproduction of more toxic garbage? What can we as individuals do to sort out this terrible mess?” 

Now living in Muizenberg, Cape Town, Andy has been producing underground, alternative and educational comics since his “Vittoke in Azania” series first appeared in student newspapers in the late 1970s. His strips still feature many of the same characters, including The Vittokes, a new-age Durban family headed by a hippie surfer and a fanatical nudist.

Over the years, Andy has produced a cartoon history of South Africa, a series of illustrated Street Law manuals and numerous educational comics, has written a book on the history of South African cartooning and published a number of anthologies of local comix and political cartoons, and promoted the use of cartooning in popular education. While in Durban he co-founded Artworks Communications, and established the Durban Cartoon Project and Mamba Comix, where a new post-apartheid generation of South African cartoonists first saw their work in print. More recently he co-founded the Centre for Comic, Illustrative and Book Arts (CCIBA) at Stellenbosch University and continues to organise collaborative cartooning events and publications.

Now, keen to get his comix out to a more mainstream audience, Andy has embarked on the self-publication of The Azaniamania Trilogy, a collection of 30 years of underground cartooning work, of which Blue Mamba is the first book. The book, along with Blue Mamba merchandise including posters and T-shirts, will be on sale at the launch and at the KZNSA shop.

Guest speaker for the launch on Friday, December 6 at 6pm is Andy Davis, publisher of Mahala.co.za and Zigzag Surf Mag, and music will be provided by Chappy and the Chunemungers, featuring Andy’s close friends Chris Chapman, Ilan Lax, Rick and Gill Andrew, with special guest Alan Judd.

Copies of the book can be purchased online from readersden.co.za or blankbooks.co.za, and is available in Cape Town from Readers Den, The Book Lounge, Clarke’s Books and Blank Books. It will soon also be available from selected bookshops in Durban and Johannesburg. Visit www.ndmazin2.wordpress.com for more info.

AFDA Annual Film Festival November 22, 23 and 24 – Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg

The AFDA Annual Film Festival, which showcases 3rd year, 4th year and master's graduation productions, will take place in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg the last weekend in November.

 

The festival is also a platform to promote the young professionals who will soon enter into the mainstream film and television industry. Students are required to conceptualize and produce their graduation films that, while of an artistically high standard are also commercially viable. At the festival a panel of industry professionals assesses the films and there are also opportunities for audiences to give feedback. The festival sees many industry professionals; alumni and general public gathering to celebrate the exhibition and promotion of these young film makers and their films at Ster-Kinekor in their commercial cinemas.

 

Last year student films such as ‘Kanye Kanye’ directed by Miklas Manneke, ‘Jean Pant’ directed by Rowen Smith, ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ directed by Thea Small and ‘The Brave Unseen’ co directed by Duan Myburgh attracted attention from major festivals such as the 34th Durban International Film Festival,  the New York City Picture Start Film Festival and others.

 

In addition the Cape Town AFDA campus will also showcase the work of the third and fourth Year School of Television students on November 18 at 17:00 for 18:00 till 22:30, food and beverage will be available. Working within the genre of the telenovela, third year students have written, produced and edited two stories. These projects are entirely the students’ own work: from conceptualizing the storyline, creating characters, set building and design, to the final product. Guests will have the opportunity to view a live broadcast of these two offerings on CTV Channel 263 on the DSTV.

 

Also in Cape Town the fourth years’ work takes on the form of the Documentary.  And once again these stories were conceived, set-up, scripted, shot and edited entirely by the students.  The film makers have approached issues and topics ranging from the despair of drug addiction and the sometimes successful search for hope and regeneration (Turning Point), to accepting the “call” to be a sangoma in the modern day post-Apartheid South Africa, (Isilawu), as well as attempting to address the sticky issue of informal settlements set against the backdrop of the fundamental right to own and protect one’s property (Isiqalo).

 

“This year’s festival will be just as exciting as in previous years,” says Garth Holmes, AFDA Chairman and co-founder, “Students have really put everything into their projects and I look forward to seeing their work on the big screen in a formal cinema and with a willing audience.”

 

The Film Festival takes place in Johannesburg at the Rosebank Cinema Nouveau on Friday and Saturday 22 and 23 November, in Cape Town at the V & A Cinema Nouveau on Saturday and Sunday 23 and 24 November and at the AFDA Durban Campus at 2A Highdale Road, Glen Anil in Glenashley on Saturday, 23 November. Tickets are R20 per screening in Cape Town, R25 in Johannesburg and R20 once-off festival entry in Durban.

 

For more information contact AFDA Johannesburg on (011) 482-8345, AFDA Durban on (031) 569-2252, AFDA Cape Town on (021) 448-7600 or log onto www.afda.co.za. The student films will be available on line on the website after the festival.

 

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Janet van Eeden's Double Shot At The Big Time

AFDA Durban Campus lecturer in Production Course, Academic Coordinator and Script Writing, Janet van Eeden has been invited to pitch her project at this year’s London Screen Writers Festival from 25 to 27 October and her lead actor Bradley Backhouse will pitch A Shot at the Big Time at the SME Funding Fair which will also be held in Pietermaritzburg on Friday, 25 October at the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business.

Hosted by Regent’s University in the heart of London, the London Screen Writer’s Festival is considered the greatest screen writers festival in the world. The festival is for writers & filmmakers, with insights into the screenwriting and filmmaking process as well as workshops and talks from top industry professionals along with pitching sessions. The Festival which is owned and operated by London Creative Festivals Ltd was launched in 2010 by Chris Jones, the filmmaker and director of The Guerilla Hanbook. Janet van Eeden and seventeen other writers and filmmakers from around the world have been selected to ‘Meet the Experts’ at this year’s festival out of 150 entries. “It is a great opportunity for me to pitch my project and find out different ways to source funding for the feature film, I am completely excited about going to this wonderful event,” said the screenwriter of White Lion, Janet van Eeden.

The panel of experts which David Nicholas Wilkinson has run annually since 1999 makes its debut at the LSF. The panel includes Producer David Nicholas Wilkinson, the founder and current owner of the Guerilla companies, David has participated in almost one hundred film panels chairing over thirty of them at the BAFTA, Screen Yorkshire, Screen South, Bradford, Galway Film Fleadh and many more. He also has devised and chaired MEET THE EXPERTS at the Edinburgh Film Festival with senior financiers, producers, commission editors and sales agents for over a decade.

British screenwriting team Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle also form part of the panel of experts, they first broke into the business by writing and selling a spec script, Newton’s Law, which then led to 14 further movie commissions from US studios such as Warner Bros, Universal, Laika and Intermedia; and UK companies such as Working Title, Pathe and BBC Films. Their shows have earned numerous awards and nominations, including… three BAFTA nominations, two Royal Television Society Awards and two RTS nominations for Going Postal; nomination for Outstanding Motion Picture Made for TV at the US Satellite Awards for Kidnapped; nomination for Best TV Series Drama at the Satellite Awards for Primeval.

Wrapping up the panel is Financier Gavin Poolman, born in Canada, Gavin graduated with an Honours B.A. in French Language and Literature from Trinity College, University of Toronto. Originally a software developer working on government and private sector contracts, after moving to the UK and graduating from the London Film School, he worked as an acquisitions and finance executive within Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas’s Film Trustees/Glinwood Group, where he was involved in the financing and licensing of The Sheltering Sky, Naked Lunch, A Rage In Harlem, Howard’s End and The Crying Game. In 1994, Gavin was appointed Head of Development at sales agency Mayfair Entertainment International (Jefferson in Paris, Vanya On 42nd Street, Richard III).

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Poetry Africa - Prelude Poet Programme

17th Poetry Africa

International Poetry Festival

14-19 October 2013

Poetry Africa Prelude Poet Programme

The Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal), with principal funding from the City of Durban and the Department of Arts and Culture, calls out to the Durban’s creative and undiscovered poets to take part in the festival Prelude Poets programme as part of the 17th Poetry Africa International Festival.

The Poetry Africa festival, now in its 17th edition, takes place from 14 to 19 October 2013. The festival brings together some of the world’s finest poets and musicians to Durban, with artists from India, Nigeria, Ireland, Italy and The United States of America.

The 17th Poetry Africa, International Poetry Festival is looking for four of Durban’s brightest undiscovered poets to take part in Poetry Africa Prelude Poet programme. The programme gives the city’s creative and original poets the opportunity to showcase their hidden talents to audiences at the country’s premier poetry festival.

Participants will be required to audition original works with a five minute limit. Auditions are to take place at The Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal Howard College Campus) on 13 September 2013. Auditions and will be assigned on a first-come-first-serve basis. To book an audition time, please send an email with your name and contact details with the Poetry Africa Prelude Auditions in the subject title to paprelude2013@gmail.com

For more details about this year’s Poetry Africa, visit www.cca.ukzn.ac.za or call (031) 2602506

Organised by the Centre for Creative Arts(University KwaZulu-Natal), the 17th Poetry Africa is funded by the City of Durban and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture. The Centre for Creative Arts is housed in the College of Humanities at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The CCA is a special project of the newly appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Cheryl Potgieter, in the College of Humanities at UKZN.

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General Enquiries:

Phone: +27 (0)31 260 2506/1816

Fax:+27 (0)31 260 3074

Email: cca@ukzn.ac.za

Media Enquiries:

Kwazi Ngubane/ Nolwazi Magwaza

Mobile: +27 (073) 442-9347/ + 27 (076) 638-3546

Phone: +27 (031) 811-5628

Email: kwazi@versfeld.co.za or nolwazi@versfeld.co.za

Website: www.versfeld.co.za

Finalists of 16th BASA Awards Announced

The finalists of the 16th Annual Business Day BASA Awards, supported by Anglo American, have been announced.

This year’s finalists offer a fascinating snapshot of the varied ways businesses of different sizes can work with art projects that cover everything from visual arts to music, film, dance, architecture and much more. 

From the small PENMAC Audio Visual, which is nominated for a Small Business Award, to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, whose work with the Three2Six School for Refugee Children has seen it nominated for an Increasing Access to the Arts Award, the spectrum of business and arts partnerships celebrated by this year’s nominations is impressive. 

A leading contender is Rand Merchant Bank, which this year has earned nominations in the Long Term Partnership Award category for the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company’s Instrumental Training and Development project, as well as two nods in the Youth Development Award category, for the Durban Music School and the Dance XChange Project. 

Another multiple nominated finalist is PPC Ltd, which earned three nominations – Innovation Award, Long Term Sponsorship Award and Youth Development Award, the latter two for the PPC Young Concert Sculptors Award and the first for Re-imagine Concrete: Suzaan Heyns Spring/Summer 2012. 

National radio station, Ukhozi FM, got two nods (Innovation Award and Media Sponsorship Award) for Unyaka Wesethembiso Season 2. 

Diverse businesses nominated for projects in various categories include Bidvest Group Limited, Adidas, Estee Lauder Companies, the MTN Group and Arcelor Mittal. 

“What we are clearly seeing with the nominations for several big and medium sized enterprises is the ROI that partnering with an arts project can bring,” comments Michelle Constant, CEO of Business and Arts South Africa.

“This is a strong signal to South African business that working with an arts project is far more than a feel good exercise but brings shared value.” 

The organisers of the only awards celebrating business and arts partnerships in South Africa report seeing a noticeable increase in entries in 2013. Just under 170 arts and business projects entered this year, an increase on the 2012 figure. 

Chairman of the judging panel, Dr Andrew Human, notes the evolution in the range and quality of entries this year. 

“There is definitely far more recognition of the mutual benefit and value that arts can lend to business, as opposed to seeing a partnership with the arts as a charitable sponsorship. BASA is also looking at the strategic value that the arts can play in business – and that is reflected in the kind of entries we are starting to get.

“I was surprised by the scope of work,” comments judging panel newcomer Fikile Moeti aka FIX. “It makes you realise how much is happening, how much people are doing and how much originality is being applied. Art is not only sitting in galleries. It’s everywhere – in the CBD and out on the streets.” 

A total of 12 categories were open for entry in the 16th Annual Business Day BASA Awards. The Art Champion and Chairman’s Premier Award will also be presented at a gala ceremony in Johannesburg on 26 August. 

The judges for the 2013 BASA Awards are CEO of The Loerie Awards Dr Andrew Human (chairman); media consultant and editor of Destiny Man Kojo Baffoe; Sunday Independent arts critic Mary Corrigall and CEO of the Mastrantonio Group Giovanni Mariano. Three new judges who joined this year’s panel are television host and arts advocate Dali Tambo. 5fm DJ Fikile Moeti and Experiential Marketing Director at Ogilvy and Mather Thresho Selesho. 

The independent panel of judges evaluated the success of each partnership in achieving its objectives and in bringing genuine value and benefit to both partners. The Awards are audited by Grant Thornton. 

For more information call the BASA offices on 011 4472295 or e-mail info@basa.co.za or go to www.basa.co.za 

Finalists in the 16th Business Day BASA Awards 

Innovation Award 

-uMngeni Municipality - Nelson - Mandela Capture Site 
-ArcelorMittal South Africa - Southern Guild Collectable Design Gallery 
-PPC Ltd - Re-imagine Concrete: Suzaan Heyns Spring/Summer 2012 
-Ukhozi FM - Unyaka Wesethembiso Season 2 

First Time Sponsor Award 

-MTN Group - Four MTN & BTE VO1SS Concert Series 
-Citiq Group - Ithuba Arts Fund 
-MultiChoice - National Children’s Theatre - SSA Senior Executive Challenge 
-Bidvest Group Limited - Opening of the new Wits Art Museum 

Increasing Access to the Arts Award 

-Rainbow Farms - Listen With Your Eyes – Deaf Theatre Festival 
-Johannesburg Stock Exchange -Three2Six School for Refugee Children 
-Johannesburg Development Agency - Diepsloot Public Artworks Programme 
-Barrow Family Trust - Klein Karoo Klassique 

International Sponsorship Award 
-Standard Bank of South Africa - 20th Century Masters: the human figure 
-Norges Musikkorpes Forbund (NMF or Norwegian Band Federation) - Field Band Foundation 
-Total South Africa - Danse l'Afrique Danse 2012 
-Air Botswana - Cape Town City Ballet “Ballet Classics" 

Long Term Partnership Award 

-PPC Ltd - PPC Cement Young Concrete Sculptor Awards 
-Rand Merchant Bank - Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company - Instrumental Training and Development 
-ABSA - ABSA Intensive Film Training 
-ArcelorMittal South Africa - Southern Guild Collectable Design Gallery 

Media Sponsorship Award 

-RSG FM - ATKV-Muziq 
-City Press - National Arts Festival 
-Ukhozi FM - Unyaka Wesethembiso Season 2 
-Electronic Media Network - Cape Town Carnival 

Small Business Award 

-PENMAC Audio Visual - Johannesburg Youth Ballet - Hansel & Gretel 
-Alexander Bar & Café - Alexander Upstairs 
-Minuteman Press Fourways – Symphony Choir Johannesburg 

Single Strategic Project Award 

-Cement and Concrete Institute-OH14 A¨le Naude Santos and Antonio de Souza Santos Architectural Tour 
-Interactive Africa-Blikkies Dorp Library 
-Adidas South Africa-I ART JOBURG 
-UJ Arts & Culture-ACT UJ Arts & Culture 'The Art of the Creative Economy' Conference 

Sponsorship in Kind Award 

-Estee Lauder Companies – MAC -South African Mzansi Ballet 
-University of Johannesburg Arts & Culture - The Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative (FATC) 
-Europcar-Clowns Without Borders South Africa 
-Cinema Nouveau-Opera Africa Young Artist Programme 

Youth Development Award 

-Air Products South Africa - SAMB / Air Products Development School-Alexandra 
-Sasol Limited-South African National Youth Orchestra 
-Rand Merchant Bank-Durban Music School 
-PPC Ltd-PPC Cement Young Concrete Sculptor Awards 
-Rand Merchant Bank-Dance XChange Project 

Arts & Environment Award, supported by Nedbank 

-Three City Events (Pty) Ltd-(eco)nversations GREEN ART 2012 
-uMngeni Municipality - Nelson Mandela Capture Site 
-Spier-The Dying Slave (2012) by Marco Cianfanelli 
-Plascon - Earth Hour Murals 

Mentor of the Year,supported by Etana Insurance 

-Niall Kramer - District Six Museum 
-Leanne Gitlin-Wits Art Museum 
-Hilton Lawler-Assemblage 
-Irma Albers-Jungle Theatre Company 

 

The 34th Durban International Film Festival announces its opening night film

Raising the curtain at the 34th Durban International Film Festival, which is principally funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, is the challenging and evocative, yet humorous film, Of Good Report, from South African director Jahmil XT Qubeka. In what he describes as “a passionate homage to classic film noir”, Qubeka’s latest offering, which has its world premiere at the festival on July 18, tells the sombre tale of a small-town high-school teacher with a penchant for young girls. The director’s third feature is an hypnotically engaging journey into the soul of a mentally troubled man.

The trouble for Parker Sithole (Mothusi Magano) begins when he accepts an invitation to a drinking session at the local tavern. Here, he meets the undeniably gorgeous Nolitha Ngubane (Petronella Tshuma). Captivated by her beauty, Parker experiences an ecstasy he’s never known before and truly feels like a man reborn. From this mutual attraction, an illicit affair ensues. However, there ’s just one problem: the beautiful Nolitha is one of Parker’s pupils and just sixteen years old. Parker quickly spirals into a deep obsession that ultimately turns to a tragedy.

Six months later, the sociopathic Parker has moved on from his previous job. Trudging along the barren landscape, he stumbles upon an opportunity for a fresh start. According to a caption on an old strewn newspaper, there is a shortage of teachers in Zimbabwe. A qualified educator like him shouldn't struggle to find a post; after all, he does come ‘of good report’.

In Qubeka’s words, Of Good Report, which is produced by Mike Auret and Luzuko Dilima (Spier Films), “is a serial killer origins story about how a social misfit turns into an inadequate man hell-bent on satisfying his shameful lust. It is Little Red Riding Hood, told from the wolf’s perspective.”

The director of television programmes and documentaries for production houses such as Ochre Media and Urban Brew Studios, Qubeka’s documentary and feature film work has screened at festivals around the world. He has directed Talk to Me, an hour-long HIV/Aids documentary special with Sesame Street New York, which won the Peabody Award for best Actuality Programming. He also produced the low budget feature film uMalusi, which was released by Ster Kinekor in March 2009. His second feature, A Small Town Called Descent enjoyed its world premiere at the 31st Durban International Film Festival, and won the Founders' Award for Narrative Feature at the Pan African Film Festival.201

Says Peter Machen, newly appointed manager of the Durban International Film Festival: “We are extremely happy to be opening DIFF 2013 with Jahmil's brave and remarkable film. Of Good Report does so much more than simply telling a South African story – the film redefines the local filmmaking landscape and extends the language of African filmmaking while acknowledging the rich history of global cinema”.

The Durban International Film Festival takes place from July 18 – 28, 2013. The Festival includes 170 theatrical screenings, a full seminar/workshop programme as well as the Wavescape Film Festival and industry initiatives: the 6th Talent Campus Durban (in cooperation with the Berlin Talent Campus) and the 4th Durban FilmMart (the co-production market in partnership with the Durban Film Office), with the Wild Talk Africa Festival taking place in the city from July 23 to 26. For more information go to www.durbanfilmfestival.co.za

The 34th Durban International Film Festival is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal) with support by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (principal funder), National Film and Video Foundation, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism, City of Durban, German Embassy, Goethe Institut, Industrial Development Corporation, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture, and a range of other valued partners.

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