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Necktie Youth Wins Best SA Film & Best Director at DIFF

NECKTIE YOUTH WINS BEST SOUTH AFRICAN FILM AND BEST DIRECTOR AWARDS IN DURBAN

Urucu Media's hugely anticipated drama Necktie Youth walked away with top honours at the Durban International Film Festival on Saturday night, winning both the best South African feature award and the international jury award for best director for director Sibs Shongwe-La Mer.

Said the jury in their report on Necktie Youth: “a film desperate to reconcile the seemingly disparate realities of its country, and whose urgent questions about South African life are posed with such mischievous energy that they cannot help provoke debate, itself one of the most important responsibilities of cinema.”

The international jury commented that newcomer Shongwe-La Mer (who has recently been signed by top international agents LBI and Casroto) was awarded the best director accolade “for displaying a unique, contemporary voice weaving together poetic images and a striking view of South African youth with a boldness seldom seen in South African cinema.”

Necktie Youth, which follows the hedonistic antics of Johannesburg's affluent new-born generation, had a successful career before it's South African debut, selling out all festival screenings at its world premier at Berlinale International Film Festival as well as Tribeca and Sydney International Film Festivals. Cineuropa named it best in show at Berlinale and the film went on to gather rave reviews in Variety, IndieWire, Elle, The New York Times, Le Monde and Dazed & Confused who called it the "South African Kids", a comparison to Larry Clark's 1995 cult classic.

SterKinekor has confirmed the South African release of Necktie Youth on the 18th of September and Urucu is in advanced negotiations with M-Net for the TV broadcast.

The week has been a busy one for producers Elias Ribeiro and John Trengove from Urucu Media who also announced REALNESS, a pan-African screenwriter's residency that will launch in 2016. “We are very excited to have the backing of the French Institute and Durban FilmMart for this initiative. The aim of REALNESS is to nurture a new crop of talented African film writers by offering them a 3 month incubation to develop their feature scripts". These projects will be presented to a jury and independent producers at Durban FilmMart 2016.

As part of their commitment to bringing more quality art-house films from across the world to South African screens, Urucu has started a partnership with Cannes' La Semaine de la Critique competition (Critics Week). This year, five diverse films from the competition had screenings in Durban, with one of the directors, Boris Lojkine (Hope) travelling to Durban to conduct a masterclass with local filmmakers. The five films will go on to have limited runs this weekend (31st August - 2nd September) in Johannesburg's Rosebank Cinema Nouveau and in Cape Town's W&A Waterfront Cinema Nouveau. La Semaine de La Critique are responsible for launching the careers of such giants in the art film world as Ken Loach, Won Kar Wai and Alejandro Gonzales Iñaritu (Birdman).

Urucu's next feature film slated for production is The Wound the highly anticipated first feature by John Trengove. The film, which deals with a gay teenager who undergoes the Xhosa circumcision initiation ritual, has collected several development and production awards from French broadcaster Arte, Torino Film Lab, the Hamburg Regional Fund and Hubert Bals in Holland. The film, which is slated to start shooting later this year and has been denied support from the NFVF despite the fact World Sales Agent Pyramide believes so much in the festival and market potential of the film that they are also investing in the film with a Distribution Minimum Guarantee. Urucu is currently seeking local private equity investment to close it's financing.

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The Shore Break takes two awards at Durban International Film Festival

The Shore Break takes two awards at Durban International Film Festival

Multi award-winning documentary, The Shore Break, about the proposed titanium mine on the Wild Coast, garnered an additional two awards to its already impressive resume, at this year’s Durban International Film Festival.

The Shore Break won the Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award and The DIFF Audience Award 

The Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award for the film that best reflects human rights issues which comes with a cash prize of R10 000 donated by the Artists for the Human Rights Trust went to The Shore Break, directed by Ryley Grunenwald. The jury citation reads “The film powerfully portrays a struggle within a local community regarding foreign mining rights in a pristine environment…(and) concisely and movingly uncovers this complex and urgent matter, which is still under investigation and in need of public support.”

All festival goers are given a DIFF voting slip after every screening to ascertain which film the audiences appreciated the most. Out of a total of 202 films (features, docs, shorts), this year the DIFF Audience Award went to The Shore Break.

"To have been voted as 'Best' by the DIFF audience, who I have always loved because they are loyal, diverse and exacting, is a real honour and a privilege," enthuses co-producer Odette Geldenhuys.

“Ultimately we make films for the audience so it is incredibly rewarding to have won another Audience Choice Award. We are so happy that the jury selected The Shore Break for the Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award. Representatives from the community affected by the N2 Wild Coast Toll Road and the Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project have said that it will certainly help their cause that their struggle is indeed being recognized as a human rights issue”, said director Ryley Grunenwald.

The Shore Break is an award-winning film that unpacks the dilemma faced by a rural community on South Africa’s Wild Coast as to whether to support or resist a proposed titanium mining project that could fundamentally change their lives forever.

Directed by Ryley Grunenwald, The Shore Break was a selected project at the 2012 Durban FilmMart, the IDFA WorldView Summer School 2013, the Hot Docs Forum 2012 and the Hot Docs Dealmakers 2013. It is co-produced by two South African companies, Grunenwald’s Johannebsurg-based Marie-Vérité Films and Odette Geldenhuys’ Cape Town-based frank films. It was incompetition at the recent International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IFDA), and was named the Best Feature Length Documentary at the 2015 International Environmental Film Festival (FIFE) in Paris.

The issues raised in the film have become more urgent following the announcement of the Wild Coast Toll Road which has been given the go-ahead following a statement by Minister Nkwinti on 9 July. It is the belief of many community stakeholders that this announcement is a pre-cursor to the introduction of mining in the area.  

 

For more information go to www.theshorebreakmovie.com

Trailer: http://vimeo.com/102621491

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theshorebreakmovie

Twitter: http://twitter.com/theshorebreak

 

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Digital stills, EPK and links to articles and reviews are available online: http://theshorebreakmovie.com/press/

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2015 Durban FilmMart Award winners

Media Release

2015 Durban FilmMart Award winners

After a packed four day programme of project pitching, industry masterclasses, seminars and workshops, and networking, the 6th Durban FilmMart (DFM) comes to a close with the announcing of the market awards and grants at the awards and closing function sponsored by Videovision Entertainment.

The DFM saw around 550 guests from 26 countries, 32 workshop and panel discussion sessions presented by various local and international industry experts and professionals.

“It has been an extremely productive and pleasing market this year, with over 900 official business meetings documented in the Finance Forum.” says Toni Monty, Head of the Durban Film Office, which partners with the DIFF to present the DFM. “The Durban FilmMart is considered one of Africa’s most important film finance platforms: this is borne out of the fact that we have been able to track the progress of many of the projects which had their beginnings at the market which have successfully made it to the screen. This year the Durban International Film Festival was able to screen six DFM alumni films, a concrete indication that this model is working well.”

“Once again we are honoured to have hosted this important film event, which brings together industry representatives from around the globe.” says Monty. “Besides the many levels of business that is conducted at this market, we are also proud to be able to showcase the City as a film destination on a global level to the hundreds of delegates attending.”

The closing night awards dinner sees key local and international partners of the annual co-production market, award a number of projects with development support through cash grants, invitations to partner markets or business support, to take the projects through the next stages of development.

This year 8 awards were made by an evaluation panel made up of local and international film industry experts. Recipients of the 2015 DFM awards are as follows:

The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program award for a documentary film project that demonstrates potential for strong storytelling craft, artistic use of visual language, originality, feasibility, and relevance went to The Other Half of The African Sky directed and produced by Tapiwa Chipfupa which receives a cash award of $7000 for further development.

Afridocs, the broadcast stream that sees African and other international documentaries screened across 49 countries of sub-Saharan Africa on a weekly basis, awarded a €3000 grant for an outstanding documentary project to Truck Mamadirected and produced by Zipporah Nyaruri and co-directed by Peggy Mbiyu.

The CineMart Award, sponsored by the co-production market of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, awarded the fiction project Sunflowers Behind a Dirty Fence directed by Simon Mukali and produced by Nathan Magoola, with an opportunity to attend the Rotterdam Lab, a five-day training and networking event bringing together producers from all over the world.

The International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA) awarded the most promising documentary project at the DFM, Truck Mama directed and produced by Zipporah Nyaruri and co-directed by Peggy Mbiyu, with an opportunity to attend the  IDFA Forum, the largest and most influential meeting place for documentary filmmakers, producers, commissioning editors, funds, private financiers and other documentary stakeholders in Europe, from November 23 to 25.

The New Cinema Network awarded Riot Waif directed by Zinaid Meeran and produced by Jean Meeran an opportunity to attend the 10th edition NCN in Rome, where the producer/director will be able to present the project to film companies at an international level.

Produire au Sud of Festival des 3 Continents (Nantes), awarded the fiction project Inkabi "The Hitman" directed by Norman Maake and produced by Peter Pohorsky with an opportunity to attend its developmental workshop program, PAS, where they will be given tools, expertise, and opportunities to develop European networks.

The Restless Pitch awarded, a one-on-one consultation with Restless Talent Management co-founder Tendeka Matatu, to two projects: Brace Yourself by Thati Peele, and Lucky by Jacobus van Heerden. The company will provide development services such as image-building and positioning, project packaging, PR, and advice on film sales, distribution and promotion. Restless Talent Management also made a special mention of Mark Waambui forHeterophobe for an edgy and challenging concept.

Durban’s Videovision Entertainment, awarded the “Best South African Film Project” Inkabi “The Hit Man” directed by Norman Maake and produced by Peter Pohorsky a prize which guarantees the films release once it is completed. The prize includes marketing and distribution support from Videovision Entertainment and is valued at R75 000.

Five of these projects have emanated from film-makers that are either Durban- or Berlin Talents alumni – the industry development programme of the Berlin International Film Festival, with which DIFF is a partner. These are Tapiwa Chipfupa (The Other Half of the African Sky) - Talents Durban (2013) and Talents Berlin (2015); Truck Mama filmmakers - Zipporah Nyaruri – Talents Berlin and Talents Durban (2011) and Peggy Mbiyu Talents Durban (2011) and Talents Berlin (2012), Nathan Magoola (Sunflowers Behind a Dirty Fence) Talents Durban (2013) and Talents Berlin (2012) and Jacobus van Heerden (Lucky) Talents Durban (2013).

“We had a very strong line up of projects this year,” says Monty. “We were pleased with the diverse topics and themes that have been explored in both the fiction and documentary sections, and with strong representation of filmmakers collaborating across the continent. The DFM has been placing emphasis on the telling of African narratives, and in doing so hope to continue to discover new African projects.”

 “We have seen numerous filmmakers pitching projects at the DFM over the past 6 years go from strength to strength. They are engaging more confidently with the many financiers, funders, sales and distribution agents, showing a maturing of the market.”

“We would like to thank our new and old sponsors and partners who have supported the DFM. It is through their continued interest and support that we are able to assist African filmmakers develop the industry and access the local and international market.” says Monty.

For more information on the Durban FimMart visit www.durbanfilmmart.com

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Issued on behalf of the DFM by:

Sharlene Versfeld

Versfeld & Associates

083 326 3235

July 20, 2015

 

NOTE TO MEDIA 

We have individual images of the awardees - which we will email independently .

South African directors selected for the Cannes SA Film Factory

Media Release

South African directors selected for the Cannes SA Film Factory

Durban: 19th July 2015:

DW (France) and Zidaka (South Africa), in partnership with the KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), and the Cannes Quinzaine Directors Fortnight, are pleased to announce the selection of the four South African directors.

After a very positive response to the call, with more than 30 high quality submissions, a short list of 12 directors were invited to attend the final interviews, which took place in Durban on the 15th July.

The four South Africa directors selected are:

Sheetal Magan

Samantha Nell

Zamo Mkhwanazi

Zee Ntuli

Two of the directors are KZN born, and two are from Gauteng.

Cannes South African Film Factory will provide an opportunity for these four SA directors and four international directors, to collectively direct four short films, which will be produced in KZN, and then will be screened on the Opening Day of the Cannes Directors Fortnight / la Quinzaine, in the official Cannes program next year.

The workshop will commence on Tuesday 21st July through until 25th July, 2015, during the Durban International Film Festival.

The Factory enjoys exploring “new territories” of cinema... The South African cinema scene, which, in recent years, has often surprised us in major festivals, remains, however, little known in our hemisphere.  4 short films that will be soon directed by South African and international young filmmakers will enable the public of the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes to discover the unsuspected realities of South Africa. Known for its dramatic story and now, for its remarkable opportunities... We look forward to discover films that will be made and then screened in Cannes. Vive the SA Factory!" says Edouard Waintrop, Artistic Director of the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight section.

“This is the fourth Factory and, after Asia, Europe and South America, this is the 1st one in Africa.  I'm amazed by the high quality of the directors and it was heartbreaking to select only four ”, says Dominique Welinski curator and producer. 

Carol Coetzee KZN Film Commission CEO adds “These results are very exciting and mean we are definitely moving in the right direction towards a transformed and sustainable film industry. To have young talents and particularly women being exposed to such an opportunity is a milestone indeed.”

“We are happy to be associated with this project, which not only recognizes our local talent, but also create opportunities for our filmmakers to be the best directors, sharing their vision and talent with the rest of the world. As an enabler, we constantly seek ways of developing the youth and ensuring the growth of our general film industry; this process is aligned to this objective. Congratulations to all selected directors,” says NFVF CEO Zama Mkosi.

AFDA Durban has offered its facilities for production and postproduction. Media Film Services and Sound Surfers, Hollard Film Guarantors, the Durban International Film Festival and Cote Ouest Audiovisual and Institut Francais (South Africa) are all official partners.

Cannes South Africa Factory website:    www.zidaka.co.za.

On behalf of the NFVF, KZN Film Commission, Cannes Film Factory, DW and ZIDAKA.


Media Contact Person

Buhle Malunga                                                   

Manager: Marketing and Communications KZNFCF    

+27 60 974 9786                                                     

buhlem@kwazulunatalfilm.co.za                             

Twitter: @kwazulufilm                                          

                                                                                   

Naomi Mokhele

Manager: Communications  NFVF

+27 82 496 9324

naomim@nfvf.co.za

  Twitter: @filmfound

@IamNaomiM

Jyoti Mistry's grisly new thriller Impunity to screen at Durban Internationsl Film Festival

MEDIA RELEASE

JYOTI MISTRY’S GRISLY NEW THRILLER IMPUNITY TO SCREEN AT DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Noir thriller “Impunity”, the latest film by celebrated South African director Jyoti Mistry, will be screened at the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), which opens on Thursday, 16 July, giving audiences a sneak preview prior to the film’s release in August. This follows the screening of the film in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

The film tells the story of a Special Crimes Unit investigator Dingande Fakude (Desmond Dube) and a local police detective and trained psychologist Naveed Khan (Vaneshran Arumugam), who find themselves caught up in political corruption and conspiracy when they investigate the gruesome murder of a cabinet minister's daughter, found in an exclusive African safari resort after a party celebrating her engagement to a rising political star.

A young couple, Derren (Bjorn Steinbach) and Echo (Alex McGregor), who were working as waiters at the engagement party, are taken in for questioning by the two lawmen. As they begin to piece events together, it becomes clear that there is much more to the high-profile murder case than first imagined. The two uncover a trail of murders and are faced with a moral dilemma involving the new political elite.

With the themes of corruption and brutality at its centre, Impunity is a profound investigation into contemporary South Africa and the seat of power. The film has been lauded for it rich visual language, which features picturesque beachfronts and bushveld, intercut with harsh CCTV footage. The Toronto Film Festival organisers described “Impunity” as “an eye-opening jolt, casting an unwavering gaze on South Africa's increasingly troubling surrender to the banality of violence.”

Mistry studied filmmaking and cinema studies at New York University. Her short films include “We Remember Differently” (2005) and “I Mike What I Like” (2006). “Impunity” is her second feature film, after “The Bull on the Roof” (2010). “Impunity” is produced by Shadowy Meadows Productions and Bioskope Pictures, with cinematography by Eran Tahor.

Impunity is being released by Indigenous Film Distribution at selected cinemas on 28 August.

All media queries

david alex wilson

cell: 27 83 629 2587 / e-mail: davidalex@madmoth.co.za

Dis Ek, Anna to Debut at DIFF 2015

Media Release

DIS EK, ANNA TO DEBUT AT DIFF 2015

Palama Productions will debut their latest feature film Dis ek, Anna at the Durban International Film Festival this year.  Based on the fictionalised autobiographical best-sellers Dis ek, Anna and Die Staat teen Anna Bruwer by Anchien Troskie, written under the pseudonym Elbie Lötter, and adapted for screen by Tertius Kapp, the film is produced by Niel van Deventer (Suurlemoen, Anderkant Gister) and directed by Sara Blecher (Ayanda, Otelo Burning). 

The film is a harrowing, but ultimately uplifting story of a young woman who finds the strength to pick up the pieces of her shattered world and forge a new life.  Anna Bruwer is sexually abused by her stepfather over a period of 8 years.  Unable confide in anyone, she is rendered voiceless and inhabits a shadow world of shame, foreboding and secrecy, until she is finally able to break free from her tormentor.

Dis ek, Anna stars Charlenè Brouwer (Vrou Soek Boer, Erfsondes, Binnelanders) in the title role with Marius Weyers (Faan se Trein, Die Wonderwerker), Nicola Hanekom (Hollywood in My Huis, Faan se Trein), Izel Bezuidenhout (Agent 2000), Morné Visser (Long Walk to Freedom, Skoonheid), Eduan van Jaarsveldt (Fanie Fourie’s Lobola,Long Walk to Freedom) and Drikus Volschenk (Long Walk to Freedom, Skoonheid).  Rounding out the cast is Dawid Minnaar, Elize Cawood, Hykie Berg, Kara van der Merwe and Fezile Mpela.

“Bringing this film to screen has been a labour of love,” says producer Niel van Deventer.  “It is very important to me to find projects that have the potential to become films that transcend the borders of our language and country.  Anna is certainly such a story.”

“We are thrilled to have Dis ek, Anna as part of our slate of films for 2015.  It is a remarkable film that raises the bar in terms of quality and performance,” says Driki van Zyl, General Manager: Times Media Films. “

Dis ek, Anna is being released by Times Media Films and will open at cinemas across the county on 30 October 2015.

 

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All Media Queries

david alex wilson

Mad Moth Communications

Cell: 27 83 629 2587

e-mail: davidalex@madmoth.co.za

Triggerfish launches the Story Lab at Durban Film Mart

Media Release 

Triggerfish launches the Story Lab at Durban Film Mart

CAPE TOWN - After the international success of its first two feature films, Triggerfish Animation Studios is establishing The Triggerfish Story Lab with the support of The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) and The Walt Disney Company.

Triggerfish will be investing up to R44m over the next three years in The Story Lab, which aims to give Africa’s most talented storytellers and filmmakers the opportunity to develop their ideas alongside Triggerfish’s international network of mentors. Selected storytellers will potentially have their concepts developed into episodic TV content or an animated feature film for the global market.

Triggerfish is conducting a continent-wide search for storytellers, which will be launched at the Durban Film Mart. These storytellers will be carefully selected, based not only on the creative and commercial merits of their concept, but also on their track record.

The entries will be evaluated by a high-profile panel of both local and international experts, including British director and co-founder of Aardman Peter Lord (Chicken Run, The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists), Hollywood writer Jonathan Roberts (The Lion King) and script consultant Karl Iglesias (Writing For Emotional Impact), and a panel of development executives from The Walt Disney Company, as well as South African storyteller Gcina Mhlope, comedian David Kau and Triggerfish’s development team of Anthony Silverston, Wayne Thornley and Raffaella Delle Donne.

Shortlisted storytellers will take part in workshops with leading Hollywood script consultant Pilar Alessandra, author of The Coffee Break Screenwriter.

The selected Story Lab participants will also receive two weeks of mentoring with key studio and television executives at Disney’s headquarters in Burbank, California.

“We are ready to bring a fresh voice to the world,” says Anthony Silverston, head of development at Triggerfish. “We believe there is extraordinary talent in Africa and the Story Lab is the perfect way to partner with them.”

“We are excited to be supporting Triggerfish on this innovative project,” says Christine Service, senior vice president and country manager of The Walt Disney Company Africa. “We believe the Story Lab provides a unique opportunity to discover this continent’s next generation of storytellers.”

“The dti is committed to developing a pool of creative talent that can produce international quality animation production scripts,” says Nelly Molokoane from the dti’s Film and TV Incentives Unit, adding that the department is honoured to support projects that will contribute to job creation.

“The Story Lab will be a great catalyst for African creativity on the global stage,” says Triggerfish CEO Stuart Forrest. “We look forward to opening up the Triggerfish production platform and our networks to the continent’s top creative talent."

The development process can take a number of years. For each phase of development, Triggerfish will provide financial support, workspace, and expert guidance by internal and international consultants and mentors, as well as a route to market through top-tier relationships with Hollywood agency William Morris Endeavor.

Animation has proven to be a successful medium for South African films to travel internationally, with Triggerfish’s films Adventures in Zambezia and Khumba being distributed in over 150 countries and dubbed into over 27 languages.

Applications are welcome from all writing and creative disciplines, not just experienced film and TV screenwriters. Applicants must be over 21 and either African citizens or permanent residents. Entries must be in English. Entries close 31 August 2015.

Full guidelines and an online application form are available at www.triggerfishstudios.com.  

Watch and embed the promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qWjb0ksSqA.

Triggerfish will launch the Story Lab at Durban Film Mart on Sunday, 19 July 2015 from 2-3pm at Suite 5. Anthony Silverston will be in attendance and is available for interviews. 

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About Triggerfish Animation Studios:

Established in 1996, Triggerfish Animation Studios is a Cape Town-based film and entertainment company. The studio has produced two feature films: Adventures in Zambezia (2012), starring Jeremy Suarez, Abigail Breslin and Samuel L. Jackson, and Khumba (2013), starring Jake T. Austin, AnnaSophia Robb and Liam Neeson. The two movies are among the top five highest-grossing South African films of all time.

 

About The Walt Disney Company:
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of $48.8 billion in its fiscal year 2014.

 

Business Model Canvas Boot Camp at DFM 2015

Media Release

Business Model Canvas  Boot Camp at DFM 2015

The Durban FilmMart (DFM), in partnership with the Documentary Filmmakers' Association, the Canadian Film Center (CFC) Media Lab and the National Film and Video Foundation, will be hosting one-and-a-half day closed workshops on the powerful Business Model Canvas (BMC) tool for South African filmmakers at this year’s DFM which takes palce during the Durban International Film Festival from July 17 to 20.

The success of Alex Osterwalder’s book Business Model Generation and subsequent workshops based on the book has resulted in the demystification of business model design. With BMC, licensed under Creative Commons, Osterwalder and his associates have created a visualisation tool to help business owners determine which set of business models may work for their product. The Business Model Canvas is a design tool to help businesses to get their first principles right – starting with who their customer might be.

The BMC Boot Camp will walk participants through the Business Model Canvas using methods developed by Osterwalder and further evolved by the CFC Media Lab for the creative content industries. The workshop will take a participatory approach in order to create an empowering and interactive working environment that fosters understanding, discussion, creativity and analysis. The workshop team will lead content producers through a series of exercises in order to help participants identify their various business models and provide blueprints for their current and future projects.

Filmmakers will learn how to apply BMC to each individual project, identifying the different elements, connecting them, and learning how to integrate them in order to enhance their work and deliver an optimal final product. Due to its visual and narrative approach to business planning, the model is easy to understand and interpret for those who lack training in business management theory.

In addition to this practical application to current projects, six South African trainers will learn to train content producers how to use the tool, thus expanding the legacy of the programme beyond the Durban FilmMart. It is anticipated that BMC will become a widely used tool in the South African and African film industries.

Tshego Molefe, a member of the Documentary Filmmakers Association who participated in a BMC workshop in 2014, had this to say:  “The Business Model Canvas allowed me to view the documentary process in a different form. Pulling back from the story and getting a bird’s eye view of the entire process was refreshing and helpful, especially to a producer who wants to maintain a sustained business around production.”

The 6th Durban FilmMart takes place in Durban, at the Tsogo Sun Elangeni from 17 to 20 July 2015, during the 36th edition of the Durban International Film Festival (16-26 July 2015).

For more information on the Durban FilmMart and to register as a delegate visit www.durbanfilmmart.com

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Issued on behalf of The Durban FilmMart by:

Sharlene Versfeld

Versfeld & Associates

 031-8116528/ 083 326 3235

Sharlene@versfeld.co.za/ info@versfeld.co.za

 

Note to Editors:

The Durban FilmMart (DFM) is a co-production and finance market and is a joint programme of the Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF). DFM provides filmmakers from across Africa with a valuable opportunity to pitch projects to financiers, distributors, sales agents and potential co-producers, and to participate in meetings, project presentations and a series of master classes and workshops on the latest industry trends. www.durbanfilmmart.com

The Durban Film Office (DFO) is the film industry development arm of the eThekwini Municipality, mandated to position Durban as a world-class film production destination and facilitator for the development of the local film industry. The DFO drives activity and development in the sector in order to boost tourism, job creation and the development of core skills and SMMEs in the region.www.durbanfilmoffice.com

 The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) presents over 250 screenings from different countries and cultures with a special focus on Africa. The festival includes development programmes such as Talents Durban and a rich schedule of workshops. DIFF is a flagship project of the Centre for Creative Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal, which facilitates creative platforms and economic opportunities for artists and related industries, intercultural exchange and network development, training, audience development and strategic Pan-African and international cooperation in the cultural sectors. www.cca.ukzn.ac.za

Urucu Media launches inaugural South African edition of Cannes prestigious La Semaine de la Critique at DIFF 2015

Media Release

Urucu Media launches inaugural South African edition of Cannes prestigious La Semaine de la Critique at DIFF 2015

Urucu Media, one of South Africa’s newest feature film production houses, which recently produced the internationally acclaimed Necktie Youth, is proud to announce that they have partnered with Cannes’s La Semaine de la Critique (Critic’s Week) to host a dynamic selection of the top films emerging from this programme in recent years. 

The South African programme launches as part of the Durban International Film Festival 2015, at Cinecentre, Suncoast Casino on July 21, with the support of Institute Francaise. Five critically acclaimed films will be screened during the course of the festival with additional screenings scheduled for Johannesburg and Cape Town the following weekend.

Established in 1961, the Semaine De La Critique competition is dedicated to showcasing emerging filmmakers from around the world. Since it's inception the competition has featured the early works of numerous famous auteurs including Ken Loach, Wong Kar-Wai and Alejandro González Iñarritu.

The travelling Semaine de la Critique programme is part of a broader initiative by Urucu Media, supported by the French Institute of South Africa, to promote unique cinematic voices and innovation, while cultivating an audience for the types of films Urucu believes are worth making.

Opening the South African edition of La Semaine de la Critique is Hope, French writer-director, and documentarian, Boris Lojkine's first fiction film.

According to The Hollywood Reporter Hope is a “scrupulously well-researched” recounting of a journey of desperation taken by a Nigerian woman and a Cameroonian man across the Sahara in an attempt to reach Europe. Cine Europa Online highlighted the “incredible and moving realism that emerges reveals a director whose work should be kept an eye on.” 

Award winning director Lojkine will be in attendance at DIFF where he will present a Master Class, as part of the Talents Durban programme, on bringing reality and authenticity to fiction filmmaking.

Other films include The Kindergarten Teacher by Nadav Lapid (Israel, 2014) about a crèche teacher and aspiring poet, who discovers unusual poetic talent in her five-year old student. Informed by her own deprived past and a fear that the world will eat his sensitive soul alive, she takes it upon herself to protect the boy and the gift he carries.

Yann Gonzalez’s debut feature You And The Night by  (France, 2013) is an erotic-existential-queer comedy. Starring legendary French footballer Eric Cantona in the role of a well-hung stud/former child-poet and one of seven member of a meticulously cast orgy, it explores and intentionally confuses memory and fantasy.

From Italy and France comes Salvo the winner of last year’s La Semaine de la Critique of Cannes Film Festival directed byFabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza (2013). It tells the story of Salvo (Saleh Bakri) – a merciless body guard/hit man in Sicily’s underworld.  Meeting Rita (Sara Serraiocco), the blind sister of one of his victims – and a witness at that – changes not just Salvo’s life, but Rita’s too, and offers the pair a relief from the literal and metaphorical darkness in which they are stuck.

Writer/director Katell Quillévéré’s second feature, Suzanne  (France, 2013) follows Suzanne (Sara Forestier) during 25 years of her life. Suzanne grows up with her sister (Adèle Haenel) and widowed truck-driver father (François Damiens). When Suzanne falls pregnant while still in school, the family with its new member remains a tight unit, but when she falls in love with a gangster, the stability is threatened. 

 “My business partner, John Trengove and I are, incredibly excited about hosting the first official platform for La Semaine de la Critique in Africa and hope to cultivate strong local audience base for the wonderful films that emerge from this inspiring competition every year.” says Urucu’s Elias Ribeiro.

For more information about the La Semaine de la Critique go to www.urucumedia.com and for the Durban International Film Festival go to www.durbanfilmfest.co.za

 

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La Semaine de la Critique screening times:

Durban: Suncoast Casino

21st July         20:00   HOPE   - Opening Night Film - La Semaine de la Critique

22nd July        17:30   SALVO

23rd July         22:00   SUZANNE

24th July         17:30   THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER

25th July         17:00   YOU AND THE NIGHT

 

Johannesburg: Rosebank Nouveau &

Cape Town: V&A Waterfront Nouveau

 

31st July         20:00   HOPE

1st August     17:30   SALVO
          

1st August     20:00   SUZANNE

2nd August    17:30   THE KINDERGARDEN TEACHER 

2nd August    20:00   YOU AND THE NIGHT 

 

Note to editors:

 

La Semaine de la Critique: The Films

Hope by Boris Lojkine (France, 2014, 91 min)

In his debut feature, the French helmer takes on the forever-relevant topic of migration from Africa to Europe. Léonard from Cameroon (Endurance Newton) and Hope from Nigeria (Justin Wang) form a contested partnership on their dangerous journey to Europe – a dreamland where even mosquitoes drink coca cola.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fycw0Q0ahlo

 

The Kindergarten Teacher by Nadav Lapid (Israel, 2014, 120 min.)

Nira (Sarit Larry), a crèche teacher and aspiring poet, discovers unusual poetic talent in Yoav (Avi Shnaidman), her five-year old student. Informed by her own deprived past and a fear that the world will eat his sensitive soul alive, she takes it upon herself to protect the boy and the gift he carries.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP3Wo1uGzTk

 

You And The Night by Yann Gonzalez (France, 2013, 92 min.)

Gonzalez kick-started his feature film career with an erotic-existential-queer comedy. Starring legendary French footballer Eric Cantona in the role of a well-hung stud/former child-poet and one of seven member of a meticulously cast orgy, it explores and intentionally confuses memory and fantasy.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS2q6AYBnkQ

 

Salvo by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza (Italy/France, 2013, 110 min.)

The winner of La Semaine de la Critique of Cannes Film Festival 2014 tells the story of Salvo (Saleh Bakri) – a merciless body guard/hit man in Sicily’s underworld.  Meeting Rita (Sara Serraiocco), the blind sister of one of his victims – and a witness at that – changes not just Salvo’s life, but Rita’s too, and offers the pair a relief from the literal and metaphorical darkness in which they are stuck.

Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI5qkz91ohU

 

Suzanne by Katell Quillévéré (France, 2013, 94 min.)

Writer/director Quillévéré’s second feature follows Suzanne (Sara Forestier) during 25 years of her life. Suzanne grows up with her sister (Adèle Haenel) and widowed truck-driver father (François Damiens). When Suzanne falls pregnant while still in school, the family with its new member remains a tight unit, but when she falls in love with a gangster, the stability is threatened. 

Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJyzQ3CboJ8

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Artwatch Africa at Durban International Film Festival 2015

Media Release

Artwatch Africa at Durban International Film Festival 2015

Public interest in freedom of expression has escalated dramatically since the Charlie Hebdo killings in January. An Al-Jazeera news item reported that media coverage of freedom of expression jumped from 2% in 2014 to over 23% in early 2015. Whilst freedom of expression is a right widely enshrined in the constitutions of nations across Africa, these rights are frequently not upheld. It is not just political parties or journalists that are vulnerable constituencies, but also activists from the arts and culture sectors; increasingly in some countries, artists that speak out on social and political issues are subjected to harassment, censorship or even arrest.

 

These and related issues are a core feature of Arterial Network’s three-fold presence at the 36th edition of the Durban International Film Festival, as part of its Artwatch Africa artist rights programme.

Aimed at artists, cultural practitioners, journalists and human rights organisations, and coordinated by Arterial Network South Africa, a closed 3-day workshop provides an opportunity to deepen understanding of human rights, cultural rights and artist rights, and will empower advocacy activities for the promotion, monitoring and defence of freedom of creative expression within local contexts. Similar Artwatch Africa workshops have taken place in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Mali, DRC, Uganda, Ghana, Cameroon, Namibia, Algeria, Zambia, Gabon, Tanzania, Republic of Congo, Benin, Kenya, Rwanda, Ivory Coast and Morocco during the past year.

An open-to-all session in conjunction with DIFF’s Talents programme is the  "Behind the Veil - Arterial Network and ArtWatch Africa Exchange on Creativity and Censorship" on 21st July at 14.00 in Suite 4, Elangeni Hotel. This interactive engagement explores censorship in Africa and includes a data gathering component aimed at understanding the nature of restrictions that inhibit artistic practice in respective countries.

Finally, during the Durban International Film Festival Award Night, an Artwatch Africa Award will be presented to an African film that meaningfully engages with the issues of Freedom of Expression. The Artwatch Africa project promotes the value of creative expression for society and the role creativity plays in personal development, social cohesion or social change; it recognises the transformative power of cinema and its importance in raising awareness and conscientisation. This award celebrates activism in the arts, and honours the courage of filmmakers and their subjects. The Award is accompanied by a R15,000 cash prize.

The Artwatch Africa Jury comprises Junaid Ahmed - award winning filmmaker; Gcina Mhlophe - award winning author, poet, playwright, director, performer and storyteller; René Alicia Smith - Executive Dean (Acting): Faculty of Arts & Design at Durban University of Technology; and Peter Rorvik - Secretary-General of Arterial Network.

Artwatch Africa is supported by Swedish Foundation for Human Rights, Swedish Postcode Lottery, Swedish Institute, HIVOS, Mimeta, Goethe Institute and Doen Foundation.

With representation in more than 40 African countries Arterial Network is engaged in building sustainable networks, information dissemination, training, policy formulation,advocacy, and African-centred research, all geared towards growing and strengthening the cultural and creative sectors in Africa.

Visit  www.arterialnetwork.org or call 021-4612023 for more information.

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AfriDocs Film Week 18- 22nd July @DIFF2015

AfriDocs Film Week  18- 22nd  July

Sub-Saharan Africa Broadcast Presents:

A WEEK OF AFRICAN STORIES – ON YOUR SCREEN

Following on from the success of 2014’s AfriDocs Film Festival on Your Screen, and once again in conjunction with the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) and DStv channel ED, AfriDocs is excited to present a full week of documentary films broadcast across sub-Saharan Africa on DStv channel ED (channel 190) and GOtv (channel 65).

From the 18th – 22nd of July, AfriDocs brings some of the best of DIFF to screens across Africa with eleven films from the festival to be screened. These films include award winning documentaries - The Shore Break, by Riley Grunenwald (South Africa), The Democrats by Camilla Nielsson (Zimbabwe), Beats of the Antonov by Hajooj Kuka (Sudan) and Coming of Age by Teboho Edkins (Lesotho).

There will also be daily live broadcasts with filmmakers and industry stakeholders from DIFF at 4pm  (Central/South African time), and screenings of documentary films from 5 – 10pm with eight hours of the Best of DIFF on the weekend of the 25th and 26th of July.

With the schedule on these days repeating every six hours, you can catch the live interviews and films three more times following the first broadcast.

This feast of documentary films is not to be missed, make sure to get the full schedule and follow all the updates from AfriDocs as they broadcast live from DIFF: www.facebook.com/AfriDocs , www.afridocs.net

Saturday 18th July

AfriPedia: Kenya | Teddy Goitom, Benjamin Taft, Senay Berhe | Kenya | 2014

‘Afripedia, Kenya’ takes an intimate look at Nairobi’s urban culture scene and its leading personalities and stars.

Miners Shot Down | Rehad Desai | SA | 2013

In August 2012, mineworkers in one of South Africa’s biggest platinum mines began a wildcat strike for better wages. Six days later the police used live ammunition to brutally suppress the strike, killing 34 and injuring many more.

The Future Sound of Mzansi | Lebogang Rasethaba, Nthato Mokgata (Spoek Mathambo) | SA | 2014

Welcome to the apartheid after-party! The film explores the past, present and future of the electronic music scene and its multiple sub-genres – the mission was simple: to meet up with some of their heroes, colleagues, competitors, and co-conspirators…an ever-potent gang of electronic music pioneers sculpting The Future Sound of Mzansi.

A Mother at Fifteen  - 14 min | Malawi | 2015

The Shore Break | Ryley Grunenwald | SA | 2014

Two cousins from South Africa’s Wild Coast have opposing plans to develop their land. Nonhle wants to develop eco-tourism in order to protect her community’s homes, farms, graves and traditional lifestyle while Madiba is planning a titanium mine and national tolled highway. Meanwhile, their King and Queen, who oppose the mine and highway, are deposed by the South African Government.

 

Sunday 19th July

The Dream of Shahrazad | Francois Verster | Egypt, Lebabon, Turkey | 2014

The Dream of Shahrazad is a feature-length documentary film which locates political expression before, during and after the Egyptian revolution – and also within recent times in Turkey and Lebanon – within a broader historical and cultural framework: that of storytelling and music.  More particularly, it looks at the legacy of the famous collection of stories known as THE 1001 (or “ARABIAN”) NIGHTS.

Gareth’s Story  - 11 min

Beats of the Antonov | Hajooj Kuka | Sudan | 2014

Beats of the Antonov is a feature documentary about the people of the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains in Sudan, during civil war. The film explores how music binds a community together, offering hope and a common identity for refugees engaged in a fierce battle to protect cultural traditions and heritage from those trying to obliterate them.

AfriPedia: Senegal | Teddy Goitom, Benjamin Taft, Senay Berhe | Senegal | 2014 |

Dakar has quickly become one of the most buzzing cities on the continent, infused by a new sense of creativity that cross-pollinates influences across genres and cultures

Shake the Dust | Adam Sjoberg | Global | 2014

From executive producer and rapper Nasir “Nas” Jones and journalist-turned-filmmaker Adam Sjöberg, Shake the Dust chronicles the influence of breakdancing, exploring how it strikes a resonant chord in the slums, favelas and ghettos of the world and far beyond. Showcasing some of the most jaw-dropping breakdancing moves ever committed to film, Shake the Dust is an inspiring tribute to the uplifting power of music and movement.

 

Monday, 20 July

Afripedia | Teddy Goitom, Benjamin Taft & Senay Berhe | Ghana|  2014

The whispers among connoisseurs talk about Accra as the next big hotspot for African cultural production, and ‘Afripedia, Ghana’ suggest they’re not wrong.

Concerning Violence| Göran Olsson | Africa | 2014

Internationally awarded documentary about the African liberation struggles of the 1960s and 1970s. It combines newly discovered archival material depicting some of the most daring moments in the confrontation with colonial powers. Narrated by Lauryn Hill, with text based on Frantz Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth.

The Democrats | Camilla Nielsson | Zimbawe | 2014

In politically unstable Zimbabwe, a new constitution is being put together by the ruling party of strongman Robert Mugabe and the divided opposition. Various political, local and personal interests are bogging the process down.

Coming of Age | Teboho Edkins | Lesotho | 2015

Coming of Age is a film that follows teenagers over two years as they grow up deep in the southern African mountain kingdom of Lesotho. Lefa, sees her world fall apart when her best friend Senate leaves the village, and must decide whether to stay or leave in search of a better education. Retabile takes care of the family’s livestock up in a remote cattle post, helped by his younger brother Mosaku, who watches as he goes through a rite of passage that marks his transition into manhood. The summer of youth is quickly over, doors into adulthood open and close.

The Cessation | Lotte Manicom | South Africa | 2014

Angola was subject to brutal conflicts that raged for over forty years. Thousands of refugees fled over the borders into neighbouring countries in search of a safe haven. Many came to the coastal city of Cape Town, on the western coast of South Africa. Here, in exile, the Angolan community created thriving businesses and families of their own. Now, twenty years on, this diaspora is facing a new challenge. In 2013, the South African government ended their refugee protection. This short documentary follows three members of this vibrant Angolan diaspora in Cape Town as it maps the impact of this Cessation on their lives.

 

Tuesday, 21 July

 

Afripedia | Teddy Goitom, Benjamin Taft & Senay Berhe | Angola|  2014

Welcome to Angola, home of heavy electro music known as kuduro. Follow us across the pulsating city of Luanda as we delve into the kuduro evolution and meet the people charting its course.

Under African Skies Joe Berlinger | South Africa | 2012

Paul Simon returns to South Africa to explore the journey of his Graceland album, including the political backlash he received for allegedly breaking the UN cultural boycott of South Africa designed to end the Apartheid regime.

Paths to Freedom | Richard Pakleppa | Namibia | 2015

Paths to Freedom tells of the origins of Namibian nationalism in the 1950’s and how Namibian  peasants and migrant labourers created a guerilla army to fight the illegal occupation of their country by South Africa.  Utilizing extensive archive, struggle music and eye witness accounts Paths to Freedom tells this story of David rising against Goliath against all odds.

The Man in Me – 15 min | Lesotho | 2014

Fonko: New Music from West Africa | Lamin Daniel Jadama,  Lars Lovén | 2014 |

Dakar is the unrivalled centre for the West African hip hop-scene and coupé- décalé is now a major influence all over West Africa. In Burkina Faso the name and speeches of Thomas Sankara is used by musicians to protest against injustices and corruption. In Benin, the veterans of Orchestre Polyrytmo give a historic background to the music scene of today. Narrated by Neneh Cherry.

 

Wednesday, 22 July

Afripedia | Teddy Goitom, Benjamin Taft & Senay Berhe |South Africa|  2014

Twenty years after liberation, ‘Afripedia, South Africa’ portrays a diverse new generation that is helping redefine the legacy of the post-apartheid Rainbow Nation.

When Voices Meet | Nancy Sutton Smith | South Africa | 2015 | 86 min

When Nelson Mandela was finally released from prison, courageous South African musicians broke through Apartheid’s barriers to form a 500-voice, multiracial children’s choir. Threatened with bombs and thwarted at every turn, they prevailed and railroaded across the country aboard The Peace Train. When Voices Meet documents the trials, tribulations and triumphs of those musician activists and young choir members. They performed together for seven years; never lost touch with one another; and then reunited 20 years later.

Cartoonists: Foot Soldiers of Democracy | Stéphanie Valloatto | France |

12 lovable lunatics, capturing the comic and tragic in all four corners of the earth: cartoonists who risk their lives to defend democracy, with a smile on their faces and a pencil as their only weapon.

Fonko: South Africa/ Nigeria | Lamin Daniel Jadama,  Lars Lovén | 2014

South Africa and Nigeria are two countries with a troubled past, that have today become the economic and cultural super powers of the continent. South Africa is the home to styles like kwaito, SA House and Shangaan electro, which is possibly the fastest club music in the world.

Nigeria is a country of extreme income gaps, deeply rooted corruption and violent religious conflicts. Here you find the most commercial music on the continent. But also fierce protest music, as artists are trying to carry on the work from the late Fela Kuti. one of the most hard-core protest singers of all times.

AfriDocs screens every THURSDAY at 8pm Central African time (GMT + 2) on DStv ED Channel 190 & GoTV across sub-Saharan Africa.

 

For the full programme schedule and synopses of the films, please go to www.afridocs.net or www.facebook.com/AfriDocs

You can also follow AfriDocs on twitter: @Afri_Docs

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Issued on behalf of Afridocs

 

Explore the world of DIFF 2015 on iTunes

Media Release

Explore the world of DIFF on iTunes

Durban International Film Festival - July 16 – 26, 2015

Africa’s premier film event, the Durban International Film Festival, which is hosted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts, presents its 36th edition from 16 to 26 July, 2015, in the east coast city of Durban, South Africa.

For the first time in the history of the festival, film-lovers can now explore the world of DIFF on iTunes at www.itunes.com/DIFF where they will be able to enjoy films that complement the official selection this year. Staying within the DIFF’s Areas of Focus, the films that fans can enjoy include Palme d’Or winners such as Marty, or experience the musical frenzy that is the Director’s Cut of Woodstock.

iTunes has a history of working with film festivals around the world such as Cannes, TRIBECA, Toronto Film Festival and more, so it’s great for  DIFF to now have a presence on the store. 

“Many people are unable to get to the DIFF, or simply do not have the time to see all the titles on offer at the festival so we are pleased that for the first time, we are building this special area on iTunes for people to access great films associated with DIFF.” says Pedro Pimenta, Director of DIFF. 

The festival also includes the Wavescape Surf Film Festival as well as important industry initiatives featuring a programme of seminars and workshops with notable industry figures, the 8th Talents Durban (in cooperation with the Berlinale Talents) and the 6th Durban FilmMart co-production market (in partnership with the Durban Film Office).

The festival is a hub for the African film industry and is an unmissable date for both industry representatives and lovers of film.

The full programme for the DIFF can be found on www.durbanfilmfest.co.za or follow us on Twitter at @DIFFest or Facebook on DurbanInternationalFilmFestival.

 

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Durban FilmMart 2015 announces partners' awards for this year's market

Media Release

Durban FilmMart 2015 announces partners’ awards for this year’s market

The Durban FilmMart (DFM), the joint initiative of the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) and Durban Film Office (DFO) the film industry development arm of the City of Durban, which takes place from July 17 to 20, has announced partners’ awards for this year’s market, with an exciting new award being presented by the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program.

Considered one of Africa’s most important film finance platforms and industry gatherings, the FilmMart sees about 500 film-makers from around the globe, with a significant representation from Africa, attend the festival for four days of industry development forums and networking sessions. An integral part of the DFM is the finance and co-production forum, which this year has 10 features and nine documentary films selected for intense mentoring and pitch sessions to financiers and distributors, and other industry representatives.

Over the years the DFM has developed key relationships with a myriad industry partners that have seen the value of supporting and developing African content for both continental and global markets.

This year the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program will award a documentary film project that demonstrates potential for strong storytelling craft, artistic use of visual language, originality, feasibility, and relevance with a cash award of $7000 for further development. “In light of the tremendous talent for documentary filmmaking in Africa and the significant work of the DFM to celebrate those artists, the award is designed to contribute to and support the work of an African non-fiction filmmaker.” explains Rahdi Taylor, Film Fund Director of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program. “In supporting a broad spectrum of cinematic and creative non-fiction projects globally, Sundance Institute embraces contemporary storytellers as part of the collective consciousness of culture, and documentary film as a vital contributor to the language of the 21st century.”

Partners and awards this year include:

Afridocs, the broadcast stream that sees African and other international documentaries screened across 49 countries of sub-Saharan Africa on a weekly basis, will offer a €3000 grant for one outstanding documentary project.

The CineMart Award, sponsored by the co-production market of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, provides a fiction project with an opportunity to attend the Rotterdam Lab, a five-day training and networking event bringing together producers from all over the world.

The International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA) awards the most promising documentary project at the DFM with an opportunity to attend the  IDFA Forum, the largest and most influential meeting place for documentary filmmakers, producers, commissioning editors, funds, private financiers and other documentary stakeholders in Europe, from November 23 to 25.

The New Cinema Network awards will give an official project an opportunity to attend the 10th edition NCN in Rome, where the producer/director will be able to present the project to film companies at an international level.

Produire au Sud of Festival des 3 Continents (Nantes), will give one fiction project an opportunity to attend its developmental workshop program, PAS, where they will be given tools, expertise, and opportunities to develop European networks.

The Restless Pitch award, is a one-year representation deal for the project by Restless Talent Management, who provide development services such as image-building and positioning, project packaging, PR, and advises its clients on film sales, distribution and promotion.

Durban’s Videovision Entertainment, will once again award the “Best South African Film Project” a prize valued at R75 000, which guarantees its release once it is completed. The prize includes marketing and distribution support from Videovision Entertainment.   

‘We are immensely grateful to all our partners for the generous opportunities they have created for the DFM selected projects,” says Toni Monty of the Durban Film Office. “For independent film-makers, this is such an ideal opportunity to take their projects to the next level through the mentorship and support provided at the Market. We are looking forward to a robust and stimulating market this year, and seeing how the projects will evolve and develop through the  DFM process.”

For more information about the DFM go to www.durbanfilmmart.com.

 

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36th Durban International Film Festival - Programme Announced

 

36th DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 16-26 JULY 2015 - PROGRAMME ANNOUNCED

This July sees the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) return for its 36th year of cinematic celebration. From 16 to 26 July, the city will be illuminated by the wonder and diversity of global cinema, with over 200 screenings in 9 venues across the city. Alongside this selection of the best of contemporary cinema, including 74 feature films, 50 documentaries, 74 short films and 23 surf films, the festival offers an extensive workshop and seminar programme in which industry experts from around the world share their knowledge and skills.

This year's diverse line-up includes an expanded focus on African cinema with a selection of Africa’s Lost Classics and a showcase of this year’s FESPACO winners. Other focus areas include a cross-section of contemporary cinema from Brazil and an investigation into the filmmaking landscape of a changing Tunisia, as well DIFF Beat, which celebrates a number of music-based films, and Just One Earth, which presents a selection of environmentally- and sustainability themed titles. In addition to the generous selection of feature films and cutting edge documentaries, DIFF 2015 will screen 10 packages of short films and a selection of thrilling surf films in the Wavescape Surf Film Festival.

South African Focus

While DIFF is a vital showcase for the ever-expanding African film industry, South African film remains the festival’s key focus, with 14 feature and 13 documentary films and 30 short films – most of them receiving their world premieres on Durban screens.

This year’s opening night film see the African premiere of Ayanda, the second fiction feature film from South African filmmaker Sara Blecher who opened the festival in 2011 with Otelo Burning. Ayanda tells the story of single-minded 21-year-old Afro-hipster Ayanda (Fulu Mugovhani) who has a talent for taking neglected pieces of furniture and bringing them back to life. Eight years after her father’s death, his prized auto repair garage is in financial trouble and in danger of being sold, but Ayanda does everything in her power to hold onto his legacy.

Then there’s Breathe – Umphefumlo, the Isango Ensemble’s contemporary adaptation of Puccini’s La Boheme, the low-budget horror The Actor from Aiden Whytock, the politically inclined Bonnie-and-Clyde tale Impunity from Jyoti Mistry and the long awaited Necktie Youth from Sibs Shongwe-Le Mer. Other South African fiction feature films include Dis Ek, Anna, based on the famous Afrikaans novel and directed by Sara Blecher, and the dramatic thriller Lady Grey from Alain Chouquart.

South African documentaries include Blood Lions, which follows a South African conservationist and an American hunter on their journey through the lion hunting industry, Coming of Age, which follows the lives of two teenagers in Lesotho, Glory Game – The Joost van der Westhuizen Story, which chronicles the famous rugby player’s battle with Motor Neuron Disease, and The Shore Break which documents the attempts by a foreign mining company to mine titanium in the Eastern Cape. 

African Focus

The rich programme of films from elsewhere on the continent includes a number of strong directorial talents. From South Africa’s Mpumelelo Mcata comes the challenging documentary-hybrid Black President. Philippe Lacôte’s Run is a left-field masterpiece from Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda delivers the goods with The Boda Boda Thieves, the latest title from vivacious creative co-operative Yes! That’s Us.

African documentaries include the powerful Beats of the Antonov which portrays the musical lives of a war-torn community in Sudan, the remarkable Sembene! which documents the life and career of African master Ousmane Sembene and Paths to Freedom, which explores the genesis of Namibia's armed struggle against South Africa.

Africa’s Lost Classics is a selection providing a rare opportunity for viewers to catch some of the most powerful and idiosyncratic works from the continent’s rich film history. The selection comprises the previously lost masterpiece Come Back, Africa, the seminal Mapantsula from Oliver Schmitz and The Blue Eyes of Yonta by pioneering Guinea-Bissau filmmaker Flora Gomes, as well as Badou Boy and Touki Bouki, both from African master Djibril Diop Mambety.

FESPACO Stallions

In a special tribute to African cinema, DIFF 2015 features six winners from the 2015 edition of the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou, or FESPACO. These include amongst others Fevers, which tells the story of Benjamin, who moves in with his father and grandparents in a Paris suburb in order to avoid foster-care. Sékou Traoré’s feature debut film The Eye of the Cyclone, a psychological drama about a young lawyer who has been appointed a case that no one else wants, and Rehad Desai’s Miners Shot Down which returns to DIFF after being celebrated at FESPACO this year.

WORLD CINEMA

Following its rich tradition of world cinema, DIFF 2015 presents a diverse showcase of films from around the world. 1000 Rupee Note from India tells the story of a poor old widow named Budhi who receives a gift of several 1000 Rupee notes from a politician. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night bills itself as the first Iranian Vampire Western, while Dealer, from France, documents 24 hours in the increasingly hellish life of a small time drug dealer. Bob And The Trees tells the story of Bob, a 50-year-old logger in rural Massachusetts with a soft spot for golf and gangster rap. Jean-Jacques Annaud’s visually spectacular film Wolf Totem from France and China, Roger Allers’s animation of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, Gregg Araki’s dramatic thriller White Bird in a Blizzard, Kim Farrant’s uneasy drama Strangerland set in Australia, and Chinese director Zhang Yimou’s drama romance, Coming Home contribute to the richly textured programme this year.

Documentaries

This year’s festival will once more play host to a sterling selection of documentaries from around the world. The American Film (Dis)Honesty – The Truth About Lies explores the complex impact dishonesty has on our lives and our societies. Cartoonists: Foot Soldiers of Democracy, from France, tells the story of 12 cartoonists and their fight for equality, accountability and transparency. Democrats, from Denmark, tells the unique story of the political elite in Zimbabwe fighting the battle over the principles defining the country's possible future. Foodies, from Sweden, follows five of the world's most renowned foodies on their hunt for the most exclusive nourishment in the world, while Taxi, from banned Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, takes us on a vibrant and colourful journey through the streets of Tehran. This year will also screen Joshua Oppenheimer highly acclaimed follow up to his Academy Award Nominated documentary The Act of Killing, his second film The Look of Silence sees a family that survives the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.

Brazilian Focus

Like South Africa, Brazil is a country defined by glaring inequality and cultural polarity. It also has a rich culture of cinema and a remarkably diverse national canon. Offering a window on to this complex and diverse country, Brazilian Vision presents a wide range of films from different regions in Brazil, providing an incisive overview of its considerable cinematic output. From the north-east state of Pernambuco comes two celebrated feature films: The History of Eternity by Camilo Cavalcanti and the moving Brazilian Dream, an opera movie depicting the Brazilian economic crisis. From the capital Brasília comes White Out, Black In, which portrays a country longing for transformation, while The Ballad of Poor Jean deals with the huge social divide between rich and poor in the country.

Tunisian Focus

The explosion of free speech that followed the Tunisian revolution in January 2011 gave birth to new cinematographic voices as young filmmakers armed themselves with cameras to express their points of view on a newly emerging society. The selection which are all in Arabic with English subtitles, includes amongst others Néjib Belkadhi Bastard (Bastardo), Kaouther Ben Hania’s Challet Of Tunis (Le Challet De Tunis), Raja Amari’s Tunisian Spring (Printemps Tunisien),, Hamza Ouni’s El Gort and Mohamed Challouf’s Tahar Cheriaa Under the Shadow of the Baobab which documents the undisputed father of Pan-Africanism and founder of film Carthage Film Festival, the first film festival in Africa who deployed all his energy to create the first authentic images of post-colonial Africa enabling African cinema to contribute to the modernization of the continent.

Semaine de la Critique in South Africa

DIFF, with the support of the French Institute of South Africa and Urucu Media, presents a traveling programme of La Semaine de la Critique (Critics’ Week) of Cannes Film Festival which will launch in Durban before travelling to Cape Town and Johannesburg. Featured films include amongst others Hope, Boris Lojkine’s takes on migration from Africa to Europe, You and the Night, an erotic-existential-queer comedy from Yann Gonzalez.  As well as these screenings, La Semaine de la Critique in South Africa features a master class with visiting filmmaker Boris Lojkine in Durban and filmmaker round tables in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

DIFF BEAT

With DIFF Beat, the festival pays tribute to musical freethinkers and rule-breakers. Filmmaker Adam Sjöberg and rap superstar Nasir ‘Nas’ Jones explore breakdancing and hip-hop in unlikely places in the film Shake the Dust. Tango Negro: The African Roots of Tango intersperses dance and musical performances with interviews with tango-lovers and experts, while Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck blends Cobain’s personal archive with touching interviews with his family. Imagine Waking up Tomorrow and All Music Has Disappeared comes from cult musician/art terrorist Bill Drummond, and When Voices Meet tells the story of therapist Sharon Katz and singer/educator Nonhlanhla Wanda’s 500-voice multiracial choir.

Just One Earth

Just One Earth offers a selection of films that promote sustainable living and raise awareness about the ecological threats we are facing. All the Time in the World tells the story of Canadian filmmaker Suzanne Crocker and her family who decide to take time out from their lives and relocate to the wilds. In Energised filmmaker Hubert Canaval explores how profit-driven efforts ensure that both alternative energy solutions and the threats to our existence posed by today’s main sources of energy remain largely unknown to the public. In Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story, filmmaker Grant Baldwin and producer/writer Jen Rustemeyer explore why nearly 50% of the food produced in Canada ends up in the trash. Finally, the extraordinary Virunga tells of a group of park-rangers in the Democratic Republic of Congo who have devoted their lives to saving the gorillas in Virunga National Park.

Wavescape Surf Film Festival

The 10th Wavescape Surf Festival at DIFF celebrates a decade of films and events around ocean sustainability and beach culture. From Sunday 19 to Saturday 25 July, Wavescape will showcase the latest surf films from around the world. In keeping with tradition, the Wavescape premiere will take place under the stars at the Bay of Plenty lawns on Sunday 19 July, followed by screenings at Ster Kinekor Musgrave until 25 July.

Talents Durban

The 8th Talents Durban will bring together 40 selected filmmakers from 10 different countries in Africa, chosen from over 200 submissions, who will take part in a series of masterclasses, workshops and industry networking opportunities during the festival. Supported by the KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, Goethe Institute SA, German Embassy in South Africa and Gauteng Film Commission, Talents Durban is presented in co-operation with Berlinale Talents. Talents Durban is a platform for African filmmakers to enhance their skills, develop collaborations and interface with the film industry in Africa and beyond.

Durban FilmMart

Now in its 6th year, the Durban FilmMart, a partnership project with the Durban Film Office and the Durban International Film Festival, is a film finance and co-production market presented in three strands – Finance Forum, Master Classes and the Africa in Focus seminars. 19 selected African projects (10 fiction features and 9 documentaries) will have an opportunity to hold one-on-one meetings with potential financiers, co-producers, and distributors in the Finance Forum. Projects will also have an opportunity to pitch to a panel of international commissioning editors and financiers in the African Pitch, a pitching forum of the DFM. See www.durbanfilmmart.com for further details.

Ticketing

DIFF 2015’s principal screening venues are Suncoast CineCentre, Ster Kinekor Musgrave, Cinema Nouveau Gateway, Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, Ekhaya Multi-Arts Centre in KwaMashu and the Tsogo Sun Elangeni Hotel. Other venues include the Bay of Plenty Lawns, the KZNSA Gallery, the Denis Hurley Centre, Sizakala Centre in Clermont, the Durban Music School and the Luthuli Museum on the North Coast. The festival hub is once more housed at the Tsogo Sun Elangeni Hotel.

Tickets should be acquired through the respective venues. Prices range from R20 to R40, except at Luthuli Museum, Ekhaya, Elangeni Hotel, the Denis Hurley Centre, Sizakala Centre in Clermont, the Durban Music School and Bay of Plenty lawns, which are free of charge.

Programme booklets with the full screening schedule and synopses of all the films are available free at screening venues and other public information outlets. Full festival details can also be found on www.durbanfilmfest.co.za or by calling 031 260 2506 or 031 260 1816.

The 36th Durban International Film Festival is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (a special project of the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Humanities, Cheryl Potgieter) with support from the National Film and Video Foundation, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development & Tourism, KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, City of Durban, German Embassy, Goethe Institut, Industrial Development Corporation, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture and a range of other valued partners.


Durban FilmMart Success Stories 2010-2015

Media Release

Durban FilmMart Success Stories 2010-2015

Now in its sixth year, the Durban FilmMart (DFM) has become an integral part of the fast-growing South African film industry. Since its inception in 2010, DFM has helped to facilitate more than 80 African co-production projects, many of which have subsequently been produced as acclaimed films. As the African and South African industry grows, the quality and volume of submitted projects has increased every year, making DFM the leading independent film market on the continent and a major force in the facilitation of successful African films.

As a result of DFM’s success, the Durban International Film Festival now regularly includes works from DFM alumni in its programme. Major fiction projects from the last 6 years that have had their genesis at DFM and were subsequently screened at DIFF include Ayanda (DFM 2013), the opening film at this year’s festival, the acclaimed Boda Boda Thieves (DFM 2011) from Ugandan co-operative Yes! That’s Us films and Imbabazi: The Pardon (DFM 2012), a personal account of the Rwandan genocide. Non-fiction films which have been screened at DIFF and made a major splash around the world include the South African gangster documentary Devil’s Lair (DFM 2012), Unearthed (DFM 2013) which explores the dangers of fracking and The Shore Break (DFM 2012), a vitally important film that chronicles the attempt of an international mining company to mine for titanium in one of the world’s last untouched natural areas.

Fiction Film Success Stories

The Nigerian film Confusion Na Wa  was a DFM project in 2010 and went on to win best film at the 2013 African Movie Awards, as well as other awards around the world. A dark comedy about a group of strangers whose fates become intertwined over the course of 24 hours, Confusion Na Wa was produced by Tom Rowlands-Rees and directed by Kenneth Gyang.

Imbabazi: the Pardon was one of the selected project at DFM in 2011, as a result of which producer-director Joel Karekezi attended the Rotterdam Lab in 2012. A very personal story about the genocide that took place in Rwanda, the film screened at DIFF 2014 as well as other festivals around the world, from Chicago to Luxor.

A Shot at the Big Time (DFM 2012) is inspired by the true story of director Janet van Eeden's brother, Jimmy, who took his own life rather than fight in the Apartheid border war.  After receiving its world premiere at DIFF, the film was selected for the Cannes Court Metrage, the short film corner of the official Cannes Festival 2014. The film was later nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the Independent Mzansi Short Film Festival. The feature film version of A Shot at the Big Time is currently in production.

Boda Boda Thieves began its life as a pitch at DFM 2011 and has gone on to receive international acclaim. A collaboration between South African producer James Tayler and Kenyan producer Sarah Muhoho, the project was awarded the CineMart Rotterdam Lab award at DFM and went on to win a Highlight Pitch Award at the Berlin Film Festival’s Talent Project Market.  The Boda Boda Thievestells the tale of a poverty-stricken family from Kampala, Uganda, who support themselves by driving a motorcycle taxi or ‘boda-boda’. Both producers and the film’s director Donald Mugisha are passionate about creating and developing content for African cinema, which they believe expresses a “proud identity of humanity, heritage and culture”.

Ayanda, which was selected as a project for DFM in 2013, will be opening the 36thedition of the Durban International Film Festival. Directed by Sara Blecher and produced by Terry Pheto, the film tells the story of a 21-year-old woman who fights to save her late father’s motor repair shop when it is threatened with closure.Ayanda received its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June this year where it was awarded a special mention in the world fiction category.

Documentary Success Stories

South African director Mayenzeke Baza's short documentary film Ndiyindoda (I Am a Man) tackles male circumcision, highlighting the dilemma it poses for South Africa as the country forges a position for itself in the modern world and attempts to reconcile its strongest traditions with newly enshrined democratic rights.Produced by Andy Jones, the project won Most Promising Documentary at DFM 2011, enabling Baza and Roughton to attend the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) later that year. The film premiered at the Encounters documentary festival and went on to be nominated for two South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTA) in 2014. The film also screened on the international news channel Al Jazeera and has helped to established Baza as a significant force in the South African film industry.

Devils Lair chronicles the life of a convicted murderer and gang leader named Braam as he comes to terms with a lifetime of dubious choices. Producer Neil Brandt and director Riaan Hendricks won Most Promising Documentary Project at DFM 2012 – which came with the opportunity to participate at IDFA Summer School and to pitch at the IDFA Forum The film went on to premiere at Hot Docs and became one of the highlights of DIFF 2013. It received three nominations at the SAFTAs in 2014, going on to win Best Feature and Best Editor, as well as numerous other awards at festivals around the world.

Unearthed, directed by Jolynn Minnaar and produced by Dylan Voogt, Stacey Keppler and Saskia Schiel, explores the effects of fracking in the United States in anticipation of proposed shale gas extraction in the Karoo and elsewhere in Southern Africa. Selected as a project for DFM 2013 and winning the WorldView Development Grant, the film screened to enthusiastic audiences at DIFF in 2014 and won the Green Award at the Sheffield International Documentary Festival the same year.

The Shore Break was selected as a DFM project in 2012 and premiered at IDFA in 2014. A powerful documentary whose narrative is every bit as engaging as a fiction thriller, the film will screen at DIFF this year and has already screened at the Encounters documentary film festival. It was the only South African documentary in Competition at IDFA 2014 and the only South African feature length documentary selected for Hot Docs 2015 in Toronto. The film won Best Feature Length Documentary at the 2015 Festival International du Film d'Environnement (FIFE) in Paris and the Backsberg Audience Choice Award at Encounters South African International Documentary Festival in June this year.

The Dreams of Shahrazad (DFM 2010) directed by Francois Verster and produced by Neil Brandt, Shameela Seedat and Wael Omar, explores the relationship between art and revolution through the famous story collection The 1001 Nights. The film received development and production support from DFM as well as the Sundance Institute, the IDFA Bertha Fund, the NFVF, the Hakkaya Network, the Dutch Film Fund and Spier Films, who also act as the films sales agent. The film premiered at the prestigious Masters Section of IDFA, and has gone on to receive critical acclaim and broadcast sales worldwide.

Other major successes that have emerged from DFM include the fiction-documentary hybrid Black President (DFM 2011), produced by Anna Teeman and directed by Mpumi Mcata (and also screening at DIFF this year), as well as the remarkable I, Afrikaner (DFM 2011), produced by Lauren Groenewald and directed by Annalet Steenkamp, which won Best South African documentary at DIFF in 2014. Khalo Matabane’s Mandela: The Myth and Me was selected as a DFM project in 2012 and won Special Jury at International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam IDFA. Like Rehad Desai’s Miners Shot Down (DFM 2013), it has been widely recognised as one of South Africa’s most important documentary films and has gone on to have an extremely rich life at festivals around the world.

Success Stories Still in the Making

Black Sunshine tells the story of a 12-year-old albino girl named Coco and her mother Rosemary who longs to escape her frustrating African reality which is dominated by issues of skin colour. Selected for DFM 2013, the project won Arte France’s Arte International Award and received the Tribeca All Access grant. Produced by Obibini Pictures and directed by Akosua Adoma Owusu, the project was also selected for the 2012 edition of Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors co-production market.

Solidarité , which has been renamed I am not a Witch, is a tragi-comedy about a Zambian child prodigy from first-time director Rungano Nyoni. Solidarité  was selected as project for DFM 2013 where Nyoni won the IFP Prize giving her the opportunity to present the project at IFP in New York. The same year Nyoni was also selected for the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinéfondation Résidence. The project was awarded development funding from the Hubert Bals Fund and also participated in the Locarno Open Doors co-production market, winning the Arte Prize and Vision Sud Est Prize. I am not a Witch is about to go into financing stage of pre-production.

 

Sea Monster from the now globally successful Triggerfish Studios tells the story of an obsessive-compulsive science geek who discovers a primordial sea monster off the coast of South Africa. Like its predecessor Khumba, which achieved sales in a large number of territories, Sea Monster is aimed at a global audience, taking on Dreamworks and Pixar at their own game. Directed by Anthony Silverston and produced by Stuart Forrest, Sea Monster is still in development.

Flatland from producer David Horler and director Jenna Cato Bass was selected for DFM 2012 where it scooped three awards: the WorldView prize for the most promising feature project, the IFFR prize and the European Audio Visual Entrepreneurs (EAVE) prize. Set in the Karoo, Flatland is a South African feminist western which tells the tale of three women who face mental and physical hardships as they search for a fabled apartheid-era nuclear bomb. The film hassince secured production support from the World Cinema Fund and has also secured a German co-producing partner, In Good Company, under producer Roshanak Behesht Nedjad. Flatland has secured intention for world sales from The Match Factory and production will begin in Winter 2016.

The 6th Durban FilmMart takes place in Durban, at the Tsogo Sun Elangeni from17 to 20 July 2015, during the 36th edition of the Durban International Film Festival (16-26 July 2015).

For more information on the Durban FilmMart and to register as a delegate visitwww.durbanfilmmart.com

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Issued on behalf of The Durban FilmMart by:

Sharlene Versfeld

Versfeld & Associates

 031-8116528/ 083 326 3235

Sharlene@versfeld.co.za/ info@versfeld.co.za

 

Note to Editors:

Herewith a selection of photos - if you have any special requests please let us know.

 

The Durban FilmMart (DFM) is a co-production and finance market and is a joint programme of the Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF). DFM provides filmmakers from across Africa with a valuable opportunity to pitch projects to financiers, distributors, sales agents and potential co-producers, and to participate in meetings, project presentations and a series of master classes and workshops on the latest industry trends.www.durbanfilmmart.com

The Durban Film Office (DFO) is the film industry development arm of the eThekwini Municipality, mandated to position Durban as a world-class film production destination and facilitator for the development of the local film industry. The DFO drives activity and development in the sector in order to boost tourism, job creation and the development of core skills and SMMEs in the region.www.durbanfilmoffice.com

 The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) presents over 250 screenings from different countries and cultures with a special focus on Africa. The festival includes development programmes such as Talents Durban and a rich schedule of workshops. DIFF is a flagship project of the Centre for Creative Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal, which facilitates creative platforms and economic opportunities for artists and related industries, intercultural exchange and network development, training, audience development and strategic Pan-African and international cooperation in the cultural sectors. www.cca.ukzn.ac.za

Videovision Entertainment Premieres Six Films at the 2015 Durban International Film Festival

Media Release

Videovision Entertainment premieres Six Films

at the 2015 Durban International Film Festival 

Videovision Entertainment announced today that it will premiere six films at the 36th Durban International Film Festival, which takes place from July 16 to 26.

The films, which will all have either South African and African premieres at the festival, are Wolf Totem, Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet, Strangerland, Mommy,  Coming Home and White Bird in a Blizzard.

“As a proudly Durban based company, we are pleased to be continuing our partnership with the DIFF by bringing these great films by some of the world’s top film-makers to the festival.” says Sanjeev Singh, director of acquisition and distribution for Videovision Entertainment. “Of particular significance for Durban, is the attendance of the award winning director Jean-Jacques Annaud at the African premiere of his visually spectacular film Wolf Totem on July 20 and the selection of the animated adaptation of Khalil Gibran’s seminal work, The Prophet directed by Roger Allers, as the closing night film of the festival.”

The much-lauded Wolf Totem by the celebrated, award-winning French director Jean-Jacques Annaud is a visually beautiful adaptation of the Chinese best-seller by Jiang Rong. The film has received critical acclaim with Variety calling the film a ‘viscerally powerful drama,’ while The Hollywood Reporter said that the film was ‘spectacularly staged…stunning’ and Screen International pronounced the film to be ‘a proud throwback in look and spirit to a kind of filmmaking we don’t see much anymore.’ The film has also achieved box office success, reaping in US$ 111 million in China and US$9 million in France.  

“We are pleased that director Annaud who has a string of blockbusters to his name such as Seven Years in Tibet, Quest for Fire, The Name of the Rose and The Bear, will be attending the festival.” says Sanjeev Singh. “This is great news for Durban, the festival and indeed the film industry as well, as his presence will stimulate the conversation around film-making in the country, on a global level. The French Institute in South Africa and ourselves look forward to hosting him in Durban and giving him a unique South African experience.”

“Jean-Jacques Annaud is one of the most internationally renowned French filmmakers and an Academy Award winner having worked with many stars like Brad Pitt, Sean Connery and Jude Law, to name a few.  The French Institute of South Africa is proud to have made it possible for him to attend the DIFF, together with UniFrance and Videovision Entertainment, as part of its efforts to strengthen the links between France and South Africa in the film industry”, says Frédéric Chambon, Film and Media Regional Attaché at the French Embassy in South Africa.

Inspired by the beloved classic Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, the film is a richly-animated tale of an unlikely friendship between a young, mischievous girl and an imprisoned poet. Interwoven with Gibran’s lyrical and inspiring words on the true nature of love, work, freedom and marriage, the film is written and directed by Roger Allers and features the voices of Liam Neeson, Salma Hayek-Pinault, Quvenzhané Wallis, John Krasinski, Frank Langella and Alfred Molina.  The film had its World Premiere in the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival this year.

White Bird in a Blizzard directed by Gregg Araki (Mysterious Skin), stars Shailene Woodley, Eva Green and Angela Bassett. This dramatic thriller, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, has been described as sexy and haunting, tells the story of a young woman discovering her own sexuality when her mother mysteriously disappears. At first she is not impacted by it, but on returning home on a break from college, finds herself confronted with the truth about her mother's departure, and her own denial about the events surrounding it.

The multi award-winning, Mommy, by acclaimed director Xavier Dolan (Heartbeats, Tom at the Farm), had its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.  The film is set in a fictional Canada, where a new law allows parents to abandon their troubled children to the hospital system. Diane “Die” Despres (Anne Dorval), a feisty single mother, has to pick up her teenage son Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon) from the institution where he lives, because he's hurt a smaller boy and so sets into motion the events of Mommy.

Strangerland directed by Kim Farrant starring Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving and Joseph Fiennes, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, is about a family that finds their dull life in a rural outback town rocked after their two teenage children disappear into the desert, sparking disturbing rumours of their past.

Chinese director Zhang Yimou’s drama romance, Coming Home, which was in the Cannes Film Festival’s Official Selection, is an epic story of love and loss, is pitted to become a new classic in Chinese cinema. Coming Home is described as “a deeply affectionate film with great ideological power, a milestone for Chinese cinema” by Mao Yu, Deputy Director of the China Film Bureau.

“We would like to thank Videovision Entertainment for their constant interest in, and contribution to, the festival by providing top-end films from celebrated directors.” says Pedro Pimenta, Director of DIFF. “We have a vision to provide our audiences with films that are at once accessible and aesthetically pleasing, and to ensure that some of the films screened provide stimulation for the growth of the South African film industry, and these titles certainly speak to both of these notions.”

The 36th Durban International Film Festival is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (a special project of the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the College of Humanities, Cheryl Potgieter) with support from KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development & Tourism, KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, City of Durban, German Embassy, Goethe Institut, Industrial Development Corporation, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture and a range of other valued partners.

For more information go to www.durbanfilmfest.co.za.

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Backsberg Audience Choice Award for The Shore Break at Encounters

Media Release

Backsberg Audience Choice Award for The Shore Break at Encounters

Today it was announced that Ryley Grunenwald’s The Shore Break, won the prestigious Backsberg Audience Choice Award at Encounters South African International Documentary Festival for Best South African Film. The award-winning documentary film follows the dilemma faced by a rural community on South Africa’s Wild Coast as to whether to support or resist a proposed titanium mining project and a national tolled highway.

Grunenwald says she is thrilled with the accolade. “Both my co-producer Odette Geldenhuys and I are really pleased about the win. The Shore Break was a labour of love so it is very rewarding to know it is well received by South African audiences. It was an important story to tell because it captures the nuance and complexity around issues of developing the Wild Coast. The story follows two Pondo cousins who have opposing dreams for the future of their land. One wants to preserve the land through sustainable development while the other plans to mine it for titanium, believing large scale development is the only way to improve employment opportunities.”

“The audience award is based on a complicated calculation in which the festival takes into account the capacity of the cinemas, numbers of tickets sold and the votes cast.” says Odette Geldenhuys. “The film captured the imagination of festival goers, so much so that all our five scheduled screenings were sold out and we had to have two additional screenings in Cape Town and Johannesburg.”

Backsberg Estate Cellars CEO Simon Back  adds, “It is a great honour for us to sponsor the Audience Choice Awards. The aim of the awards is to raise awareness around the festival and what has resonated with audiences. With sustainability being core to the way we run our winery, I am also thrilled that both winners raise awareness around critical environmental matters.” 

The Shore Break, which was a project in the 2013 Durban FilmMart, will have its co-premiere at the 36th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) on July 18, 2015 with four screenings only during the festival which runs from July 16 to 26.

For more information about film go to www.theshorebreakmovie.com,

Trailer: http://vimeo.com/102621491

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theshorebreakmovie

Twitter: http://twitter.com/theshorebreak

and for the DIFF go to www.durbanfilmfestival.co.za

-ends

Note to editors:

Digital stills, EPK and links to articles and reviews are available online:http://theshorebreakmovie.com/press/

The Shore Break had its European premiere at IDFA 2014 (Competition for First Appearance), The Netherlands, and had other screenings at FIFE 2015 (where it won Feature Length Documentary), France, FIFF 2015, France, Festival Millennium 2015, Belgium, Hot Docs 2015, Canada, Sydney International Film Festival 2015, Australia, Encounters International Documentary Film Festival 2015, South Africa and will be screened at DIFF 2015 and the International Film Festival for Human Rights 2015, Argentina.

Below are audience comments pulled from the Facebook page of the film, as well as the director’s and producer’s Facebook pages, or emailed to them.

"It is a wonderful film. Everyone possible must see it. Please put it on the Films for Action site. Congrats again.”

“During the panel discussion we felt Nonhle’s courage and her passion, which followed through from the film.”

“This is the best documentary I have ever seen.”

“Thanks so much for the film. What an accomplishment balancing all the layers and all the intrigue. Great stuff!”  

"The film is great on all levels – story, drama, great characters, fantastic footage and cinematography, topical subject matter, it is all there."

"The film was excellent. You did a sterling job."

"I watched your movie today. It was profoundly lovely and engaging and interesting. The animations were magical."

"What a feat balancing all the intrigue and complexity. Congrats!”

Durban FilmMart to host leading Financiers, Producers and Broadcasters for its Sixth Edition

Media Release

Durban FilmMart to host leading Financiers, Producers and Broadcasters for its sixth edition July 17 – 20, 2015

Durban, South Africa: The Durban FilmMart (DFM), the co-production forum of Durban Film Office (DFO), the film industry development programme of the city and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), Africa’s premier film festival will host leading industry financiers, producers and commissioning editors at its sixth edition  from July 17 – 20, 2015.

The DFM, now in it’s 6th year, is Africa’s leading finance and co-production market, and networking event, which includes a finance forum, master classes, an Africa in Focus workshop and seminar programme in conjunction with the DIFF for industry delegates,  and numerous networking functions.

“Film-makers from Africa and across the globe enjoy the opportunity that the DFM creates to connect with others in the industry to share contacts, knowledge and creative ideas.” says Toni Monty, of the Durban Film Office. “Filmmakers take full advantage of the various networking sessions and social engagements in between sessions to connect with financiers, producers, commissioning editors as well as distributors and the myriad creative filmmakers that attend.”

“Our main objective is to help people connect and develop networks and partnerships with others in the industry, especially those from across Africa.” says Toni Monty of the DFO. “We see how African filmmakers have developed strong relationships over the years and through various collaborative efforts we are starting to see an interesting growth in the industry. .”

This year some top-drawer industry professionals will be in attendance to meet the filmmakers of the pre-selected film projects in the Finance Forum. Durban FilmMart delegates will be able to network with these financiers and other high profile industry guests on over the four days of the DFM.

The line up of producers, commissioning editors and financiers include producer, Alexandra Stone, who heads CMP Film Ltd, a London-based film and television production company. She was worked with top-end filmmakers such as  Bernardo Bertolucci, Terry Gilliam, Jonathan Glazer, Johnny Depp, Phillip Noyce and David Cronenberg, as well as Peter Weir, Euzhan Palcy, Lasse Hallstrom and Steve Kloves.

Cosima Degler producer of unafilm, whose slate of films have been screened at A-festivals around the world including Berlinale, Cannes, Toronto, Locarno, IDFA, San Sebastian, DOKLeipzig, among others them. In 2013 unafilm’s Heli won the award for Best Director in competition in Cannes and in 2014 Bridges of Sarajevo was shown in the Sélection Officielle in Cannes.

Managing Director of Barentsfilms, Ingrid Lill Høgtun, is the Norwegian co-producer for Cylinder Production, for the film "Essential Killing" by Jerzy Skolimowski, a Polish, Norwegian, Irish, Hungarian co-production, which won the Jury´s Special Award and Best Actor in Venice 2010. She is also Executive Producer for the TV-series "Hellfjord" by Tommy Wirkola and others, produced by Tappeluft Pictures.  Based in Oslo, Norway, Barentsfilm produces mainly art house films and documentaries. Among others, the company has produced most of the films of the acclaimed Norwegian director, Knut Erik Jensen.

Jelena Goldbach, producer with ZAK Film Productions,  specialises in European co-productions. In 2014 Jelena produced The Chicken by the up-and coming Bosnian writer/director Una Gunjak, which won the European Film Award for Best Short Film. The Chicken premiered at the 67th Festival de Cannes, in the Semaine de la Critique strand and was the winner of the prestigious Robert Bosch Coproduction Price. In 2010 Jelena founded Wostok, an independent London-based production company that specializes in development, financing and production of international projects with focus on up-and coming talent.

Philipp Hoffman, from Rushlake Media, a company that supports producers, rights holders and institutions marketing their content in the changing landscape of film distribution with its core business is VOD licensing and digital distribution:  Beside the digital distribution, we do the international sales for selected producers with a focus on the African market. Clients include Tom Tykwer’s One fine Day Films and Gravel Road Entertainment Group.

Director of Documentary programming at the Tribeca Film Institute, Jose Rodriguez has been a script/book reader for Overture Films while also working on Tze Chun’s Children of Invention and the documentary Poor Consuelo Conquers the World. The Tribeca Film Institute champions storytellers to be catalysts for change in their communities and around the world. With over $1.5 million USD in annual grants and professional development programs, TFI supports a diverse, exceptional group of filmmakers and media artists, providing them resources needed to fully realise their stories and connect with audiences.

Additional key guests include Afridocs (South Africa), Afrinolly (Nigeria), Arrow Entertainment Inc (Canada), Arte  (France), Barents Film (Norway), BBC StoryVille (UK), Caribbean Tales (Canada), Cinemart (Netherlands), CMP Films (UK), Docubox (Kenya), Doe Eye Media Production Inc (Canada), Endorphine Production (Germany), Goethe Institut (Germany), Gotel Communications Ltd, Hot Docs / Blue Ice (Canada), IDFA (Netherlands), Inner City Films (Canada), Melia Films France (France), Produire au Sud (France), Prospector Films (Canada), Real Livin’ Films Inc (Canada), Rome Cinema Network (Italy), Rush Lake Media (Germany), Sherwood Productions Inc, (Canada), Sisu Productions (Canada), Ste Films (Italy), Sundance Institute (USA),Ten 10 Films (UK), Torpedo Pictures (Canada), Tribeca Film Institute (USA), Triptych Media Inc (Canada), Una Film (Germany), XYZ Films (USA), Zak Films (Germany), ZDF (Germany).

By all accounts Durban FilmMart 2015 is set to offer attending delegates enormous opportunity to build important networks for project development.

Early bird registration closes 27 June 2015. This offers a discounted fee for the DFM as well as an opportunity to be listed in the industry manual, which is used as a reference tool by filmmakers.

For more information or to register for the DFM 2015 go to www.durbanfilmmart.com, or email info@durbanfilmmart.com

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Note to Editors:

The Durban FilmMart (DFM) is a co-production and finance market and is a joint programme of the Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF). DFM provides filmmakers from across Africa with a valuable opportunity to pitch projects to financiers, distributors, sales agents and potential co-producers, and to participate in meetings, project presentations and a series of master classes and workshops on the latest industry trends.  www.durbanfilmmart.com

The Durban Film Office (DFO) is the film industry development arm of the eThekwini Municipality, mandated to position Durban as a world-class film production destination and facilitator for the development of the local film industry. The DFO drives activity and development in the sector in order to boost tourism, job creation and the development of core skills and SMMEs in the region.  www.durbanfilmoffice.com

The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) presents over 250 screenings from different countries and cultures with a special focus on Africa. The festival includes development programmes such as Talents Durban and a rich schedule of workshops. DIFF is a flagship project of the Centre for Creative Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal, which facilitates creative platforms and economic opportunities for artists and related industries, intercultural exchange and network development, training, audience development and strategic Pan-African and international cooperation in the cultural sectors.  www.cca.ukzn.ac.za

Talents Durban 2015 Participants Announced

Media Release

TALENTS DURBAN 2015 PARTICIPANTS ANNOUNCED

The 36th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is proud to announce the participants of the 8th edition of Talents Durban, presented in cooperation with the Berlinale Talents an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival. Talents Durban is a five day development programme made up of workshops and seminars for African filmmakers delivered by film professionals, academics and intellectuals. The Talents, who are selected through a rigorous application process, will also have the opportunity to attend screenings and events at the Festival.

Talents Durban is one of the 6 Talents International programmes formed by Berlinale Talents in Africa and around the world including Talents Beirut in Lebanon, Talents Buenos Aires in Argentina, Talents Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Talents Tokyo in Japan and Talents Guadalajara in Mexico.

40 filmmakers from 10 countries across the continent including South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Zambia and Cameron will be in attendance.

The following are the selected participants of Talents:

Oluwakemi Adesoye (Nigeria), Ssenkumba Adnan (Uganda), Lawrence Agbetsise (Ghana), Isabella Akinseye (Nigeria), Kassim Braimah (Nigeria), Bentley Brown (Tunisia), Lucky Nhlanhla Cele (South Africa), Karien Cherry (South Africa), Joanne Corrigall (South Africa), Angeline Dimingo (Zimbabwe), Daniel Ecwalu (Uganda), Daniella Esua (Nigeria), Polani Fourie (South Africa), Mehluli Hikwa (Zimbabwe), Benjamin Johnson (South Africa), Njata Joseph (Rwanda), Andrew Kaggwa (Uganda), Joel Kapungwe (Zambia) Godisamang Khunou (South Africa), Trent Kok (South Africa), Makundi Lambani (South Africa), Sheetal Megan (South Africa), Theoline Maphutha (South Africa), Francisca Meyer (South Africa), Ali Mwangola (Kenya), Samantha Nell (South Africa), Simphiwe Ngcobo (South Africa), John Nyoka (South Africa), Roselidah Obala (Kenya), Agbor Obed (Cameroon), Temotope Ogun (Nigeria), Olawale Oluwadahunsi (Nigeria), Kennedy Omoro (Kenya),Osei Owusu Banahene (Ghana), Davashni Rajoo (South Africa), Charne Simpson (South Africa), Samson Ssenkaaba (Unganda), Tendai Charles Tshuma (South Africa), Amy Van Den Houten (South Africa), Mark Wambui (Kenya).

Presented under the theme Start Motion, Talents Durban aims to boost the already rising flow of current filmmaking in Africa, and to encourage filmmakers on the continent to share their stories through their own cultured lense. Participants interact with over 600 delegates of DIFF and Durban FilmMart, the co-production and finance forum which takes place from July 17 to 20 at the festival. Selected participants get to be part of numerous project-oriented, hands on skills development programs. Practical development programmes within Talents Durban include Talent Press, Script Station and Doc Station.

Script station is a script development programme for short films which pairs four writers with script editors who assist in clarifying story and getting to an advanced draft of their script. Our participants this year are John Nyoka, Mark Wambui, Quwakemi Adesoye and Polani Fourie. The mentors for the programme are Tracey Dearham-Rainers and Karima Effendi.

Talent Press is presented in cooperation with Fipresci, an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world which lobbies for the promotion and development of film culture. The programme invites four critics to cover the films and events of the Durban International Film festival for online and print publication. Talent press has four participants and they are Andrew Kaggwa, Oluwale Oluwadahunsi, Isabella Akinseye and Kennedy Omoro. They will be mentored by film writers/reviewers Sarah Dawson, Oris Aigbokhaevbolo, Debashine Thangevelo and Shaibu Hussein.

DOC station selects three documentary projects in development for coaching and mentoring towards participation in a public pitch at the DFM’s pitching forum, The African Pitch. Participants are given mentoring prior to the pitching and during preparations at the festival. Doc Station participants are Bentley Brown, Sheetal Megan and Tendayi Tshuma and the producer mentor is Odette Geldenhuys. They will receive additional mentorship from Andy Jones, Jihan El Tahri and Khalo Matabane.

Talents Durban is supported by the KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, Goethe Institute SA, German Embassy in South Africa and Gauteng Film Commission.

The 36th Durban International Film Festival is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (a special project of the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the College of Humanities, Cheryl Potgieter).

For more information about Talents Durban at the DIFF go to www.durbanfilmfest.co.za, or call Sandile Gumede on (031) 260 3586.

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