Media Release - Great Line-up at the 32nd Durban International Film Festival
The 32nd Durban International Film Festival, supported by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (principal funder), National Film and Video Foundation, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism and other valued funders and partners, kicks off on 21 July with the World Premiere of the South African film Otelo Burning, directed by Sara Blecher. Set during the last days of apartheid, the Durban-shot filmtells the story of a group of South African township youngsters who discover surfing as an empowering escape from the political violence of the times. There is drama, romance, rivalry, and tragedy in this convincing fulfilment of local filmmaking potential.
Between the 21st and 31st of July, the festival will be crammed with great films from around the world. Skoonheid, Oliver Hermanus’s groundbreaking film that caused a stir at the recent Cannes film festival, will have its first South African screening at the festival. DIFF will also present the World Premieres of Charlie Vundla’s noir film How To Steal 2 Million, John Barker’s thrilling heist flick 31 Million Reasons, Faith Isiakpere’s crime drama The Algiers Murders, Eldorado by new talents Shaldon Ferris and Lorreal Ferris, the hilarious comedy Taka Takata by Damir Radonic, and The Dream by Zuko Nodada. Making their African Premieres are Mukunda Michael Dewil’s psychological thriller Retribution and Paula van der Oest’s moving film about Ingrid Jonker, Black Butterflies.
DIFF 2011 includes the African Premiere of the year’s most anticipated film – Terrence Malick’s The Tree Of Life, which just won the Palme d’Or in Cannes. Other highlights include Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris, which will close the festival, Bela Tarr’s The Turin Horse, Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Elena, Jose Padilha’s Elite Squad 2 – The Enemy Within, Takeshi Kitano’s Outrage, Michel Ocelot’s Tales Of The Night, SJ Clarkson’s Toast, Lee Chang-dong’s Poetry, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.
African cinema will also be well-represented by Djo Tunda Wa Munga’s striking and unique Viva Riva!, Nigerian director Andrew Donsunmu’s visually beautiful Restless City, Justin Chadwick’s uplifting Kenya-set film The First Grader, and Ebrahim El Batout’s Hawi which first appeared in Durban as a project at the inaugural Durban FilmMart in 2010.
DIFF will focus on two national cinemas this year: India and Canada. Six films from the great Indian master Satyajit Ray will be presented, alongside daring new works by talented new Indian filmmakers. Leena Manimekelai will present the World Premiere of her film The Dead Sea and other Indian films include Onir’s I Am, Sanjoy Nag’s Memories In March, Kaushik Mukherjee’s Bengali hip hop film Asshole, and Aamir Bashir’s Autumn.
In a very strong year for Canadian cinema, DIFF will present Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar-nominated Incendies, the gritty drama Jo For Jonathan, Ed Gass-Donnelly’s Small Town Murder Songs, Xavier Dolan’s ravishing Heartbeats, and the quirky Familiar Ground by Stephane Lafleur. Canadian documentaries include Barry Steven’s Prosecutor, a fascinating look at the International Criminal Court, and Shannon Walsh’s St. Henri, The 26th Of August.
Germany is also well-represented at DIFF 2011 with Tom Tykwer’s Three, Pia Marais’ At Ellen’s Age, Ulrich Kohler’s Sleeping Sickness and the stunning documentary El Bulli – Cooking In Progress by Gereon Wetzel.
Local stories in the powerful documentary line-up include World Premieres such as Ryley Grunewald’s The Dawn of a New Day where healing is shown as being more than skin deep, Mickey Dube’s Sobukwe, A Great Soul about one of this country’s most influential, but unsung, heroes, the Keith Jones/Deon Maas music revolution collaboration Punk In Africa, and the Dara Kell/Chris Nizza collaboration Dear Mandela about innovative leadership emerging in informal settlements. Not to be missed, DIFF will present the African premiere of Mama Africa, the inspirational film about Miriam Makeba.
With the COP conference on climate change taking place in Durban later in the year, an exceptional range of conscientising environmental films is included in this year’s Eco-Lens focus. There is heated Irish village resistance to Shell in The Pipe; Blood in the Mobile shows how frightening mining conditions in the DRC produce material for our cellphones; and, fresh from Cannes, The Big Fix exposes corruption and cover-ups surrounding the Mexican Gulf oil spill. Countdown to Zero (by Lucy Walker whose Waste Land won big awards in 2010) is about nuclear weapons and challenges to disarmament, while Into Eternity covers nuclear waste storage. Eco-Pirate- the Story of Paul Watson is about this legendary defender of our oceans and its creatures (Paul Watson will attend the festival).
The riveting Sing Your Song is the story of Harry Belafonte from his music and film career to his involvement in civil rights and anti-apartheid movements. A special highlight will be Leonard Retel-Helmrich’s tracking of an Indonesian family in Position Among the Stars. This masterful film won top awards at both Sundance and IDFA.
Look out also for King Naki, a beautiful story of struggle and achievement set around horse-racing in the rural Transkei, the Cape Town film The Imam and I , and the Durban-shot Street Kids United.
The global financial meltdown is the focus of the 2011 Academy Award winning Inside Job, while John Pilger’s biting The War You Don’t See is a timely investigation into the media’s role in war. Other documentaries cover Bollywood, Robert Mugabe, the Black Power movement in America, organic agriculture, paraplegic musicians in Kinshasa, and West Indian cricket. Packages of short documentaries and short films are also on offer.
Opening with an outdoor screening on the beachfront on 24th July, DIFF will host the Wavescapes Surf Film Festival for the 7th consecutive year – a six-day blast of red-hot wave action, surf stories and groundbreaking cinematography.
INDUSTRY WORKSHOPS
DIFF has become a valued meeting point for filmmakers and industry professionals, local and international, and the seminar and workshop programme is populated with leading experts offering insight and debate on a range of relevant issues. Talent Campus Durban is an intensive five-day programme bringing together nearly 50 African filmmakers from 16 countries on the continent. Durban FilmMart, www.durbanfilmmart.com a partnership with the Durban Film Office, not only facilitates opportunities for African projects selected for meetings with international financiers and potential co-producers, but also provides a seminar and master class programme for registered DFM delegates. 2011 marks the 10th year of DIFF’s partnership with University of KwaZulu-Natal’s AV divison who run the workshop programme for first-time filmmakers from community organizations. There are also a number of presentations by the National Film and Video Foundation.
Special events running conjunctively with DIFF include an exhibition of Bollywood paintings by Ranjit Dahiya, organized in association with Alliance Francaise, and performances by Grammy-nominated Debashish Bhattacharya, a leading exponent of the chaturangui (Indian slide-guitar).
Festival screenings will take place at Nu Metro Cinecentre Suncoast, Ster Kinekor Musgrave, Cinema Nouveau Gateway, the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, Ekhaya KwaMashu, The Royal Hotel, Luthuli Museum (Groutville) and other venues.
For film synopses, screening schedules and programme details on the 32nd Durban International Film Festival visit www.cca.ukzn.ac.za.
The Durban International Film Festival is organised by the Centre For Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal) with support by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (principal funder), National Film and Video Foundation, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism, HIVOS, City Of Durban, German Embassy of South Africa, Goethe Institut of South Africa, Industrial Development Corporation and a range of other valued partners.
-ends
Sharlene Versfeld
Versfeld & Associates: The Communication Works
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Sunday, July 3, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
TALENT CAMPUS PARTICIPANTS AT DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
 | 22 - 26 July 2011 at the 32nd Durban International Film Festival (21-31 July - 2011 ) | |||||||
| TALENT CAMPUS PARTICIPANTS AT DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL | ||||||||
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| TALENT CAMPUS DURBAN PARTICIPANTS 2011: | ||||||||
| Kitso Lynn Lelliott (Botswana) Eudes Narcisse Wandji Ngassa (Cameroon) Lassina Kon (Côte D’ivoire) Ahmed Ghonemi (Egypt) Nadine Salib Abdel Said (Egypt) Eskindir Tefera Mengistu (Ethiopia) Yinekachew Shumete Desalegn (Ethiopia) Cedric Ido (France) Akosua Adoma Owusu (Ghana) Kwaku Duah Prempeh (Ghana) Natasha Likimani (Kenya) Peggy Mbiyu (Kenya) (also in Doc Station Durban) Zipporah Nyaruri (Kenya) Thabiso Mohapeloa (Lesotho) Coulibaly Daouda (Mali) Bodunrin Iruemiobe (Nigeria) Peter Chidiebere Omewiri - Pius (Nigeria) Mugwaneza Richard (Rwanda) Anel Alexander (South Africa) Anthonie Van Der Walt (South Africa) Calum Macnaughton (South Africa) Duduetsang Makuse (South Africa) Dylan Valley (South Africa) (also in Doc Station Durban) Gavillan Letsoalo (South Africa) Guy Sclanders (South Africa) Jarryn Katia (South Africa) Jonathan Caramanus (South Africa) Kyle Lewis (South Africa) Mandilakhe Yengo (South Africa) Mark Edwards (South Africa) Matthew Jankes (South Africa) Molefi Lebone (South Africa) Mthokozisi Lembethe (South Africa) Padraic O'meara (South Africa) Rishane Rajkoomar (South Africa) Rudzani Muthambi (South Africa) Sean Drummond (South Africa) Tiny Mungwe (South Africa) Tshegohatso Molete (South Africa) Yashvir Bagwandeen (South Africa) Zachariah Rapola (South Africa) Nonhlanhla Benji Dlamini (Swaziland) (also in Doc Station Durban) Agnes Kamya (Uganda) Joseph Kenneth Ssebaggala (Uganda) Rehema Nanfuka (Uganda) Lydia "Sue-Ellen" Chitunya (Zimbabwe) Rudo Chakanyuka (Zimbabwe) Simon De Swardt (Zimbabwe) | ||||||||
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Thursday, February 24, 2011
Weapons of mass film production get rolling
By JOSEPH BONYO jbonyo@ke.nationmedia.comPosted Monday, February 21 2011 at 16:45
Kenyans films have taken too many baby steps to grow into a full commercial industry.
With history tracing it’s beginning to early 1960’s, the industry has faced numerous challenges from within and without.
While several big budget and internationally acclaimed films have been shot in Kenya, local players have barely scratched the surface.
“We have barely utilised the talent and content that we have locally to grow this industry. There needs to be a change in focus for us to grow to international standards,” says Information and communication PS Dr Bitange Ndemo.
However, the past five years have seen a number of players in the sector come out bare-knuckle looking for nothing short of beating their peers in Lagos and Abuja in Nigeria.
This has seen a number of productions rolled out to first endear homegrown viewers before cutting across the borders.
“The local film industry has been on a downward trend for a long time,” notes a recent survey commissioned by the Kenya Film Commission. “However, recently locally produced programmes have begun to enjoy a strong following both locally and internationally.”
According to the survey, Economic contribution of Film and TV in Kenya, there is a shift in status evident in television programmes aired by the local media stations and pay TV channels like DStv. This has exposed local content to the international market and spurred production locally.
Some of the local hits done in the recent past include; ‘Lost’ by Bobby Bresson, ‘The race’ by Mburu Kimani, ‘The stigma’ by Sheila Mulinya, ‘Malooned’ by Bob Nyanja, ‘Ras Star’ by Wanuri Kahiu and Anna Marano.
Other productions that got good ratings from local audience include ‘Dangerous Affair’ and ‘Project Daddy’ among others.
“There is a lot more that can be done in this industry if right measures are put in places. Currently some of the regulations around filming and production are a deterrence to the industry’s growth,” says Mr Peter Mutie, the chief executive officer of the Kenya Film Commission.
Mr Mutie notes that in some local government jurisdictions, filmmakers pay hefty amounts per day to shoot at a site.
An example is in Malindi where Sh100,000 is charged per day per site of a film location. In Nairobi, the City Council is said to have recently increased the charge to Sh50,000 per street per day to shoot a film.
Economically the industry brings in about Sh3 billion annually, which is three categories as either direct and indirect contribution or through ripple effects from the industry.
Some of the areas that the industry contributes to indirectly include tourism, skills and labour supply, culture and merchandising.
“What the survey revealed is that the industry has a number of sectors that it contributes to indirectly such as the hotel and food industry, transport, financial services, legal among others,” says Mr Mutie.
But then the total value of the industry is difficult to ascertain since it’s not mandatory to register a film or television production. As a result there might be a large part which is not captured in the official records.
Compared to the Nigerian movie industry, Kenya performs poorly both in terms of economic contribution and levels of production. Annually it contributes about Sh22.8 billion to the Nigerian economy.
Nollywood, as the business is known, churns out about 50 full-length features a week, making it the world’s second most prolific film industry after India’s Bollywood, according to an article in The Economist.
With its origins traced to 1992, Nollywood has cut itself a niche of producing movies for home consumption rather than for cinema halls. This might perhaps explain why the movies from the west continue to flood the Kenyan market as opposed to local productions.
In the 2009/2010 financial year budget, the government announced certain tax incentives to spur growth in the industry.
The full benefits of these incentives are yet to get to the industry as immigration and customs officials still harass producers out to utilise the benefits.
“These statistics will now help the government to look at how best it can partner with industry and may be even set up a film fund to promote the industry,” notes Dr Ndemo.
“Films produced locally also suffer from a perception that they are inferior in quality compared to productions from foreign countries,” says Mr Mutie.
Although a number of locally produced films have won accolades globally, the government is yet to fully understand and support the industry.
In the 2009/2010 financial year budget, the government announced certain tax incentives to spur growth in the industry.
The full benefits of these incentives are yet to get to the industry as immigration and customs officials still harass producers out to utilise the benefits.
“These statistics will now help the government to look at how best it can partner with industry and may be even set up a film fund to promote the industry,” notes Dr Ndemo.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
African filmmakers meet in Nairobi
African filmmakers meet in Nairobi to count blessings and plot
Africa prepares to unveil list of finalist filmmakers and films selected for the seventh edition of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). Photo | AMAA | AFRICA REVIEW |
By MWENDA wa MICHENI in Nairobi (email the author)
Posted Monday, February 14 2011 at 16:27
Posted Monday, February 14 2011 at 16:27
In less than two weeks, African filmmakers; actors and critics congregate in Nairobi, not just to witness the unveiling of finalists picked for the continental 7th edition of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), but also to take stock of the industry.
Ahead of the event, Tony Anih, the Executive Secretary of AMAA, spoke on the event and state of African Cinema. Excerpts:
What does AMAA promise this year, and how is it going to deliver results?
AMAA has the highest number of films submitted for consideration this year. Filmmakers have come to understand the fact that they have to up the ante in order to play this game. Africans and the world shall see very good films during the nominations and the actual awards ceremony. We are working round the clock to ensure a very successful event.
AMAA has the highest number of films submitted for consideration this year. Filmmakers have come to understand the fact that they have to up the ante in order to play this game. Africans and the world shall see very good films during the nominations and the actual awards ceremony. We are working round the clock to ensure a very successful event.
What, exactly, is happening in Nairobi and why this location?
Nairobi will be hosting the Nomination Night on February 25, 2011. The venue is the Ole-Sereni Hotel on Mombasa Road. There will also be a music concert dubbed Nairobi Rocks with Stars on February 26, 2011 at the Carnivore grounds in Lang’ata. P-Square, J Martins, Edge, Kwela Tebza and a couple of other local artists from Kenya shall perform. African movie stars like Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Rita Dominic, Genevieve Nnaji, Aki & Paw Paw, Desmond Elliot, Jackie Appiah, Majid Michel, Bond Emeruwa, Kate Henshaw-Nuttal, Ramsey Nouah, Segun Arinze, and Mercy Johnson will also be in attendance. Nairobi is the entry point into Eastern Africa. It is because of her strategic position that we are coming here.
Nairobi will be hosting the Nomination Night on February 25, 2011. The venue is the Ole-Sereni Hotel on Mombasa Road. There will also be a music concert dubbed Nairobi Rocks with Stars on February 26, 2011 at the Carnivore grounds in Lang’ata. P-Square, J Martins, Edge, Kwela Tebza and a couple of other local artists from Kenya shall perform. African movie stars like Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Rita Dominic, Genevieve Nnaji, Aki & Paw Paw, Desmond Elliot, Jackie Appiah, Majid Michel, Bond Emeruwa, Kate Henshaw-Nuttal, Ramsey Nouah, Segun Arinze, and Mercy Johnson will also be in attendance. Nairobi is the entry point into Eastern Africa. It is because of her strategic position that we are coming here.
Apart from Nigeria, how has the rest of Africa been involved in this awards project and what, so far, what are the results for African cinema?
The popularity of AMAA is growing every day. African filmmakers have come to embrace AMAA as their own equivalent of the US Oscars and that is why the number of film entries keeps growing every year. For example, AMAA received the highest number of entries this year from Kenya. One production house alone entered 10 films and, in all we have about 27 entered from Kenya. In Francophone countries of Africa, we have more entries this year than ever before. AMAA received more films from South Africa this year than we had in the previous years. More films came from the Diaspora, especially the US, Europe, Australia and Asia. This goes to show that more Africans are getting very involved.
The popularity of AMAA is growing every day. African filmmakers have come to embrace AMAA as their own equivalent of the US Oscars and that is why the number of film entries keeps growing every year. For example, AMAA received the highest number of entries this year from Kenya. One production house alone entered 10 films and, in all we have about 27 entered from Kenya. In Francophone countries of Africa, we have more entries this year than ever before. AMAA received more films from South Africa this year than we had in the previous years. More films came from the Diaspora, especially the US, Europe, Australia and Asia. This goes to show that more Africans are getting very involved.
Africa prepares to unveil list of finalist filmmakers and films selected for the seventh edition of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). Photo | AMAA | AFRICA REVIEW
Every year, the AMAA Nomination Night moves from one African country to the other. This has created huge interest from not only filmmakers, but movie fans who want their country to host the event. There is also big pressure from other countries, for instance, South Africa, for AMAA to be based in their country.
Over the last six years, AMAA has managed to raise the profile of African cinema. Films that are nominated or win at AMAA are now getting accepted in the world film festival circuits: Cannes, Berlinale, Toronto International Film Festival, Dubai International Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles (USA), and London African Film Festival. Most AMAA-winning films have so far travelled and been screened in more than 26 international festivals. Furthermore, AMAA winners have also been celebrated in major festivals. Nigerian Kate Henshaw-Nuttal has walked on the red carpet in Berlinale, Kenyan Wanuri Kahiu got grants from foreign donors to make a short film after winning at AMAA.
Where will African cinema be in about 10 years from now?
We are still growing. There is a new phase of African cinema, especially with the coming of the digital age, this is what we are trying to tap into so as not to be left behind. We are strongly promoting the idea that Africans must begin to tell their own stories using the cinema medium. This is beginning to yield fruits. More young Africans are now making films that are travelling places. We are beginning to have cinema culture all over again. Film institutions are being built across Africa. A good example is the brand Nollywood that is influencing many African countries. Nollywood was named by Unicef as the world’s second largest producer of movie content in the world after India’s Bollywood. This is a milestone for Africa. In the next 10 years or thereabout, Africa will be a force to reckon with in world cinema. Besides creating huge employment opportunities, lost African values and traditions will be restored through this medium.
We are still growing. There is a new phase of African cinema, especially with the coming of the digital age, this is what we are trying to tap into so as not to be left behind. We are strongly promoting the idea that Africans must begin to tell their own stories using the cinema medium. This is beginning to yield fruits. More young Africans are now making films that are travelling places. We are beginning to have cinema culture all over again. Film institutions are being built across Africa. A good example is the brand Nollywood that is influencing many African countries. Nollywood was named by Unicef as the world’s second largest producer of movie content in the world after India’s Bollywood. This is a milestone for Africa. In the next 10 years or thereabout, Africa will be a force to reckon with in world cinema. Besides creating huge employment opportunities, lost African values and traditions will be restored through this medium.
Its every filmmaker's dream to get a mention at festivals like Cannes, Fespaco and Berlin. When will AMAA get to the league of these festivals?
I must say that not every filmmaker would want to be mentioned on festival circuits. This is because we have different categories of filmmakers. There are those who make festival films, and those that make commercial ones. It is important that this is clarified.
However, like I said earlier, AMAA-winning films are travelling all over the place. For example, after winning five AMA Awards, From A Whisper by Kenyan Wanuri Kahiu got enormous visibility. Kahiu was invited and is still being invited to film events, markets and festivals around world. From A Whisper was screened in Pan African Film festival in Los Angeles where it won an award. It was also screened at Cannes International Film Festival (no connection with the Festival de Cannes), London African Film Festival, was screened in the pan-African Cinetoile African mobile cinema network that was conducted in eight sub-Sahara African countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South African, DRC, Mali, Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe. By winning AMAA as the best director and best film, Kahiu’ s short film, Pumzi, was funded by an American funding agency that support African films. Ugandan Matt Bish, another AMAA winner, got the funding for his short film the following year from the same organisation.
I must say that not every filmmaker would want to be mentioned on festival circuits. This is because we have different categories of filmmakers. There are those who make festival films, and those that make commercial ones. It is important that this is clarified.
However, like I said earlier, AMAA-winning films are travelling all over the place. For example, after winning five AMA Awards, From A Whisper by Kenyan Wanuri Kahiu got enormous visibility. Kahiu was invited and is still being invited to film events, markets and festivals around world. From A Whisper was screened in Pan African Film festival in Los Angeles where it won an award. It was also screened at Cannes International Film Festival (no connection with the Festival de Cannes), London African Film Festival, was screened in the pan-African Cinetoile African mobile cinema network that was conducted in eight sub-Sahara African countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South African, DRC, Mali, Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe. By winning AMAA as the best director and best film, Kahiu’ s short film, Pumzi, was funded by an American funding agency that support African films. Ugandan Matt Bish, another AMAA winner, got the funding for his short film the following year from the same organisation.
Where do you see Nollywood in 10 years and what is going to take it there?
I would want to see Nollywood drastically improve in quality so as to match the volume of content coming out of that industry. Most importantly, I’d like to see it influencing other African countries in making quality films. This will raise employment and inflow in revenue from other parts of the world. And by implication, position Africa as a powerhouse in the world cinema.
I would want to see Nollywood drastically improve in quality so as to match the volume of content coming out of that industry. Most importantly, I’d like to see it influencing other African countries in making quality films. This will raise employment and inflow in revenue from other parts of the world. And by implication, position Africa as a powerhouse in the world cinema.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Kenyan-born film director says sector is competitive, expensive
A poster advertising the movie ‘Bend It Like Beckham’. Some young British Asians have never experienced racism in any form. Photo/FILE
By GLOBAL BRIEFING (email the author)
Posted Thursday, February 3 2011 at 00:00
Kenyan-born film director Gurinda Chada is most famous for the hit films “Bhaji On the Beach” and “Bend It Like Beckham,” which explore the lives of British Asians.
She started her career as a radio journalist and directed a number of award winning documentaries for UK television, before moving into features. In this interview by Global-Briefing she expounds on her career:
How, when and why did you decide that you wanted to become a filmmaker?
I decided during the riots of the 1980s when second generation British Asians, African and Caribbean people stood up and started to claim their Britishness.
It was a turbulent time and I became very aware of the acute importance of the media in constructing negative, or positive images of us.
I wanted to do something about it so I became a news journalist. In the event, I found news too constricting, so I moved into films. With films, you can create new worlds, new characters, new realities. , and I hope I played a part in that.
In 1989 you made I’m British But…, which was an examination of the complex issue of identity for young British Asians. What, if anything, has changed for young people of Asian descent over the intervening 21 years?
There has been a massive change. Some young British Asians now have never experienced racism in any form. Some are extremely successful and that is across the political and professional spectrum.
One thing I didn’t anticipate was that we would see such a rise in the more traditional or fundamentalist views among young Muslims, but again this is a way of asserting an identity and feeling that they belong to a community.
Would you encourage young people today to take up filmmaking as a career?
Absolutely. I cannot believe I get paid to make films. It is just fantastic. Making films is a way of communicating with the rest of the world – your innermost thoughts, politics, cultural views. You can do so much and you can make it entertaining at the same time. Filmmaking is a higher form of politics.
In an incredibly competitive field, what would be your advice to someone seeking to make an impact?
It is incredibly competitive and expensive. If anyone is seriously considering going into filmmaking, they have to be really clear who they are making the film for and why they are doing it. Filmmaking is all about vision, focus, having an opinion and being passionate abut communicating it to others.
You were born in Kenya to Indian parents and raised in Britain. What does the Commonwealth mean to you?
Well, in some ways it still has pejorative connotations for me. It is a reminder of the Empire. But I believe that is all the more reason to reclaim it. It’s like my OBE. I could have said no to it, but again, I thought it was important to reclaim it. My grandparents lived under Empire, so I know it would be hard for them to understand.
But the Commonwealth is a different thing now.
What I like about it is that it is a collection of very different countries with their own cultures and identities, but which also share a common language and culture.
How would you describe your home?
My home is my sanctuary. It is a wonderful, beautiful, modern mews house. It was built about 20 years ago by a Japanese lady, who used feng shui proportions, so it feels very good. I love it.
What do you do to relax?
My favourite form of relaxation is massage. It used to be crap TV. In fact, now I sometimes combine the two – that’s the ideal.
Who would you most like to meet?
My PC answer is Barack Obama. My non- PC answer is Bruce Springsteen.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
The best piece of advice was given to me by my A-level sociology teacher, Barry Sedgewick. He told me to always be aware that there are different perspectives on the same issue — the traditional conservative or fundamentalist perspective, the liberal or phenomenologist view, and the Marxist view.
If you always bear these three angles in mind, then you’ll get the full picture.
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Saturday, January 29, 2011
Durban FilmMart 2011 Deadline Approaches
Press Release
Durban FilmMart 2011 deadline is around the corner
The deadline for the submissions for the second annual Durban FilmMart is looming. Set to take place in Durban from 22-26 July 2011, during the 32 nd edition of the Durban International Film Festival, the closing date for entries is 15 February 2011 . Aimed at raising the visibility of projects from the African continent and creating opportunities for African filmmakers, the Durban FilmMart is a joint venture between DFO, the film-industry development arm of the eThekwini Municipality and the Durban International Festival (DIFF), which is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal).
The inaugural Durban FilmMart in 2010 saw 200 producers, directors, sales agents, distributors, financiers and funding organisations from across the world, attending meetings, project presentations and a series of master classes and workshops on the latest trends in film finance, marketing, distribution and new media technologies. Of the 75 qualifying applicants, 12 projects in both the feature film and documentary genres from as far afield as Egypt , Nigeria , Ethiopia , Zambia and Burkina Faso , were chosen to participate in the Finance Forum segment of the Durban FilmMart.
Commenting on the success of the first edition and noting the anticipatory interest of potential investors, Toni Monty of the Durban Film Office (DFO) added, “Film practitioners from all corners of the African continent are encouraged to take this opportunity as a means of promoting their projects, meeting lead experts and networking with industry professionals from across the globe”.
Peter Rorvik, Director of the Durban International Film Festival echoed Monty's sentiments: “ The Durban FilmMart will stimulate African cinema production and facilitate project collaboration between African filmmakers.”
The Durban FilmMart will also allow aspiring film producers the opportunity to be spotted for inclusion in the International Film Festival Rotterdam's CineMart one of the world's most respected co-production markets. Three producers who participated in last year's Durban FilmMart will attend the CineMart's 2011 Rotterdam Lab, a high-level producer workshop that supports independent film production, and provides an opportunity to meet and network with global film industry players.
Filmmakers preparing submissions to the Durban FilmMart can note the comments of Egyptian filmmaker Hossan Elouan, whose film Hawi scooped an award at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival. Elouan took part in the Durban FilmMart in July 2010 and described it as “an exciting experience - it gets all the participants under one roof, so they can exchange ideas, and do business together. It is also important because it puts African filmmakers and producers with the right industry contacts in Europe and North America , which opens doors for international co-productions with Africa , and better distribution possibilities for African films across the globe.”
Entry is open to:
• Projects with an African citizen attached to one of the three key creative roles of producer, director or writer. Proof of African citizenship or birth must be provided through a certified copy of a valid African passport/birth certificate;
• Africans living in the Diaspora, but who still have African citizenship or have proof of birth in Africa ;
• Projects with a producer attached.
For more information on the Durban FilmMart and how to submit your project please visit www.durbanfilmmart.com
For further enquires contact email: durbanfilmmart@durban.gov.za or durbanfilmmart@gmail.com
• Projects with an African citizen attached to one of the three key creative roles of producer, director or writer. Proof of African citizenship or birth must be provided through a certified copy of a valid African passport/birth certificate;
• Africans living in the Diaspora, but who still have African citizenship or have proof of birth in Africa ;
• Projects with a producer attached.
For more information on the Durban FilmMart and how to submit your project please visit www.durbanfilmmart.com
For further enquires contact email: durbanfilmmart@durban.gov.za or durbanfilmmart@gmail.com
Issued by the Durban Film Office and Durban International Film Festival
For enquiries contact:
Ms Tozi Mthethwa and Ms Mona Pilane
DFO Publicists
Tel: 031-705 7131/2989
Fax: 031-705 2479
Cell: 073 681 1234
Cell: 083 307 9067
Email: mona.pilane@gmail.com
Email: tozi@igulamedia.co.za
For enquiries contact:
Ms Tozi Mthethwa and Ms Mona Pilane
DFO Publicists
Tel: 031-705 7131/2989
Fax: 031-705 2479
Cell: 073 681 1234
Cell: 083 307 9067
Email: mona.pilane@gmail.com
Email: tozi@igulamedia.co.za
For media enquiries regarding the Durban International Film Festival:
Sharlene Versfeld
Versfeld & Associates: The Communication Works
Tel: 031-8115628
Cell: 083 326 3235
Email: sharlene@versfeld.co.za
Sharlene Versfeld
Versfeld & Associates: The Communication Works
Tel: 031-8115628
Cell: 083 326 3235
Email: sharlene@versfeld.co.za
For 32nd Durban International Film Festival 21- 31 July 2011 enquires
Email: diff@ukzn.ac.za
Tel: +27 (0)31 260 2506
Web: www.cca.ukzn.ac.za
22nd Pan African Film and Television Festival
Fespaco bounces back
Two young Burkinabe girls stand 25 February 2007 in front of a cinema theatre in Ouagadougou displaying films competing in the 2007 Fespaco. Africa's biggest film festival returns in February in the capital of Burkina Faso hoping to revive the continent's ailing cinema industry. Photo | FILE | AFRICA REVIEW |
Dated Wednesday, January 19 2011 at 14:40
This is the 22nd Pan African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou.Fespaco is considered as one of the biggest film events on the African continent. This biennial event brings together all the uneven years and for one week, African and not – African professionals and festival – goers from all over the world sharing one common factor: the African film and African Diaspora.
During this great film manifest, various film competitions are organized and professionals of the seventh art demonstrate their expertise and excellence to put the African cinema on the international stage. It is both a cultural event, through art and cultural expression, as a festive event with thousands of festival – goers who meet together every two years to communicate, to build relationships, to exchange expertise and to reinvent themselves.
Source: www.artmatters.info
Dates: February 26-March 5, 2011
Venue: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Kenya's Homeboyz studios' 'Tinga Tinga tales', a children animation TV series aired on BBC
A twist to the unpretentious Tinga Tinga tale
A Tinga Tinga exhibition in Copenhagen. Photo | BERTHA KANG'ONG'OI | AFRICA REVIEW |
By BERTHA KANG'ONG'OI (email the author)
Posted Thursday, January 13 2011 at 08:54
Posted Thursday, January 13 2011 at 08:54
Last year was a great one for Tinga Tinga art - some original, unpretentious art from Tanzania that is currently attracting considerable global attention. There was an exclusive Tinga Tinga exhibition in Copenhagen last August; a piece of Tinga Tinga art returned an impressive $ 51,000 at an auction in Paris last October; then came 'Tinga Tinga tales', a children animation TV series aired on BBC, as created in Kenya's Homeboyz studios.
But these opportunities have not come without challenges: the television production, which is said to be one of the most ambitious animation production in East Africa, has left Tanzanian artists unhappy. Tanzania’s Tinga Tinga Artists Cooperative Society (TACS) and UK-based Tiger Aspects, the production company that produced the series, are warring. And up until a few days before last Christmas, it seemed inevitable that the tussle would end in up court.
So how did this dream project end up here?
Claudia Lloyd, head of animation at Tiger Aspects, was travelling in East Africa in 2005. It was in Tanzania that she came across the Tinga Tinga genre of art. She was quite impressed.
“Finally I met the cooperative’s representatives and we started talking.” Over the years, the production and marketing of the art has been under Tinga Artists Cooperative Society.
Animated dreams
At this stage, it was just a dream project. But Claudia believed so much in the potential of an animated film project of African tales that she went ahead with a pilot project in 2006.
At this stage, it was just a dream project. But Claudia believed so much in the potential of an animated film project of African tales that she went ahead with a pilot project in 2006.
“The initial plan was to do the entire production in Tanzania but it soon became clear to me that that would not be possible,” says Claudia. “The internet connection in Tanzania was not reliable and there were more trained animators and editors in Nairobi than in Tanzania. So Nairobi it was.”
After the pilot project, Claudia returned to Europe to look for funds for a complete series.
By the end of 2007, Claudia had successfully convinced BBC in London and Disney World in the US to buy rights to the concept.
Africa cinema faces moment of truth
Alassane Moustapha during the Rotterdam International Film festival. Photo/BELINDA VAN DE GRAAF |
By MWENDA wa MICHENI (email the author)
Posted Saturday, February 27 2010 at 16:41
Posted Saturday, February 27 2010 at 16:41
The Ghanaian blockbuster, Love Brewed In African Pot, was never the moment, neither was Kolormask, a Kenyan film that premiered during the inaugural African film week in Nairobi. It has been elusive, but the moment of truth for African cinema seems at sight. But some debates before the action.
Some believe Africa cinema must embrace the commercial filmmaking template now, others are still pursuing their governments to fund huge budget cultural films that must not have a mass appeal. And this debate on African cinema goes on and on. The eclectic reasoning has taken the more cautious route, mass appeal that has a cultural touch, reality in mind.
This comes at a time when the French, believed to have greatly influenced African cinema and Germans, are toying with commercial filmmaking.
Around the continent, several experiments are already going on, with a commercial model apparently shaping up. Leading the race is the Nollywood model- a simple digital camera, few locations and a movie to sell in the kiosks for local consumption. Several others scenarios are in the making, but South Africa’s dalliance with Hollywood big shots has been shaking myths on African cinema, literally.
This comes at a time when the French, believed to have greatly influenced African cinema and Germans, are toying with commercial filmmaking.
Around the continent, several experiments are already going on, with a commercial model apparently shaping up. Leading the race is the Nollywood model- a simple digital camera, few locations and a movie to sell in the kiosks for local consumption. Several others scenarios are in the making, but South Africa’s dalliance with Hollywood big shots has been shaking myths on African cinema, literally.
Rotterdam festival
No wonder, there are serious debates around the issue now. At this year’s edition of the Rotterdam film festival, Africa cinema was the headline, there were several discussions around its future, a token or two for the surviving grandfathers of African cinema and plenty of African melodies and rhythms to crown the occasion.
Moustapha Alassane, the Nigerien animator credited with the first ever African animation, was in attendance. From Nigeria was Tunde Kilani, among a handful of other decorated African filmmakers.
Besides talk and dance, the Rotterdam festival offered opportunity to several young African filmmakers to showcase their works. One such was Hawa Essuman, a Kenyan with Ghanaian parentage.
Soul Boy by the 30-year-old co-director bagged The Dioraphte Award for Hubert Bals Fund film held in highest regard. This is testimony that a black Africa has a chance in the changing scene.
Not that African films have now become very popular at the global level, and neither are here about to get there. But, it is rare that an African film is awarded in the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
It tells the story of Abila, a 14-year-old boy, who lives in one of the most miserable slums in Africa.
Intrigues and power games
Though dwarfed by the artistic flavours and flamboyance displayed by Bollywood and Hollywood, Africa cinema is as old as the film reel itself, almost. But intrigues, power games and disregard have suppressed the growth over the years, something that may not be reversed in a day.
As early as 1896, there were cinemas in Africa, projected from a machine that had been stolen from somewhere in London. This is about the same time it was invented.
On filmmaking, it was generally a preserve of the settlers, telling stories they wanted to see and share, on Africa. Most were naïve, poorly researched and heavily influenced by the foreign interests that informed the settlers.
When Africans started telling their stories on film, most carried the hangover of the previous generation of filmmakers, and this went on, even became worse with the massive funding and training that came from Europe.
Most of the films that emerged from this class of filmmakers were high end, ignoring the mass market. This alienated the African filmmakers from their very audience.
But there was the exciting 90s. When the moment arrived, and cameras became more affordable and there was an opportunity for commercial-minded producers, mostly breaking from theatres and there was Nollywood, Riverwood and the rest of the woods that have spread throughout Africa.
As this boom spread, South Africa was debating how to fund their filmmaking. With a long standing filmmaking legacy, especially after several Hollywood filmmakers shot there, the country decided to fund their own, encourage skills transfer and that has been happening. No wonder, films like Tsotsi, Jerusalema that was all talk last year, and even District 9, had a commercial model inspired by Hollywood, style and trying to ride on the Hollywood distribution network.
The debate is no longer whether Africans can make films, but how to make commercially viable films that are intelligent and aesthetically appealing.
No wonder, there are serious debates around the issue now. At this year’s edition of the Rotterdam film festival, Africa cinema was the headline, there were several discussions around its future, a token or two for the surviving grandfathers of African cinema and plenty of African melodies and rhythms to crown the occasion.
Moustapha Alassane, the Nigerien animator credited with the first ever African animation, was in attendance. From Nigeria was Tunde Kilani, among a handful of other decorated African filmmakers.
Besides talk and dance, the Rotterdam festival offered opportunity to several young African filmmakers to showcase their works. One such was Hawa Essuman, a Kenyan with Ghanaian parentage.
Soul Boy by the 30-year-old co-director bagged The Dioraphte Award for Hubert Bals Fund film held in highest regard. This is testimony that a black Africa has a chance in the changing scene.
Not that African films have now become very popular at the global level, and neither are here about to get there. But, it is rare that an African film is awarded in the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
It tells the story of Abila, a 14-year-old boy, who lives in one of the most miserable slums in Africa.
Intrigues and power games
Though dwarfed by the artistic flavours and flamboyance displayed by Bollywood and Hollywood, Africa cinema is as old as the film reel itself, almost. But intrigues, power games and disregard have suppressed the growth over the years, something that may not be reversed in a day.
As early as 1896, there were cinemas in Africa, projected from a machine that had been stolen from somewhere in London. This is about the same time it was invented.
On filmmaking, it was generally a preserve of the settlers, telling stories they wanted to see and share, on Africa. Most were naïve, poorly researched and heavily influenced by the foreign interests that informed the settlers.
When Africans started telling their stories on film, most carried the hangover of the previous generation of filmmakers, and this went on, even became worse with the massive funding and training that came from Europe.
Most of the films that emerged from this class of filmmakers were high end, ignoring the mass market. This alienated the African filmmakers from their very audience.
But there was the exciting 90s. When the moment arrived, and cameras became more affordable and there was an opportunity for commercial-minded producers, mostly breaking from theatres and there was Nollywood, Riverwood and the rest of the woods that have spread throughout Africa.
As this boom spread, South Africa was debating how to fund their filmmaking. With a long standing filmmaking legacy, especially after several Hollywood filmmakers shot there, the country decided to fund their own, encourage skills transfer and that has been happening. No wonder, films like Tsotsi, Jerusalema that was all talk last year, and even District 9, had a commercial model inspired by Hollywood, style and trying to ride on the Hollywood distribution network.
The debate is no longer whether Africans can make films, but how to make commercially viable films that are intelligent and aesthetically appealing.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
'The First Grader' opens at the London Film Festival 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akseAuYF2h0
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Africa and the Movies
Today there is a great interest throughout the world in Africa. Its cinema is slowly entering the world’s film markets and the festivals. In the U.S., though not made by Africans, still “of African interest”, this week’s release of Claire Denis’s ♀White Material has garnered a strong review by Kenneth Turan in the L.A. Times.
Simultaneously poetic, dramatic and realistic, “White Material” is an altogether stunning work. Directed by Claire Denis and starring Isabelle Huppert in a bravura performance as a woman confronting armed chaos in Africa, this is filmmaking that is at once exhilarating and chilling, powerful and powerfully disturbing.
White Material: IFC has U.S. and Wild Bunch is the international sales agent.
Initiatives fostering filmmaking by Africans follow here.
Focus Features sponsors a special program, Africa First, to assist emerging filmmakers in their first short film. It awards five emerging African filmmakers $10,000.00 each towards pre-production, production, or post-production of their short film.
Sundance‘s 2010 lineup featured a new wave of filmmaking talent emerging from sub-Saharan Africa. The young filmmakers, exploring both new directions and traditional storytelling genres—both African and from other cultures—to tell modern African stories with a fresh sense of style and meaning had three films in Sundance. South African filmmaker Jenna Bass ♀ draws from ancient mythological storytelling traditions to create a kind of historical magical realism in relating a modern-day tale of warfare in Zimbabwe in her film The Tunnel. Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu ♀ creates a brightly original science-fiction vision in her film Pumzi, a story of a botanist who risks everything to nurture a plant 35 years after the “Water War.” And Senegalese filmmaker Dyana Gaye ♀ draws from the fifties- and sixties-style French musicals to breathe fresh air into Saint Louis Blues, a buoyant road-trip tale set in the clogged urban streets and dusty roads of Senegal.
The European community, however, seems to be taking the lead in bringing African films and filmmaking into the international market place. Rotterdam Film Festival’s Hubert Bals Fund, IDFA’s Jan Vrijman Fund,the Berlinale and Gotheborg all have programs to bring Africa to the world cinema. Read more about African initiatives which have taken place this year including initiatives of Rotterdam, Berlinale, Cannes and others
The Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) and Jan Vrijman Fund (JVF) and the Cinema Mondial Tour.
These two Dutch funds, which provide support to filmmakers in developing countries, have set up a joint film program, the Cinema Mondial Tour, to tour film festivals in Africa until March 2011. Working together for the first time, they have created a program of films from various African countries, as well as other regions where the HBF and JVF are active. HBF films are from Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Argentina and Malaysia while the JVF-supported documentaries come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Iran and Russia. All participating festivals make their own selection from the films chosen by the HBF and JVF. The film program consists of a total of 12 fiction films and documentaries.
Launching with a special advance screening at the beginning of June during the Ecrans Noir festival in Cameroon, the official starting signal for the tour of Africa was given on 10 July during the opening of the Zanzibar International Film Festival in Tanzania. A day later, on 11 July, the Rwanda Film Festival began and also screened the program, followed by the Durban International Film Festival in South Africa. The Cinema Mondial Tour will run until mid-2011 and will visit film festivals in other African countries, including Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Benin. Hubert Bals Fund and Jan Vrijman Fund worked together with the aim of stimulating an independent film culture in developing countries. As part of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), the HBF focuses specifically on the realisation of fiction films. The JVF, which is part of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), is geared to offering support to creative documentaries. The policy of both funds is twofold: firstly to provide support to filmmakers in developing countries. Secondly, the financial resources made available must be spent in a developing country and both HBF and JVF stimulate the screening of the films in their countries of origin. The aim is for the Cinema Mondial Tour to be organized in other parts of the world, such as in the Middle East and Central Asia, in the future. The Hubert Bals Fund and The Jan Vrijman Fund are both supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hivos-NCDO Culture Foundation, the DOEN Foundation, with further aid for HBF coming from Dioraphte Foundation and Dutch public broadcasting network NPS.
The Hubert Bals Fund films:
Love Conquers All by Tan Chui Mui (Malaysia, 2006)
Soul Boy by Hawa Essuman (Kenya, 2010)
Un matin bonne heure by Gahité Fofana (Guinea, 2006)
Una semana solos by Celina Murga ♀ (Argentina, 2006)
Le jardin de papa by Zeka Laplaine (DR Congo, 2003)
The Jan Vrijman Fund films:
Congo in Four Acts by Dieudo Hamadi, Divita Wa Lusala and Kiripi Katembo Siku (DR Congo, South Africa, 2010)
Glimpse by Dan Jawitz and Alberto Iannuzzi (South Africa, 2005)
Santos by Rupinder Jagdev (Kenya, 2008)
Sea Point Days by Francois Verster (South Africa, 2008)
Shungu, the Resilience of a People by Saki Mafundikwa (Zimbabwe, 2009)
Tehran has no more Pomegrenates by Massoud Bakhshi (Iran, 2006)
Tishe! by Victor Kossakovsky (Russia, 2002)
Berlinale / Durban: Africa in Motion (AiM)
For the third year, the Africa in Motion (AiM), the U.K. largest African film festival invited African filmmakers to submit short films of up to 30 minutes for the festival’s short film competition. In order to target the competition specifically towards young and emerging African film talent, filmmakers who enter a film for consideration must not have completed a feature-length film previously. Films entered must have been completed in 2007 or after. A shortlist from all the entries was selected and announced by the end of August 2010. From this shortlist, the competition winner was chosen by a high profile jury and announced at an awards ceremony at the Africa in Motion festival in October 2010. The jury consisted of local and international film specialists and established African filmmakers. All shortlisted films will be screened at the festival. In addition to the overall first prize selected by the jury, an audience choice award was selected by the audience at the screenings and announced at the end of the festival. The deadline for short film competition entries has been extended to 14 June 2010. See their website http://www.africa-in-motion.org.uk for full submission guidelines and to download the entry form, read carefully through the submission guidelines and email the festival co-directors Lizelle Bisschoff ♀ and Stefanie van de Peer ♀ with further enquires at: submissions AT africa-in-motion.org.uk
And Deeper in Africa…
FilmAfrica! has been developed from an initiative of One Fine Day Films’, Tom Tykwer and Marie Steinmann ♀. The company joined forces with the Deutsche Welle Akademie to launch a new initiative that will offer hands-on training to budding African filmmakers. FilmAfrica! which ran the production company along with U.K.-based charity Anno’s Africa in Nairobi in autumn 2008, made the film Soul Boy by Ghanaian-Kenyan debutant Hawa Essuman. The initiative now receives $1.4m (€1m) in support from Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) over the next two years and will also receive support from the Goethe Institut in Nairobi. In addition, the Filmstiftung NRW has awarded $136,137 (€100,000) towards the production costs the next film, which will be shot this autumn. Guy and Siobhain “Ginger” Wilson’s Nairobi-based production house Ginger Ink, which was a co-producer of Soul Boy, will serve as the local partner for FilmAfrica!
Speaking to ScreenDaily, Tykwer said:
“This year’s project will be more structured than the pilot project of Soul Boy. There will be a series of workshops over a number of months before the actual shoot, and we will have 10-15 participants in six or seven department workshops. Out of a total of 60-100 people, we will then generate the crew which will be trained before we actually start shooting the movie. On Soul Boy, the film was the workshop. Therefore, we will know better what the particular skills and knowledge are of the individual people.”
Tykwer added some of the participants in the workshops may come from other East African countries such as Sudan or Ethiopia, but the focus will remain on Kenya. Screenwriting workshops have been already been held in preparation for the next film project, with more than 35 screenplays having been involved and developed.
“Out of these, ten major candidates are in the running, and we will then come down to three or four after the other training workshops in the summer. The final choice of screenplay should then be made with the director who is chosen from the workshops,”
Meanwhile, FilmAfrica! plans to continue the collaboration with German camera manufacturer and distributor ARRI, which provided equipment and post-production facilities to Soul Boy, and Tykwer suggested that the second film might be able to use ARRI’s new “Blue” digital camera. Soul Boy had its world premiere at the Rotterdam and Gothenberg International Film Festivals before being screened as a Generation Special presentation at the Berlinale last weekend. The film will be shown to the local Kenyan cast and crew in the Nairobi district of Kibera - where Soul Boy is set - on March 4.
Africa in Cannes
This year there was a huge increase in the number of films concerning Africa. Even the Cannes Classics is showing The African Queen.:) It seems almost every sales agent and organization was showing or offering a film about some part of Africa and its poverty, violence or redeeming factors such as art or music. This is just a sampling of some initiatives and films.
For the first time in 13 years an African feature competes for the top award at Cannes.The Screaming Man, Mahamat Saleh Haroun, a chronicle of life between a father and son evokes daily life in modern Chad, a country not at peace.
The International Emerging Film Talent Association and the Ethiopian Film Initiative joined forces to bring a group of young filmmakers from Ethiopia to Cannes for the first time.
Bavaria Film International showcased the South African film Life, Above All by Olivier Schmitz in Un Certain Regard which is currently South Africa’s submission for Academy Award snomination for Best Foreign Language.It was produced by Dreamer Joint Venture Filmproduktion/ Berlin in co-production with Senator Film Produktion/Berlin, Niama Film/Stuttgart and Wizard/Cologne.
Life, Above All
E1 has Bang Bang Club about a war photographer in South African townships now undergoing violent protests. It was recently picked up by Tribeca Distribution.
Pathé’s $6m Africa United, an ambitious U.K.-South Africa-Rwanda co-production filmed across three countries tells the story of three Rwandan children — Dudu, his sister Beatrice and his friend Fabrice — who embark on an epic journey across seven African countries to attend the opening ceremony of the football World Cup in Johannesburg, South Africa. Along the way they encounter everything from hippos to heists, find new friends and face up to issues such as Aids and child prostitution.The U.K./ Rwanda/ South African co-production is the directorial debut of Debs Gardner-Paterson. It is produced by Mark Blaney and Jackie Sheppard for U.K.-based production company Footprint Films, with Rwandan producer Eric Kabera for Link Media alongside co- producer Lance Samuels for Out Of Africa Entertainment and Mark Hubbard. The film was financed by Pathe, along with BBC Films, the U.K. Film Council and the Rwanda Film Commission.
www.Cineuropa.org also writes about:
Nigeria’s Nollywood eclipsing Hollywood in Africa
May 18, 2010
As cinemas close across Africa, homegrown blockbusters are actually eclipsing Hollywood on the African market. Armed with a few thousand dollars, a digital camera, and a couple of lights, Nigerian directors have created a $236 million industry and is the world’s third largest producer of feature films. The films are now also available online at www.nollywood.com
Ugandan film producers challenged by distributors
March 24, 2010
The film industry in Uganda and the east African region is growing, but film producers are still challenged by distributors.
Zimbabwean film industry in limbo
February 4, 2010
Zimbabwean film industry in limbo 4 February, 2010 A good number of Zimbabweans who enjoy watching Nigerian films not only fell in love with the actors and actresses, but also learnt how to speak English with an accent. From Ramsey Noah to Desmond Elliot, Ifeanyi Azodo to Genevieve Njaji, Mercy Johnson to Rita Dominic, Omotola Jalade-Ekehinde to Patience Ozwokor, these are some of Nigerian actors and actresses that have captured the interest of Zimbabweans.
Call to revamp film industry in Ghana
December 30, 2009
A Ghanaian playwright, James Ebo-White has emphasized the need for Ghanaians to attach great importance to the film industry in order to develop the country’s culture. He said culture is the life blood of every economy and developing it will project the country both home and abroad. According to him culture sharpens and influences the way of life of a people.
Despite rebate, Kenyan biz still struggles
December 30, 2009
The Kenya Film Commission has tabled an ambitious slate of incentives for foreign film crews, with a proposed 25% rebate for pics that can claim at least half of their principal shooting in the country. by Christopher Vourlias But with the proposals failing to gain traction in a government bogged down by other fiscal priorities, the financial climate hasn’t improved for filmmakers this year.
South Africa 2008 Co-Productions Analysis Summary
December 13, 2009
To date, South Africa has entered into four audiovisual co-production treaties with Canada (1997), Italy (2003), Germany (2004) and the United Kingdom (2007). The purpose of this analysis is to identify the real value added by co-production projects to the local economy, asses if co-production treaty objectives are being achieved and to also identify existing trends. Co-productions analysis will be done on an annual basis to…
From Africa No. 1 (Each day, Eugenie and her guests invite you to discuss major topics of interest to Africans living in Europe: Tradition and integration, discrimination, representation of black people in French society, education of children and also fashion, beauty, black, cooking , Business Africa , major events.) But watch out, it’s in French!
http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/archives/africa_and_the_movies/
Simultaneously poetic, dramatic and realistic, “White Material” is an altogether stunning work. Directed by Claire Denis and starring Isabelle Huppert in a bravura performance as a woman confronting armed chaos in Africa, this is filmmaking that is at once exhilarating and chilling, powerful and powerfully disturbing.
White Material: IFC has U.S. and Wild Bunch is the international sales agent.
Initiatives fostering filmmaking by Africans follow here.
Focus Features sponsors a special program, Africa First, to assist emerging filmmakers in their first short film. It awards five emerging African filmmakers $10,000.00 each towards pre-production, production, or post-production of their short film.
Sundance‘s 2010 lineup featured a new wave of filmmaking talent emerging from sub-Saharan Africa. The young filmmakers, exploring both new directions and traditional storytelling genres—both African and from other cultures—to tell modern African stories with a fresh sense of style and meaning had three films in Sundance. South African filmmaker Jenna Bass ♀ draws from ancient mythological storytelling traditions to create a kind of historical magical realism in relating a modern-day tale of warfare in Zimbabwe in her film The Tunnel. Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu ♀ creates a brightly original science-fiction vision in her film Pumzi, a story of a botanist who risks everything to nurture a plant 35 years after the “Water War.” And Senegalese filmmaker Dyana Gaye ♀ draws from the fifties- and sixties-style French musicals to breathe fresh air into Saint Louis Blues, a buoyant road-trip tale set in the clogged urban streets and dusty roads of Senegal.
The European community, however, seems to be taking the lead in bringing African films and filmmaking into the international market place. Rotterdam Film Festival’s Hubert Bals Fund, IDFA’s Jan Vrijman Fund,the Berlinale and Gotheborg all have programs to bring Africa to the world cinema. Read more about African initiatives which have taken place this year including initiatives of Rotterdam, Berlinale, Cannes and others
The Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) and Jan Vrijman Fund (JVF) and the Cinema Mondial Tour.
These two Dutch funds, which provide support to filmmakers in developing countries, have set up a joint film program, the Cinema Mondial Tour, to tour film festivals in Africa until March 2011. Working together for the first time, they have created a program of films from various African countries, as well as other regions where the HBF and JVF are active. HBF films are from Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Argentina and Malaysia while the JVF-supported documentaries come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Iran and Russia. All participating festivals make their own selection from the films chosen by the HBF and JVF. The film program consists of a total of 12 fiction films and documentaries.
Launching with a special advance screening at the beginning of June during the Ecrans Noir festival in Cameroon, the official starting signal for the tour of Africa was given on 10 July during the opening of the Zanzibar International Film Festival in Tanzania. A day later, on 11 July, the Rwanda Film Festival began and also screened the program, followed by the Durban International Film Festival in South Africa. The Cinema Mondial Tour will run until mid-2011 and will visit film festivals in other African countries, including Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Benin. Hubert Bals Fund and Jan Vrijman Fund worked together with the aim of stimulating an independent film culture in developing countries. As part of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), the HBF focuses specifically on the realisation of fiction films. The JVF, which is part of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), is geared to offering support to creative documentaries. The policy of both funds is twofold: firstly to provide support to filmmakers in developing countries. Secondly, the financial resources made available must be spent in a developing country and both HBF and JVF stimulate the screening of the films in their countries of origin. The aim is for the Cinema Mondial Tour to be organized in other parts of the world, such as in the Middle East and Central Asia, in the future. The Hubert Bals Fund and The Jan Vrijman Fund are both supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hivos-NCDO Culture Foundation, the DOEN Foundation, with further aid for HBF coming from Dioraphte Foundation and Dutch public broadcasting network NPS.
The Hubert Bals Fund films:
Love Conquers All by Tan Chui Mui (Malaysia, 2006)
Soul Boy by Hawa Essuman (Kenya, 2010)
Un matin bonne heure by Gahité Fofana (Guinea, 2006)
Una semana solos by Celina Murga ♀ (Argentina, 2006)
Le jardin de papa by Zeka Laplaine (DR Congo, 2003)
The Jan Vrijman Fund films:
Congo in Four Acts by Dieudo Hamadi, Divita Wa Lusala and Kiripi Katembo Siku (DR Congo, South Africa, 2010)
Glimpse by Dan Jawitz and Alberto Iannuzzi (South Africa, 2005)
Santos by Rupinder Jagdev (Kenya, 2008)
Sea Point Days by Francois Verster (South Africa, 2008)
Shungu, the Resilience of a People by Saki Mafundikwa (Zimbabwe, 2009)
Tehran has no more Pomegrenates by Massoud Bakhshi (Iran, 2006)
Tishe! by Victor Kossakovsky (Russia, 2002)
Berlinale / Durban: Africa in Motion (AiM)
For the third year, the Africa in Motion (AiM), the U.K. largest African film festival invited African filmmakers to submit short films of up to 30 minutes for the festival’s short film competition. In order to target the competition specifically towards young and emerging African film talent, filmmakers who enter a film for consideration must not have completed a feature-length film previously. Films entered must have been completed in 2007 or after. A shortlist from all the entries was selected and announced by the end of August 2010. From this shortlist, the competition winner was chosen by a high profile jury and announced at an awards ceremony at the Africa in Motion festival in October 2010. The jury consisted of local and international film specialists and established African filmmakers. All shortlisted films will be screened at the festival. In addition to the overall first prize selected by the jury, an audience choice award was selected by the audience at the screenings and announced at the end of the festival. The deadline for short film competition entries has been extended to 14 June 2010. See their website http://www.africa-in-motion.org.uk for full submission guidelines and to download the entry form, read carefully through the submission guidelines and email the festival co-directors Lizelle Bisschoff ♀ and Stefanie van de Peer ♀ with further enquires at: submissions AT africa-in-motion.org.uk
And Deeper in Africa…
FilmAfrica! has been developed from an initiative of One Fine Day Films’, Tom Tykwer and Marie Steinmann ♀. The company joined forces with the Deutsche Welle Akademie to launch a new initiative that will offer hands-on training to budding African filmmakers. FilmAfrica! which ran the production company along with U.K.-based charity Anno’s Africa in Nairobi in autumn 2008, made the film Soul Boy by Ghanaian-Kenyan debutant Hawa Essuman. The initiative now receives $1.4m (€1m) in support from Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) over the next two years and will also receive support from the Goethe Institut in Nairobi. In addition, the Filmstiftung NRW has awarded $136,137 (€100,000) towards the production costs the next film, which will be shot this autumn. Guy and Siobhain “Ginger” Wilson’s Nairobi-based production house Ginger Ink, which was a co-producer of Soul Boy, will serve as the local partner for FilmAfrica!
Speaking to ScreenDaily, Tykwer said:
“This year’s project will be more structured than the pilot project of Soul Boy. There will be a series of workshops over a number of months before the actual shoot, and we will have 10-15 participants in six or seven department workshops. Out of a total of 60-100 people, we will then generate the crew which will be trained before we actually start shooting the movie. On Soul Boy, the film was the workshop. Therefore, we will know better what the particular skills and knowledge are of the individual people.”
Tykwer added some of the participants in the workshops may come from other East African countries such as Sudan or Ethiopia, but the focus will remain on Kenya. Screenwriting workshops have been already been held in preparation for the next film project, with more than 35 screenplays having been involved and developed.
“Out of these, ten major candidates are in the running, and we will then come down to three or four after the other training workshops in the summer. The final choice of screenplay should then be made with the director who is chosen from the workshops,”
Meanwhile, FilmAfrica! plans to continue the collaboration with German camera manufacturer and distributor ARRI, which provided equipment and post-production facilities to Soul Boy, and Tykwer suggested that the second film might be able to use ARRI’s new “Blue” digital camera. Soul Boy had its world premiere at the Rotterdam and Gothenberg International Film Festivals before being screened as a Generation Special presentation at the Berlinale last weekend. The film will be shown to the local Kenyan cast and crew in the Nairobi district of Kibera - where Soul Boy is set - on March 4.
Africa in Cannes
This year there was a huge increase in the number of films concerning Africa. Even the Cannes Classics is showing The African Queen.:) It seems almost every sales agent and organization was showing or offering a film about some part of Africa and its poverty, violence or redeeming factors such as art or music. This is just a sampling of some initiatives and films.
For the first time in 13 years an African feature competes for the top award at Cannes.The Screaming Man, Mahamat Saleh Haroun, a chronicle of life between a father and son evokes daily life in modern Chad, a country not at peace.
The International Emerging Film Talent Association and the Ethiopian Film Initiative joined forces to bring a group of young filmmakers from Ethiopia to Cannes for the first time.
Bavaria Film International showcased the South African film Life, Above All by Olivier Schmitz in Un Certain Regard which is currently South Africa’s submission for Academy Award snomination for Best Foreign Language.It was produced by Dreamer Joint Venture Filmproduktion/ Berlin in co-production with Senator Film Produktion/Berlin, Niama Film/Stuttgart and Wizard/Cologne.
Life, Above All
E1 has Bang Bang Club about a war photographer in South African townships now undergoing violent protests. It was recently picked up by Tribeca Distribution.
Pathé’s $6m Africa United, an ambitious U.K.-South Africa-Rwanda co-production filmed across three countries tells the story of three Rwandan children — Dudu, his sister Beatrice and his friend Fabrice — who embark on an epic journey across seven African countries to attend the opening ceremony of the football World Cup in Johannesburg, South Africa. Along the way they encounter everything from hippos to heists, find new friends and face up to issues such as Aids and child prostitution.The U.K./ Rwanda/ South African co-production is the directorial debut of Debs Gardner-Paterson. It is produced by Mark Blaney and Jackie Sheppard for U.K.-based production company Footprint Films, with Rwandan producer Eric Kabera for Link Media alongside co- producer Lance Samuels for Out Of Africa Entertainment and Mark Hubbard. The film was financed by Pathe, along with BBC Films, the U.K. Film Council and the Rwanda Film Commission.
www.Cineuropa.org also writes about:
Nigeria’s Nollywood eclipsing Hollywood in Africa
May 18, 2010
As cinemas close across Africa, homegrown blockbusters are actually eclipsing Hollywood on the African market. Armed with a few thousand dollars, a digital camera, and a couple of lights, Nigerian directors have created a $236 million industry and is the world’s third largest producer of feature films. The films are now also available online at www.nollywood.com
Ugandan film producers challenged by distributors
March 24, 2010
The film industry in Uganda and the east African region is growing, but film producers are still challenged by distributors.
Zimbabwean film industry in limbo
February 4, 2010
Zimbabwean film industry in limbo 4 February, 2010 A good number of Zimbabweans who enjoy watching Nigerian films not only fell in love with the actors and actresses, but also learnt how to speak English with an accent. From Ramsey Noah to Desmond Elliot, Ifeanyi Azodo to Genevieve Njaji, Mercy Johnson to Rita Dominic, Omotola Jalade-Ekehinde to Patience Ozwokor, these are some of Nigerian actors and actresses that have captured the interest of Zimbabweans.
Call to revamp film industry in Ghana
December 30, 2009
A Ghanaian playwright, James Ebo-White has emphasized the need for Ghanaians to attach great importance to the film industry in order to develop the country’s culture. He said culture is the life blood of every economy and developing it will project the country both home and abroad. According to him culture sharpens and influences the way of life of a people.
Despite rebate, Kenyan biz still struggles
December 30, 2009
The Kenya Film Commission has tabled an ambitious slate of incentives for foreign film crews, with a proposed 25% rebate for pics that can claim at least half of their principal shooting in the country. by Christopher Vourlias But with the proposals failing to gain traction in a government bogged down by other fiscal priorities, the financial climate hasn’t improved for filmmakers this year.
South Africa 2008 Co-Productions Analysis Summary
December 13, 2009
To date, South Africa has entered into four audiovisual co-production treaties with Canada (1997), Italy (2003), Germany (2004) and the United Kingdom (2007). The purpose of this analysis is to identify the real value added by co-production projects to the local economy, asses if co-production treaty objectives are being achieved and to also identify existing trends. Co-productions analysis will be done on an annual basis to…
From Africa No. 1 (Each day, Eugenie and her guests invite you to discuss major topics of interest to Africans living in Europe: Tradition and integration, discrimination, representation of black people in French society, education of children and also fashion, beauty, black, cooking , Business Africa , major events.) But watch out, it’s in French!
http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/archives/africa_and_the_movies/
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