Screen Africa August 2016

IBC BROADCAST, FILM, TV, COMMERCIALS, NEW MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY NEWS

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| IN THIS ISSUE

6 Sustainable screenings shining from SA

12

31

What’s happening at IBC 2016?

Directing influence

32

36

Wonder Boy for President – a gutsy satire that’s all too familiar

SPECIAL FEATURE IBC What’s happening at IBC 2016?.................................. 12 –13

IBC PRODUCT PREVIEW Must see at IBC….................................14 Datavideo.................................................14 EVS............................................................14 Sony .........................................................16 Blackmagic Design ................................16 Ross Video...............................................18 SAM .........................................................20

Free streaming start up for Africa....... 6 Case Study: Jasco transitions Lesotho TV to ‘tapeless’

ADCETERA

FILM

Loeries 2016...........................................22

Wonder Boy for President – a gutsy

with Avid suite.......................................... 8 Silverline 360 purchases

ADVERTORIAL

satire that’s all too familiar..................32 Making a difference

SABC selects RTS intercoms for studio complex upgrade

Director Speak: Michael MacGarry...36

Waterfront Film Studios........................ 9 Huisgenoot celebrates centenary with new film Vir Die Voëls...................... 9 Quizzical Pictures to produce MTV Shuga season 5................................ 9 NFVF call for national bursary applications for film and TV studies..... 9 The Rohan Vos Story receives

Grass Valley..............................................20

recognition award at HIIDA................10 UK and SA update

NEWS

co-production agreement....................10 20th Century Fox signs Africa

Pretoria-based company devises international distribution model for African filmmakers............................. 3 Mushroom Media expands capacity.... 4 First film festival hits South Sudan....... 4 Sustainable screenings

DIRECTOR SPEAK: Michael MacGarry

through storytelling...............................34

in Johannesburg......................................24

ADCETERA

Television Cartoon Network and Urban Brew team up on

Portrait of a metamorphic outreach programme............................26 Creating the exceptional: the champagne of Investment Banking.....28 FCB activation garners

new series Pop Up Party......................38

FESTIVALS & MARKETS

3 million views in three days...............30

Spotlight on Zanzibar............................40 Behind the scenes –

Directing influence.................................31

workshops at ZIFF.................................42

Regulars

distribution deal with Les Films 26...10 The Animation School enters into partnership

Production Updates.................. 44 – 46 Events........................................................46 Social............................................. 47 – 48

with France’s École Émile Cohl..........10

shining from SA........................................ 6

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From the editor

The Team

IBC is just around the corner again. It’s hard to believe

Editor

that it’s been nearly a year already since the last tech pilgrimage to Amsterdam. It seems that a lot of the themes we saw last year will still dominate at the upcoming edition: 4K, HDR, IP – with virtual reality making a first appearance as a major player this year. It will be interesting to see how these technologies have developed over the past 12 months. We have dedicated 10 pages (starting on page 12) in this issue to a forecast of

Warren Holden is a writer and journalist whose lifelong love of film and television prompted him to study for his BA in Motion Picture Medium at AFDA Johannesburg, specialising in writing and directing. After graduating, he worked for three years in the television industry before following his aptitude for writing into the world of publishing. He then worked for five years as assistant editor on the arts and culture publication Classicfeel, before taking the helm of Screen Africa, where his experiences in the separate streams of motion picture and publishing have finally come together. In addition to his work on Screen Africa, he is also hard at work developing stories for film and television and studying for a second degree in economics and African politics.

the show. Hopefully this will offer some idea of what highlights to expect from the vast offering at IBC. Last month, Screen Africa’s Cera-Jane Catton paid a visit to Stone Town for the Zanzibar International Film Festival. This issue includes her report (page 40) on the event, which, despite last minute funding issues, seemed to go very well, pointing towards significant growth in the east African film industries.

Malawi makes its first appearance in Screen Africa with a profile on independent filmmaker Shemu Joyah, who

JOURNALISTS Cera-Jane Catton is a writer and journalist with years of experience in community newspapers, blogging and freelance journalism. She has migrated to Jozi from Durban to join the team at Screen Africa in the hope of sampling lots of free popcorn.

Cera has worked in a cache of capacities, often finding herself behind or in front of the cameras, intentionally and less so. She has been a stunt double in two Bollywood movies, has worked in various capacities on a number of natural history documentaries, and other international productions shot in South Africa.

She studied journalism and photography and is always eager to learn something new. She speaks up for the voiceless, is a dedicated movie lover and a wannabe doccie maker.

proves that, even in the continent’s smallest countries, with the tiniest budgets, award-winning films can still be made (page 34).

Back home in South Africa, politics have been the order of the day for the past couple of months, as the local government elections loomed. It was in this atmosphere that Wonderboy for President was released – see our complete feature on this political satire on page 32.

Chanelle Ellaya is a writer and a journalist. She completed her BA Journalism degree at the University of Johannesburg in 2011. While writing is her passion, she has a keen interest in the media in various capacities: In 2012 she co-presented the entertainment and lifestyle show Top Entertainment on TopTV and later that year she was handpicked as part of a panel of five dynamic young Africans to interview Winnie Madikizela-Mandela on a youth focused television show called MTV Meets. Chanelle is an avid social networker and a firm believer in the power of social and online networking. Between writing and tweeting, she finds time to feed her love for live music.

Our lead news story this week is a report on a new film distribution model being introduced to the industry by a local independent filmmaker (page 3). While it remains to

CONTRIBUTORS

be seen if it will work, one hopes that it will and that there

Sam Charo is an independent writer, producer and filmmaker based in Nairobi, Kenya. His passion is sharing great stories about the continent with rest of the world.

will be more like it. I have often written and spoken of the need to find a model that makes filmmaking more lucrative. This initiative certainly appears to be a step in the right direction.

– Warren Holden

SCREENAFRICA

Ian Dormer – Born in Zimbabwe, Ian has been in the TV business since the 1980s, having served in various positions at the SABC, M-Net and SuperSport. Ian currently works and resides in New Zealand.

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South Africa

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Pretoria-based company devises international distribution model for African filmmakers South African Great Movies Production, a film and television production company based in the South African capital Pretoria, has devised what it describes as a solution to the major problem faced by South African filmmakers (as well as those from elsewhere on the continent).

“What’s the point of spending the time and money to make a film,” says CEO John Wani, “if there are no distribution channels in place that enable you to make your money back?”

Wani makes a point that many local filmmakers can surely relate to. While television offers some opportunities for a return on investment – mostly in the micro-budget stratum – cinema releases are, with some exceptions, such as Afrikaans films, entirely unprofitable for the filmmaker.

Wani attempted to look outside the box for a solution. Congolese by birth, he has been resident in South Africa for several years and is now a firmly established player in the local industry, working with micro-budgets and producing work for platforms such as Mzansi Magic. He has long noted the shortcomings of the South African industry, not from the point of view of the quality of work being produced but from the general lack of viable business models for filmmakers to make a decent living from their work. He looks to Nigeria’s Nollywood as the best of example in this regard. He lists four points on which he believes South Africa could best learn from its west African neighbour.

Firstly, film is a business – reliance on soft funding needs to end as it is unsustainable and does not bring real growth. The private sector needs to have a deeper involvement in the industry and in order for that to happen, the industry needs to be provably able to make a return on investment.

Secondly, Nollywood is successfully able to find ways to stimulate local audiences, something the local film

FILM IS A BUSINESS: John Wani industry struggles to do.

Thirdly, effective measures must be taken to work with the rest of the world.

That means employing co-production measures in ways that will benefit the local market, not only the foreign partner.

Finally, as a starting point at least, while the industry goes through its initial growth, it is best to operate in the microbudget realm, working with manageable costs and therefore more realistic profit and cost recoupment goals, rather than inflating budgets with soft funding without any effort to strategise a return on investment.

With these in mind, Wani has been negotiating with a partner in the United States, Donald Rabinovitch of CINEMAflix

Distribution. The deal is intended to enable South African filmmakers to find profitable sales and distribution strategies for their work overseas. The US partner would essentially offer a marketing and distribution package to the filmmaker that would start with a strategically placed US premiere that would act as a test screening for the territory. The film would then get a three-week cinematic run, followed by sales negotiations for home video, television and digital platforms.

The package costs US$9000 – about R128 000 at the current exchange rate, which Wani says, is a more than reasonable cost for marketing purposes.

When it comes to what kind of content these agents are looking for, Wani offers

a few general tips: “Firstly remember that English is preferred if you want to break this market. Dubbing and subtitling will not only incur additional costs, but will also lessen your chances with the American market. Secondly, be flexible about making your work more appealing to the US market. Cast actors from the target country in your film. There’s no reason why a film can’t include Nigerians, South Africans and Americans. And then you are able to reach all three of those territories. Thirdly, as far as content is concerned, love stories and comedies seem to travel best, and you should keep your market as broad as possible by producing a film that can cater to all ages.” – Warren Holden

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Mushroom Media expands capacity The first half of 2016 has seen Johannesburg-based post-production facility Mushroom Media expand their capacity, both in terms of staff and equipment. According to owner Warwick Allan, the staff contingent has more than doubled. At the same time, in addition to a major upgrade on the back end, with augmented storage facilities, the company has also introduced virtual reality (VR) capability to its inventory of services.

VR is one of the foremost tech trends at the moment, with scores of new developments in cameras and software set to be introduced to the market over the next few months. Mushroom Media recently tested its VR capabilities on a pitch for a promotional campaign for a major hotel chain. “We are able to stitch footage and deliver a VR stream, as well as compositing elements within a VR space,” Allan says. “Anything from dropping in logos and text to cleaning up aspects of the frame. As we would normally composite in a normal 2D space, we can now do that in a 3D VR space too.” Working with VR requires not only a large amount of redundancy in internet

MUSHROOMING: Warwick Allan (front centre) with the Mushroom Media team connection, but also a sizeable amount of storage and operating capacity.

A recent upgrade to Mushroom’s backend enables both.

The work for which Mushroom is best known is its grading, finishing and online services. These were put to good use earlier in the year when they were called upon to grade and package four short films produced for the Cannes South African Film Factory. Working with four South African directors – Sheetal Magan, Samantha Nell, Zamo Mkhwanazi and Zee Ntuli – and their international collaborators, and with only one day allocated to each project for online edit

and grading respectively, Mushroom was able to demonstrate their skills with a variety of narrative and aesthetic requirements across four very different looks and feels.

Whereas previously Mushroom had operated on a staff contingent of three, it now boasts a total of seven. In addition to Allan, the company now includes Sarah Kwan (online & VFX), Jarryd DuThoit (VR editor and junior colourist), Sabelo Mthethwa (junior producer), Miriam Arndt (offline editor), Sheron Enslin (producer) and Grace Phora (hospitality).

The post-production sector has been under serious pressure over the past year

or so and Mushroom Media has felt the effects of the downturn as much as any of its peers. The expansive measures taken by the post-production house point towards a determination to weather the storm and open up new opportunities for work and revenue. “It’s been tough for the industry as a whole over the past year,” Allan concludes, “but I think that any company that can survive through this year and come out on the other side should be in a good position to keep going in the long run. The industry is changing and we need to change with it.

That means being able to offer more than we ever have – and better.”

First film festival hits South Sudan In a country that has been dwarfed by war, where there is not a single cinema nor a film industry, the Juba Film Festival began. In the world’s youngest nation, South Sudan’s first ever festival of its kind was held in the capital city, Juba, where local filmmakers armed with cameras, mics, and umbrellas are working to create one.

“Nobody, war or evil will stop us from enjoying our stories through the power of film. South Sudan has been like a battlefield, but we gained independence and there is a great need to share our own stories,” says the festival’s founder, Simon Bingo, an orphaned refugee turned local TV personality.

The festival was a dream made possible by a grant through Internews and USAID. The hope is that it will kick-start a film industry in South Sudan.

With support from donor agencies including the local German embassy, and the guidance of professional mentors from New York’s Barefoot Workshops and guerrilla filmmakers What Took You So Long. Bingo describes the project as a pop-up film school for young South Sudanese filmmakers. “There’s no infrastructure to learn about film here,” he explains. ”The festival is more than about 4 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

ARMED WITH CAMERAS: Behind the scenes with the newest South Sudanese filmmakers showing movies; the goal is to build capacity to make movies.”

Pitching sessions and workshops were conducted with four outside mentors where four scripts were chosen from South Sudanese stories that were then made and edited and screened at the film festival. The Juba Film Festival culminated with screenings of these four movies and selected submissions on 7 July 2016, two

days before the fifth anniversary of South Sudan’s independence. 40 films had been submitted for the festival. 30 were selected for screening during the festival which was held from 4 to 7 July 2016. 11 films were selected to compete for prizes.

“We have a diverse country with a lot of stories, it is important to find a platform to tell them,” says Bingo. He first fell in love with movies as a teenager, watching

outdoor screenings in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya. He picked up camera skills after a stint with the NGO FilmAid and later won a scholarship to pursue a film degree in Nairobi. When he graduated in 2009, he moved back to Juba, just as his homeland was pushing for independence from Sudan. He found a job at the South Sudan TV network as a video editor, and later developed the Bingo Show, a weekly programme airing music videos.

“The film festival was very well received,” says Bingo. He describes the 900 seat theatre, the flagship venue used for the screenings, as being full for three days. As were the other venues, namely the French Institute open space, Youth Sports Centre and Juba Tukul.

“Individual awards like best director, editor, camera, actress or actor and script etc. and cash prize for the best fiction and best documentary,” explains Bingo. “We also received ten international films produced about South Sudan.” Bingo describes the first of what he plans to make an annual festival as a creative, peaceful revolt, to diversify the pervasive stereotypes about the new nation in the foreign press. – Cera-Jane Catton

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Sustainable screenings shining from SA A sunshine driven media initiative addressing social and environmental challenges through short films has taken off from Cape Town. Sunshine Cinema is a mobile cinema that converts solar power to social impact. It also facilitates workshops and how-to videos through community engagement.

“Our aim is to connect change makers to wider networks, amplifying the voices of grassroots active citizens,” says Sydelle Willow Smith, researcher at Sunshine Cinema. “We celebrate local stories, educating, uplifting, inspiring and connecting people.”

Made up of a small team of storytellers, filmmakers and researchers who are passionate about creating an alternative distribution platform. “We believe in making our media screenings a soapbox for local voices to engage. We believe media can be used as a tool to activate social dialogue, which is why we also run media training workshops with active citizens at our screenings” explains Smith.

In addition, they are shaking up the local media industry. “Our production company Makhulu is apprenticeship based. Our core team is comprised of passionate individuals, many who are from previously disadvantaged backgrounds that gain on the job training.” They run a scholarship partnership with SAE film school in Woodstock, Cape Town. A Sunshine

6 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

“Our content includes extremely compelling and original stories that would otherwise go unnoticed without AfroLandTV. Our filmmakers won’t have to depend on third party distribution companies to showcase their content to audiences that are not relatable to African content.”

A modernised website was launched in May 2016 with the greatest challenge the company faced that of creating a user friendly website interface. Their web developing team is based in Zimbabwe, called Ennovate Systems, which is headed

by Valentine Chonyera.

“We have faced numerous challenges bringing this vision to optimal life,” says Maponga. Contained by continuous research into web development, web applications and analytics. Marketing posed another challenge, “Being that this project is currently self-funded I’ve had to really break down my target audience (millennials age 18 to 34) and use the funding diligently,” says Maponga.

AfroLandTV has an audience based predominantly in Africa, and a majority in South Africa.

Furthermore content is a challenge.

“We have a set plan to increase our catalogue through local and international film festivals,” explains Maponga. He says that AfroLandTV is distinguished by their quality indie catalogue featuring content on the continent. The SABC’s 90 per cent local content quota makes them

AfroLandTVs biggest competitor.

AfroLandTV aims to increase subscription numbers to 20 000 by the end of the year and expect to be creating original content by summer 2017. “We plan to work with local film producers to make this happen. By the end of 2017 we are aiming to have big studio films on our platform. Since we’re independent and self-funded at the moment, we’re looking for relevant partnerships with other organisations to form synergies for expansion,” explains Maponga. “The plan is for continuous growth and interface improvements on our website platform and mobile app.”

Support for the steaming service has been received from bloggers and independent media outlets in South Africa who have brought in a good amount of following. AfroLandTV have partnered with the South African digital broadcasting company StreamTV who launched a streaming channel android app at the end of July. AfroLandTV will be hosted on this app as a channel.

“We have reached thousands of people and we are continuously building a strong following. Social media has been our biggest audience driver so we’ll continue feeding the flame,” says Maponga. He plans to open a branch in South Africa. “This will make it easier to work with local filmmakers and productions,” he adds.

– Cera-Jane Catton

SOLAR POWER TO SOCIAL IMPACT: Sunshine Cinema indoor screening Cinema full scholarship is awarded each year to an up-and-coming filmmaker. The 2016 Sunshine Cinema/SAE Scholarship recipient was Lufefe ‘Fez’ Figlan.

They run a pop-up cinema with their screen, sound and projector all using solar power and an inverter from their partners at MLT Power, a Cape Town solar manufacturer. “We screen to up to 200 people at a time. We also have a smaller cinema system that fits into a small

Free streaming start up for Africa On 19 August 2015, the dot com AfroLandTV was bought by Zimbabwe born Michael Maponga. AfroLandTV is a South African online streaming TV channel dedicated to showcasing paramount African content. It features independent South African and African films, shows and documentaries.

“The vision and mission is to grow the African film industry via online television and expand to creating quality original content,” says Maponga. Since the age of 10, Maponga has lived in Dallas, USA and he is a professional actor with more than 20 credits to his name, including starring alongside Hollywood actor Stephen Baldwin.

The concept of AfroLandTV came from a friend of Maponga’s, Ron Valderrama, the CEO of Stream Now Pro, a US streaming platform. “As an actor I’ve always wanted to give my talent back to my native land. Through AfroLandTV I aspire to give African filmmakers a platform to showcase their content. Most major distribution companies such as Netflix, Hulu etc, focus on westernised

pelican case, with micro projector, wireless speakers and a mini solar power and inverter which we use for smaller scale events for up to 50 viewers.”

During the International Aids Conference, held in Durban between 19 and 22 July 2016, Sunshine Cinema hosted a series of free film screenings in surrounding townships. Supported by the Open Society Foundations Public Health Program the films provided perspectives

of youths from South Africa, Zambia and Tanzania facing the challenges of access to care and social stigmas. These events provided a platform for engagement and dialogue within communities that otherwise would not have access to the conference and challenged community members to consider how they may impact the fight against HIV and AIDS. In 2016 Sunshine Cinema were the official satellite screening partner of The Encounters Documentary Film Festival hosting screenings in Khayelitsha and Langa.

Since 2013 they have screened to more than 6000 direct audience members in shipping containers, community halls, schools and various other pop up cinema locations. “We plan to continue building our alternative distribution platform,” says Smith.

They too are partners of the Zambia Festival of Action, the fifth annual festival took place in July in Livingstone.

Run by Greenpop the festival is a learning project that teaches sustainability and active citizenship as they plant thousands of trees at schools and community farms in an area where deforestation is an issue.

Sunshine Cinema plan to partner with an international film festival focusing on African cinema to ensure more African cinema is seen on the continent.

– Cera-Jane Catton

PARAMOUNT AFRICAN CONTENT: AfroLandTV founder Michael Maponga content. I want to give filmmakers in Africa a platform that builds a buzz around and centralises on South African and African content,” explains Maponga.

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Case Study: Jasco transitions Lesotho TV to ‘tapeless’ with Avid suite Jasco Broadcast Solutions has helped Lesotho TV (LTV) to go fully tapeless with an Avid production and post production suite.

The solution, which was fully commissioned by mid-July 2016, will improve the quality of the state-owned broadcaster’s outputs significantly, laying the foundation for expansion of its services as the country readies itself for Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT).

Jasco Broadcast Solutions designed and helped LTV commission the Avid solution. Says Hoosein Moolla, sales executive at Jasco Broadcast Solutions: “We are pleased to assist LTV with a solution that will help it to improve the quality of its services. The broadcaster

8 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

provides an important communication and education medium for the nation. As DTT technology is rolled out, extending the reach of the broadcaster, the Avid suite will provide a strong backbone, enabling effective TV news gathering and delivery, as well as studio production.”

The solution incorporates Avid edit suites, a newsroom system, ingest and playout server, and central storage server.

“This solution will provide LTV with the features and functionality a modern broadcaster needs,” says Refuoe Taoli of

LTV. “With Jasco’s expertise and hands-on assistance, we have been able to move rapidly from acquiring to commissioning the system. We look forward to the improved quality of the broadcast material that will be possible with this system, as well as the greater working efficiency the Avid systems will provide us with.”

The new Avid system replaces a legacy solution that did not meet the growing needs of the broadcaster. Explains Taoli: “With disparate stand-alone systems in

place, the production and post production processes were slow and the final output quality was poor. Digital footage had to be ingested into the edit suites for editing. The digital material then had to be put back onto tape and taken to the final control centre where the material was ingested into the broadcast server for broadcasting. That caused significant delays in production and loss of picture quality.”

LTV currently only broadcasts to the Lesotho capital, Maseru. However, with the implementation of DTT technology, the broadcaster’s reach will extend to up to 80% of the country’s two million people when the country expects to go digital in 2017.

LTV investigated available solutions and in 2015 was granted the budget to upgrade its systems. The tender was won

by Jasco Broadcast Solutions.

“We selected Jasco Broadcast Solutions’ Avid proposal as we believe the Avid technology will provide us with the means to maximise our resources and efforts. In addition, Jasco has considerable experience in the delivery and implementation of solutions in the region,” says Taoli.

“We are pleased with the progress we have made and with the advice and assistance we have received from Jasco.”

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Silverline 360 purchases Waterfront Film Studios

NFVF call for national bursary applications for film and TV studies

In July 2016, Silverline 360 completed the purchase of Waterfront Film Studios Cape Town, adding it to the existing stable of companies that includes Media Film Service, Searle St Post and Refinery, among others.

While there are still some details to be worked out, the deal came into effect on 1 July 2016 and the handover is currently underway. This is the first step in consolidating all the Silverline 360 Cape Town operations to the new premises, including Media Film Service, Searle Street and Movie Mart.

Media Film Service is predicted to take

The National Film and Video Foundation’s (NFVF) bursary programme is aimed at stimulating and developing the skills of applicants who want to enter the film and television industry. The bursaries are awarded to qualifying applicants who are studying or intending to study towards any qualification in the industry at any accredited South African tertiary institution. Live performance or acting diplomas/degrees are excluded.

occupation of the old Arena building mid-next year. Silverline 360 is already considered to be a top choice due to the variety of world class core competencies at its disposal and this latest acquisition cements that position.

Further details will be released as they’re finalised.

Huisgenoot celebrates centenary with new film Vir Die Voëls

As part of Huisgenoot’s centenary-year celebrations, the magazine, in collaboration with kykNET Films, is involved in the making of the romantic drama Vir Die Voëls.

Henriëtte Loubser, editor of Huisgenoot, talks about how the journey to making the film began: “When we started thinking about ways to celebrate the magazine’s 100th birthday two years ago, we decided it would be wonderful to make a romantic film.”

“The idea to have a readers’ competition in which we asked them to send their true-love stories took root. The winning story would then serve as inspiration for the script.”

Quizzical Pictures to produce MTV Shuga season 5 The MTV Staying Alive Foundation and MTV Base (DStv channel 322) have appointed South African content specialists Quizzical Pictures as the production company for the upcoming series of pro-social drama MTV Shuga.

Quizzical Pictures is already in pre-production for the fifth series of the eight-part drama series, which will be shot in Johannesburg later this year. The series will star South African actress Mohau Mokoatle, with numerous new roles still to be cast.

Season 5 of MTV Shuga, set in South Africa for the first time, will evolve to

Irma de Klerk from Newcastle and the story about her and husband Sampie’s rocky road to love won by a mile.

Directed by Quentin Krog, Vir Die Voëls is the true story of Irma Humpel, portrayed by Simoné Nortmann, a stubborn tomboy who ends up at the altar with the boy who relentlessly teased her when she was a young girl.

She was convinced that independence was the only form of freedom, but all of a sudden Sampie de Klerk (Francois Jacobs) starts challenging her convictions on all levels.

“We have the best possible producer and director for the project in Danie Bester and Quentin Krog respectively and it’s such a privilege to work with Jan du Plessis, Karen Meiring and the rest of the M-Net and kykNET teams,” Loubser adds.

Vir Die Voëls was produced in collaboration with kykNET Films and The Film Factory. The film will be released on 25 November 2016 and is distributed by Ster-Kinekor Entertainment.

Qualifying criteria An applicant must: • Be a South African citizen.

• Have a good academic record.

• Demonstrate a need for financial assistance.

• Have registered or provisionally registered to study for a full-time under-graduate or post-graduate diploma or degree in film/TV disciplines at an accredited South African tertiary institution.

Applications must be accompanied by a detailed motivation letter explaining why the applicant should be awarded a bursary together with certified copies of all supporting documents indicated on the application form.

To apply, complete an online national bursary application form available on the NFVF website. Deadline for applications is on 31 August 2016 at 12am.

For any queries on the application process and qualifying criteria, email Lebohang Khunou at lebohang@nfvf.co.za.

include a new focus on adolescent girls and their vulnerability to HIV infection and unintended pregnancy, alongside other storylines relating to sexual and emotional issues affecting South African youth.

Previously filmed in Kenya and Nigeria, season 5 is funded by South Africa’s Ministry of Basic Education, PEPFAR (The US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), Marie Stopes International and Positive Action.

An award-winning pro-social multimedia campaign and TV series, MTV Shuga is broadcast across sub-Saharan Africa, and has screened on MTV Base, MTV, SABC1, MNET and e.tv in South Africa.

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20th Century Fox signs Africa distribution deal with Les Films 26

The Rohan Vos Story receives recognition award at HIIDA My Life on the Tracks – the Rohan Vos Story received a Recognition Award at the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards (HIIDA) in Los Angeles on 30 June 2016.

HIIDA is an exclusive film festival for documentaries whose goal is to promote and recognise documentary filmmakers from around the world. My Life on the Tracks – the Rohan Vos Story received the nomination against more than 100 other entrants from around the world.

Filmmaker Deon van Zyl and a representative from the North West Film

commission will be flying to Los Angeles to receive the award at a screening held on 10 September 2016 at the Raleigh Studios in Hollywood.

The documentary is based on the golden era of steam train travel, when Rohan Vos started Rovos Rail with only four passengers on the first trip. Today Rovos Rail is hailed the most luxurious train in the world, travelling to some of the most exotic destinations in Africa.

In My Life on the Tracks – the Rohan Vos Story, Rohan Vos, who grew up in North West Province, tells his story in his own words.

UK and SA update co-production agreement Variety reported that on 7 July 2016, that the United Kingdom and South Africa inked a new television co-production agreement, which will aim to strengthen ties between the two countries’ broadcast industries.

Under the new agreement, which builds on an existing treaty, both territories will be encouraged to share knowledge, ideas and drive economic growth through television co-production.

Terms for the agreement were negotiated by the British government’s department for Culture, Media and Sport and the British Film Institute (BFI) with the department of Arts and Culture for South Africa.

TV co-productions that will qualify under the terms will be able to access benefits from each territory, such as a higher production rebate rate in South Africa, which can range from 20 per cent to 25 per cent, while in Britain, qualifying

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co-pros will be able to access the UK’s high-end television tax relief, the animation tax relief or the children’s television tax relief, all of which offer a rebate of up to 25 per cent.

“British television is a tremendous success story, but we need to make sure the UK remains well-placed to take advantage of the opportunities that come through international collaboration,” said British culture minister Ed Vaizey in a statement. “This new agreement enhances our already strong relationship with South Africa and will help television production companies in both countries realise the benefits that come with co-production.”

120 square meter studio Soundproof with Sound Attenuated air conditioning Dressing room, kitchen and full bathroom available Perfect for green screen, pack shots and commercials Drive-in studio allowing full vehicle access High speed internet available for uploads and SNG Visual impact in-house catering options available Parking available

20th Century Fox has entered into a distribution deal for its film slate with Les Films 26 in 21 countries in Frenchspeaking North and West Africa.

Telco TV News reported that under the deal, Les Films 26 will handle Fox films across North and West Africa in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Togo, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, BurkinaFaso, Cameroon, Republic of Guinea, Republic of Mali, Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Republic of Senegal, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Burundi.

Les Films 26 owner and CEO Jean-Paul

The Animation School enters into partnership with France’s École Émile Cohl South Africa’s The Animation School (TAS) has announced a new partnership with the acclaimed Émile Cohl School of Art in Lyon, France.

Sealed in France in June 2016, the partnership involves a teacher exchange programme between the two schools.

TAS will benefit from Émile Cohl’s 32-year track record in traditional art and 2D animation, while Émile Cohl will welcome The Animation School’s 3D lecturers to their Lyon campus.

“The partnership has been years in the making. We realised that if we share expertise students from both schools could benefit greatly,” says Nuno Martins, principal and co-founder of TAS. “We are always seeking feedback as to how we can hone our syllabus to create student work that competes with the best

de Vidas, said in a statement: “Not only is this a unique opportunity to accelerate our experience in the rapidly growing and evolving African marketplace, it’s also a privilege to play a key role with 20th Century Fox in realising the vision of a vibrant future for cinema Africa.”

in the world,” Martins continues. To this end, the school has previously consulted with Gobelins, l’École de l’Image, arguably the leading animation school in the world, and has engaged acclaimed French director Alexandre Heboyan to mentor the students on their final year films since 2013.

“The advice from Alexandre and Gobelins was that while our 3D offering was strong, we could gain a lot by concentrating more on the mastery of traditional drawing skills and 2D animation. Émile Cohl is the right partner to take us to the next level,” explains Martins.

The partnership will kick off later this year, when a lecturer from TAS will present a class at Émile Cohl in skeleton rigging and facial expressions using Autodesk Maya.

Lecturers from both campuses will continue this exchange for the next three years.

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCE

Visual Impact crew are available to assist you with lighting the green screen.

Visual Impact Rentals is conveniently in the same building if you need equipment. The Visual Impact studio is centrally located in Cape Town, walking distance from accomodation and restaurants.

We offer discounts on studio and equipment rentals For viewing and pricing contact Kelsey at studio@mediahive.tv

K

Visual Impact, Cape Town, 1 Glynville Terrace, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001 Tel: +27 (0)21 468 6000 Email studio@mediahive.tv R E N TA L

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What’s happening at IBC 2016?

The IBC conference theme for 2016 is ‘Transformation in the Digital Era’, very apt for the many challenges facing the electronic media and entertainment industry at the moment.

12 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

T

he IBC Conference and Exhibition, held annually in Amsterdam, Netherlands, is the place to be for discussion and debate around any issues the industry as a whole is experiencing. With an impressive list of speakers and contributors, this gathering is always at the forefront of industry innovation and provides unrivalled networking opportunities for role players from all fronts.

Virtual Reality Virtual Reality (VR) is a subject high on the agenda of both the conference sessions and the exhibition floor. Alex Mahon,

ex-CEO of Shine Group and now CEO of the Foundry, will give a presentation on her journey from traditional TV to the new world of VR and special effects, and discuss some of the most exciting products of her new company, while Solomon Rogers, founder and CEO of Rewind, will host a Masterclass panel discussion on VR as part of the content and production stream of the conference.

While VR can be considered to be in the ‘early stage’ of development it is predicted to have a disruptive effect on everything from full feature entertainment right through to journalism in the next few years. While many see the rise in interest in VR content simply as ‘another 3D’

experiment destined to fail, many sectors in the industry are investing seriously in VR technology. Movie studios and filmmakers are extending their ambitions from short marketing promos to longer form stories. Disney has invested $65m in a 360-video camera business and Google has started development in a cinemastyle VR camera with IMAX, to name a few.

Aside from VR, IP will be high on the agenda with many companies showcasing their latest innovations in IP-based system architectures and new workflows for media and broadcast organisations alike. Sony will host a business transformation themed

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may be to break convention and innovate a way to prepare for the future.

Hackfest, Future Zone and Rising Stars

conference session to ask whether IT and IP are ready to replace the entire broadcast chain.

HDR High Dynamic range (HDR) will be as popular a subject as last year with many exhibitors showing their wares in a fiercely competitive market from acquisition through production and transmission via fibre link.

Hitachi will showcase their HDRcapable UHD cameras first previewed at NAB. This year, for the first time, the Big Screen Experience features High Dynamic Range projection in conjunction

with the Dolby Atmos immersive audio system. The Big Screen Experience conference stream will focus on the wide gamut of key developments that affect the art, science and business of the motion-picture sector from production through to exhibition. Look out for the session on Light Field Cameras with Jon Karafin from Lytro, developers of the much raved about Lytro Cinema camera.

The world’s media is in an evolving state of change and the rules are constantly shifting. Internet players are coming to TV and TV is moving to the web, and while traditional broadcast and pay TV models are constantly under pressure from cord cutters, the best tactic

Introduced last year and gaining momentum this year, the IBC Hackfest is a crazy 48-hour brainstorm session of over 100 talented developers, designers and entrepreneurs presenting their ideas and solutions to three chosen areas of interest – this year it’s classroom education using VR as a tool, the future living room and the future of sport viewing – all involving the VR and Augmented Reality development thread.

Closely related is the IBC Future Zone – a portal to view the future of the entertainment and broadcast industry with cutting edge projects and prototypes on display from the world’s leading R&D labs and universities.

IBC Rising Stars is a free-to-attend workshop that allows young professionals and entrepreneurs to develop essential skills and knowledge that will help them get ahead in the competitive electronic media and entertainment industry. This year’s programme covers discussions on how the accelerating power of technology is driving the media industry, as well as an in-depth session with Alexandre Jenny from GoPro and Michael Ford, a producer from 360VR on the subject of Virtual Reality and its future.

Camera tech and storage From an equipment point of view, camera technology will be of prime focus with IP connectivity the next ‘new thing’. I would imagine that 360 VR camera setups will

IBC |Technology

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be hot items in the exhibition halls as well as a few mystery cameras like Panasonics 8K DXL and possibly a new Super 35 camera from Canon.

Storage is bound to be a big feature – with all the new data that is currently generated we need bigger, better, faster systems. Quantum’s new Xcellis Shared Storage technology will be on show featuring demonstrations of content transcoding and delivery with object storage, the use of hybrid flash and disk storage combining to enable frame-based animation creation and stream-based editing on a single storage system, and embedded applications that run natively on high-performance workflow storage.

As always, LTO technology will display – along with numerous vendors – to highlight its recent rapid development with the release of LTO 7. Plus keep an eye out for the developers of Digital Optical Technology Systems (DOTS) – a failsafe archival system that stores data in microscopic layers for a claimed shelf life of 1 000 years!

The IBC Exhibition covers 15 halls and hosts more than 1 600 exhibitors spanning the creation, management and delivery of electronic and media entertainment. It is far more than an exhibition and conference, it provides visitors with unrivalled networking opportunities and there is something for everyone, whether creative, technical, old or new – you can explore all that IBC has to offer across six days of groundbreaking insight and innovation.

IBC2016 – Amsterdam from 8 to 13 September. – Ian Dormer August 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 13

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Must see at IBC… The vastness of IBC makes it difficult to select specific ‘must-see’ stands and products.

Nonetheless, here are some expected highlights.

Datavideo Stand 7.D39

EVS Stand 8.B90

Datavideo has announced a total of 10 new products across the full product range of the brand. The aim is to be complete solution provider for AV, broadcast and educational productions with a full line of easy-to-use production equipment.

• HBT-10 & HBT-11: These transmitter and receiver boxes convert a standard HDMI signal into HDBaseT, to distribute a signal up to 4K resolution over 100 meters by using Ethernet cable. These boxes also supply POE technology, to supply 12V, 30W to remote cameras. And last but not least, these boxes also transport RS-232/422 control signals to the other side. This way, users can control a standard PTZ camera via only 1 small wire.

• SE-500HD: This small but powerful mini-switcher features 4x HDMI 1080P in and a simple audio mixer.

• SE-650: This powerful mini-switcher has four inputs; two HDMI and two 3G-SDI. It features three outputs; one 3G-SDI and two HDMI. This mini-switcher also features streaming output, a simple audio mixer and a flexible mix/effect processor for PiP, DSK and chromakeying.

• SE-2850: The Datavideo SE-2800 is a very powerful and well known workhorse.

This eight to 12 input HD-SDI switcher is designed to work in a variety of studio environments, whether that is a regular studio, a flyaway kit, a flexible OB van kit or a small briefcase-sized switcher. The SE-2850 is an updated version with new RGB-LED buttons, an HDMI CG interface and many more gadgets!

• HS-1200: A very portable studio meant to be used on the road, in the classroom or in a conference hall. Featuring four HD-SDI inputs; two HDMI inputs and external sound inputs, this unit can be deployed in minutes. Combined with our PTC-150 robotic cameras, shooting a production becomes a one-man-job.

• KMU-50: This signal processor has a 4K input (by 12G SDI, four 3G-SDI, HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort) and four 3G-SDI outputs. The signal can be downscaled by this processor, or a region of interest can be cut out. This region of interest can be panned or tilted across the 4K image, simulating camera movement. This way, you can use only one 4K camera, and have four virtual camera outputs!

• PTC-150T: This PTZ camera features HDBaseT, as well as regular 3G-SDI, HDMI and CVBS outputs. This means that this camera can be wired with only a single Ethernet cable with a maximum length of 100 meters. This Ethernet cable transports signal, power and control.

• RMC-400: This addition to the HDR-10 replay recorder enables the producer to stack a maximum of four HDR-10 recorders, and control them simultaneously with this controller. Featuring an easy-to-use jog dial and T-bar, multi-angle replays become an easy task.

Datavideo products are distributed in South Africa by Macro Video – www.macrovideo.co.za

Datavideo’s SE-2850

14 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

EVS’s stand will act as an IP-enabled hub showcasing live media flows that connect live sports venues, broadcast centre control rooms and consumers.

Being introduced this summer at international flagship sporting events, C-Next is a new live connected tool that forms part of EVS’s IP4Live strategy. This contribution network platform gives remote teams the ability to share files and metadata content over IP, from any OB truck, broadcast centre or production HQ. The new generation IPWeb will also make its debut at IBC. This is a remote access application that lets users browse and select content no matter where they are – and the IT/software-based, fully scalable architecture of its innovative production switcher DYVI. Showcasing the fast, efficient nature of EVS’ live officiating tool Xeebra, the #EVSlamDunk Experience will be brought to IBC for the first time. The immersive basketball arena uses EVS technology to put visitors right at the heart of the action.

Attempt a basket on the FIBA-endorsed court and see how EVS’ live tools can enhance the decision making and storytelling of its users.

EVS will also present its industry-leading live production servers and creative tools offering the best live storytelling. This will include the new XT4K server with its advanced configurations for multiformat 4K/UHD and HDR, which offer support for live replays and virtual effects for 4K productions. EVS will deploy its new live connected infrastructure management tools that support OB facilities’ increasing need to operate within an IP-compliant environment.

The tools presented at the show will include MultiReview, which enables the control of up to 16 multi-angle feeds for instant control and automated highlights creation. This is being deployed around the world to deliver the best moments of this summer’s international sporting events to fans.

Visitors to the EVS stand will be introduced to C-Cast Syndication which allows broadcasters and media rights holders to expand their audiences – and revenue. This is achieved through the distribution of near-live multi-angles and highlight VoD to affiliated partners like regional and unilateral broadcasters as well as sports teams, leagues and federations. EVS is once more showing how it’s leading the way to innovative distribution models for enhancing the live experience, engaging audiences and generating new revenue streams across multiple platforms.

EVS holds its annual IBC press conference at 4:15pm on Thursday September 8th in the Elicium Centre room D507. To RSVP to this or to book an appointment to see EVS at the show, please email evs@rlyl.com EVS products and solutions are distributed in South Africa by Inala Broadcast – www.inala broadcast.co.za

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Sony Stand 13.A10 Sony will unveil advances in image, IP and media workflow, debuting solutions to empower customers as they change the face of media and broadcast Further building on its ‘Beyond Definition’ vision and heritage, Sony will highlight how it is backing organisations across the broadcast landscape to re-imagine their approach to media production. In particular Sony will explore how innovations in the fields of image, IP and workflow are enabling new ways for audiences to engage with media creators and their content.

Sony will be joined by its peers to unveil products, systems and solutions, and to discuss new technology standards underpinning new ways of working for media organisations. Sony will present case studies of customers who have successfully introduced new ways of working, as well as introducing European audiences to its new HDC-4800 system camera for the first time. A key focus will be on how Sony is working alongside its partners and competitors to deliver solutions that suit the ‘real world’ practicalities of modern broadcasting, ensuring technology breakthroughs are established in the context of interoperability, legacy value and reliable uptime.

“The media industry has seen considerable change, and this transformation has driven a growth in disruptive technologies. While the potential for improving audience experiences is expanding rapidly, so too are the challenges faced by broadcasters and vendors alike. As an industry overall we’re shifting towards workflows that combine insight and business efficiency alongside creative technologies, which is why a solutions approach needs to be adopted. With this in mind, our customers look to us to act as their technology innovator, solutions provider and business partner,” said Michael Harrit, Marketing Director, Sony Europe.

“This is why IBC is always an exciting time for us – it brings customers and the industry together to explore what could be achieved,” continued Michael Harrit. “So much has changed over the last 12 months alone. Take IP in live production, for example: we’ve

Sony HDC-4800

moved from a phase of discussion and exploration into delivering interoperable IP technologies based on an open standards approach, in the broadcast production industry. We’ve recently gone one step further by introducing an IP Live Studio at our DMPCE facility IP Live Studio at our DMPCE facility in Pinewood Studios, and are working in collaboration with industry partners to give broadcasters hands-on experience of building a complete IP Live chain. We’re also looking forward to showcasing our award winning Media Backbone Hive solution, which gained recognition at NAB earlier this year by winning the IABM Game Changer award,and the latest enhancements and business benefits from the rest of the Media Operations Management range.”

Sony will be exhibiting in the Elicium Hall, RAI Amsterdam. The Sony press conference is scheduled for 9am CET on Friday, September 9th, and will be streamed live.

Blackmagic Design Stand 7.H20

Blackmagic Design Duplicator 4K

Blackmagic Design’s large product line-up will include the recently launched Duplicator 4K The device allows delivery of Ultra HD content to consumers by recording files onto inexpensive SD cards that can be distributed to customers the moment an event is finished—potentially increasing a content distributor’s revenue.

The technology includes 25 built-in SD card recorders, multi rate 12G-SDI connections and a realtime H.265 encoder.

The company’s DaVinci Resolve version 12.5 editing and colour correction software

has also been getting a lot of attention and will be at IBC. The company reported that it includes 1,000 enhancements and 250 new features which includes major additions to its growing editing toolset (including new trim operations, ripple cut and paste insert commands), as well as new colour tools such as improved HDR support and new effects.

The Blackmagic stand will also have the latest versions of its Fusion visual effects and motion graphics tool, ATEM production switchers, Teranex processors, HyperDeck SSD recorders, Cintel film scanner, as well as cameras, playback technologies and routers.

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Ross Video Stand 11.C10 Under the Smart Production banner, Ross Video will show how its technologies, services and expertise can help customers achieve their creative, business and technical goals at IBC 2016. Ross demonstrations at IBC will show complete systems and workflows for virtual sets, galleries, automated production control, graphics creation and playout, news editorial, stadium displays, studio robotics, assembly productions, and much more.

Cameras

ACID is a series of compact “box cameras” that offer full size studio camera performance. These new cameras provide and capture great looking images in any environment and make a great companion to Ross or other robotic camera systems.

ACID cameras offer special performance characteristics for chroma keying in virtual environments, and include a unique new signal format. These cameras output standard SMPTE 4:2:2 video signals for use in any production, and in addition output a special 0:4:4 full bandwidth color signal that is combined with the primary output within the Carbonite UltrachromeHR system to generate a full resolution 4:4:4 signal for superior chroma keys.

All camera operation, setup and shading can be performed from DashBoard soft control panels including the transfer and recall of scene files from one ACID camera to another.

Graphics Systems XPression Tessera is a multi-display real-time graphics designer and controller for Sport Venues and Studio Video Walls. Tessera links together multiple XPression engines to create a scalable matrix of channels for seamless output of scenes across large or irregularly assembled display panels and drive full resolution content making use of

ACID camera

every pixel of resolution those displays have to offer.

XPression Quad continues the development of systems suitable to 4K Production.

This graphics system supports up to 4 (video + key) channels of HD/SD or Quad link 4K outputs with key, and is user configurable for any combination of inputs and outputs.

XPression Tick-it Flow is a less expensive version of XPression Tick-it with core features. It offers the same centralized data aggregation as XPression Tick-it without the direct playout capabilities, and includes elections software.

XPression Maps is now 64-bit native, making it faster than ever while the UI is now even more intuitive and pleasing to the eye.

The XPression MOS Plug-in has been significantly upgraded, adding a number of new features making it easier and faster to build graphics for a news show.

Adobe XMP Metadata is available for entry into XPression from every Adobe software tool. XMP metadata can be used to automatically populate text, or make scene changes like color changes and image replacements.

Ross Video products are distributed in South Africa by Concilium Technologies.

MVLP-6 1x1 LED Panels - 6000 Lux. Ideal redhead replacements - V lock or Anton Bauer battery plate for portability

MVLP-10/ 30 On Camera LED

SE-500 4 channel SD mixer/ switcher

- 750 / 1500 Lux - 7x different battery options + 220V for portability

- 4 Composite or S video inputs - Dual 7’’ screens show inputs and Programme out - In Aluminium flight case

Lilliput monitors -

5’’, 7’’ and 10’’ HDMI in/ out and / SDI in and out option Waveform/ Vector/ Histogram option 4x different battery options + 220V for portability

SE-700 4 channel HD mixer/ switcher -

2x HDMI + 2x SDI inputs Powerful single or double Chromakey 23’’ HD screen for Multi preview Integrated Power supply In Aluminium flight case with flexible 2U spaces for: ITC-100 Intercom and Tally system / HDR-70 HD recorder / AM-100 Audio mixer / NVS-25 Streamer / DAC converters etc

Macro Video are the official distributors of Datavideo, MVLP LED lights and Lilliput monitors in Southern Africa For information and pricing on these products contact: Macro Video Tel: 012 346 7601 email: info@macrovideo.co.za

www.macrovideo.co.za

Portable solutions from Macro Video

Portable solutions from Datavideo Datavideo produces a full line of equipment that is meant to be used on the road. Mobile video studios are available in various different configurations and standards. The Datavideo HS series HD mobile video switchers are available from 6 to 12 channels.

The Datavideo HS-1200 is a 6 channel HD mobile studio, that is designed to be used in the field. Don’t let size fool you, this compact machine offers you a full 17,3” multiviewer, and an extensive control panel to operate your production.

The Datavideo HRS-30 is the latest generation of mobile field recorders. This recorder features SSD support, MXF and MOV recording in various bitrates and a crisp and clear 10,1” director monitor. On the backside you will find a battery mount, so producing in the field gets even more convenient.

The PTC-150 is a 3G-SDI robotic pan/tilt camera that captures your production in 1080P. By using our convenient multicables, installation becomes a piece of cake.

The combination of the HS-1200, the HRS-30, a couple PTC-150’s and a laptop for CG purposes gives you a full mobile workflow that will fit every car trunk.

HS-1200 - 6 channel HD-SDI switcher - HDMI and HD-SDI inputs - 5 assignable HD-SDI outputs

USD$ 2995,Prices excl. VAT and local import duties

HRS-30 - SSD compatible recorder - MXF/MOV recording - 10,1” director monitor

USD$ 2500,Prices excl. VAT and local import duties

PTC-150 - 1080P60 sensor - 3G-SDI, HDMI and CVBS output - Tripod or ceiling mounting

USD$ 2500,Prices excl. VAT and local import duties

For more information on where to buy Datavideo, or other products in our comprehensive product line up, please visit www.datavideo.com

Visit our booth at IBC 2016!

We’re in hall 7, booth D.39!

Fully design your OBV or portable production rack with the Datavideo Rackbuilder!

Visit www.rackbuilder.info to start with a blank canvas!

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SAM SAM will be launching its brand new LiveTouch 4K highlights and replay system with a live demonstration running over IP. SAM will demonstrate its capabilities in 4K and IP sports production workflows, its comprehensive IP product portfolio and its accelerated move into the software application world. Among the products on display at the SAM stand in Hall 9 is the MV-800 integrated multiviewer. This fully featured integrated multiviewer for the Sirius 800 router features 48 inputs, four direct connected screens, 20 IP connected screens, 4K output SAM Kula M/E Production switcher screen support.

SAM has announced that its Kula 1-2 M/Es production switchers have been an enormous success since their launch at NAB 2016. Capable of handling 4K/1080p/HD & SD in 1 M/E and 2 M/E versions, Kula can manage multiple formats making it both future-proof and adaptable for today’s production environment. One of the first Kula systems was purchased by US provider of

Grass Valley Stand 1. D11

Grass Valley Itx On Demand

20 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

video, audio, lighting and LED, LMG, together with two Kahuna 9600 production switchers for live broadcasts and events. Kula switchers will also showcased at IBC. SAM products are distributed in South Africa by Zimele Broadcasting Services. www.zimele.com

With a number of new solutions designed for live production, news, content delivery, and networking, Grass Valley is demonstrating innovative, integrated products that help professionals meet their needs today while preparing for the opportunities of tomorrow.

Attendees will see the new LDX 86N Series native 4K camera, built using Grass Valley’s UHD 2/3” imagers to provide the best possible content with native 4K resolution in true 16:9 aspect ratio. A new direct IP interface for the LDX Series of cameras is available for the XF-Transmission on the LDX 80 Series, LDX 86 Series and LDX 86N Series cameras through a GV-eLicense software upgrade. The new Focus 75 Live entry-level 720p/1080i switchable HD system camera features three fully digital Xensium-FT CMOS imagers with global shutter operation and a high level of image performance.

The new GV Korona switchers offer a robust feature set with a smaller, space-efficient control surface available in 1 and 2 M/E (stripe) panels. iTX On-Demand is Grass Valley’s new video-on-demand (VOD /over-the-top (OTT) solution that is tightly integrated with iTX Playout, but also works alongside third-party solutions.

Grass Valley will show its Glass-to-Glass IP solutions, which include the Broadcast Data Center concept with the GV Node Real Time IP Processing and Edge Routing Platform and the GV Convergent IP Router Control and Configuration System.

Widely regarded as the fastest, most versatile software for SD, HD and 4K editing, EDIUS offers a number of new creative features. The software now includes motion tracking, a primary color correction video filter, the ability to import custom LUT files and support for BT.2020 and HDR. Grass Valley products are distributed in South Africa by Protea Electronics – www.protea.co.za

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Loeries 2016

Image credit: Gallo Images

ADCETERA

The 38th Loeries is set to take Durban for the second year, having made the city its new home in 2015. As the largest annual gathering of creatives, from Africa and the Middle East, the Loeries seeks to reward and stimulate innovation and greatness across the various brand communication spheres.

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aking place from 15 to 21 August 2016, Loeries Creative Week™ will once again bring together the region’s top and emerging creatives for a full week of networking and knowledge sharing. This year’s edition will for the first time include the much anticipated MasterClasses helmed by local and international industry heavyweights.

weight Mike Schalit will be talking ‘Creativity vs. Strategy’ for IAS. “Each session is tailor-made to a specific area of creative communications. These sessions are aimed at inspiring and educating those who attend and we hope they walk away with a lot more than they expect.

We have already received huge interest in these workshops from delegates,” says Human.

Creative Week™

DStv Seminar of Creativity

The creative carnival will kick off with the judging of entries, all judging for this year’s event will take place at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Durban from 15 to 18 August. Each year a panel of regional and international thought leaders are selected to tackle the difficult task of judging the abundant entries. Finalists are announced during the week with winners announced at the 38th Annual Loerie Awards taking place, as usual, at the very end of the week’s festivities.

Taking place on 19 August is the most favoured event on the Loerie calendar, the DStv Seminar of Creativity. Year after year the DStv Seminar of Creativity brings international industry leaders to South Africa “to share the value of how creativity adds to business, their art, relationships and their lives,” adds Human. The speakers that were selected for this year’s seminar are global thought leaders that bring much insight and inspiration to those in the brand communications industry including marketers and agencies. “These are people who have built reputable careers in their fields and have formidable influence in the industry,” explains Human.

This year’s highly acclaimed line-up of speakers includes Susan Credle, who is the global chief creative officer of FCB New York and ranked number six on Business Insider’s ‘30 Most Creative People in Advertising; Laura JordanBambach, who is ranked number 19 on the aforementioned list and holds the title of creative partner at Mr President in London; Facebook’s vice president of Global Business Marketing Sarah Personette, who was recently inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Achievement; Debra Mallowah, vice president of Personal Care for Unilever Africa, who sits on the Africa Advisory Council of Women’s World Banking and is a member of the Africa Leadership Network; advertising veteran Jimmy Smith, CEO of Amusement Park Entertainment in Los Angeles; and Marco

MasterClasses This year will see the introduction of Loeries MasterClasses to Creative Week, taking place on 18 August at the Tsogo Sun Elangeni Hotel as a series of interactive workshops designed to inspire innovation and foster creative thinking.

The classes will be presented by a diverse collection of industry heavyweights and attendees will receive a Loeries MasterClass certificate of completion.

“The MasterClasses were introduced as a way to create an opportunity for aspiring industry professionals and thought leaders to interact through workshops,” explains Loeries CEO Andrew Human.

Comedian and Loeries creative voice Donovan Goliath will present his MasterClass on ‘Turning Ideas into Currency’, Accenture is set to helm a presentation that will fall under the banner of ‘Design and Innovation’, Google will be sharing tips on how creatives can go about using ‘YouTube as a creative tool’, and industry heavy22 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

Loeries CEO Andrew Human

Cremona, Google Creative Lab lead from Moscow, Russia. “A line-up not to be sneezed at,” adds Human.

Loeries Chairman, Neo Mashigo says: “As brand communication continues to evolve at an increasingly rapid pace, we are proud to present speakers who are at the forefront of cutting-edge innovation and creativity. Each has instituted changes that challenge and shift the status quo. Through their experience and track records of proven results, their presentations will prove to be invaluable.”

Forging strong collaborations Wrapping up what’s sure to be an enriching and educational Creative Week™ will be the announcing of the award winners at the Durban ICC on

Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 August 2016.

“We hope that through all of the activities taking place at Loeries Creative Week Durban delegates will be encouraged to form lasting relationships through the networking opportunities presented.”

Human concludes by saying that ultimately, brands that want to be successful today need to be innovative, “and the Loeries provides the only independent measure across our region of who is doing what and how well. It’s a way for brands to measure their own performance against the competition, and a place to go shopping for something new. Above all, our aim is to forge strong collaborations that will result in award-winning campaigns across Africa and the Middle East.” – Chanelle Ellaya

ADVERTORIAL

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SABC selects RTS intercoms for studio complex upgrade in Johannesburg

When the South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC) decided to update the intercom system at its main television production complex in Johannesburg, it selected RTS gear featuring OMNEO IP-technology. As the state broadcaster for South Africa, the SABC offers multiple TV, satellite and internet media distribution channels.

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onnecting directors to cameras, audio, floor manager, lighting operators and talent across a studio complex is a critical aspect of broadcasting, so replacing the intercom and keeping the existing intercom running was at a critical cross-road.

The new RTS Digital Intercom is based on three ADAM (Advanced Digital Audio Matrix) modular matrix frames from RTS installed in different areas within the SABC building complex.

SABC contracted Tru-fi Electronics SA, the RTS partner to install and commission the new RTS Intercom system. The technology of the new system is based on OMNEO, Audio over IP (AoIP) which allows all Dante (Audinate) devices to connect seamlessly over IP through standard networks. Because OMNEO is TCP/IP layer 3 compliant, traffic can be routed across networks which allows for much easier network management.

Connection between the three ADAM frames is via fibre on RTS’s Tri-buss technology which allows for 880 cross points. The advantage of placing the frames in each critical area is that the system wiring is reduced and installation times are cut down.

The old Telex ADAM frame and the new RTS ADAM frame were Trunked together during the transition so that all areas could communicate with each other whether they were on the new or the old system. This kept rack space in each studio to a minimum rather than having

24 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

old keypanels and new keypanels side by side.

For the SABC project, Tru-Fi utilised RTS KP-Series rack mount hardware, including both the KP-4016 (16-key) and KP-5032 (32-key) keypanels as needed. A total of 157 new keypanels were added.

These are fully integrated to work alongside an existing network of 21 WKP-4 wall mounted keypads for additional system access. Each keypanel as a high resolution colour display and multi-directional levers for talk, listen and volume up and down.

For communication between the various regional studios and remote news and sports correspondents across the nine regions served by SABC, the system currently utilises four RTS SIP ISDN interface codecs and an 8-slot TIF-4000 Digital Hybrid Telephone Line Interface.

The TIF-4000 functions telephone hybrid connection to other regions or for remote correspondents. This enables full bidirectional communication between the intercom system and any standard DTMF [Dual Tone Multi Frequency] telephone.

Eventually it is planned to connect the SABC Regional Studio’s via RTS RVON (RTS Voice Over Network), cutting down on telecom bills by utilising their WAN networks.

The system supplied also includes RTS Vlink Virtual software for remote users to interface with the RTS matrix intercom via

the use of iOS and Android smartphones, or even Windows operating system laptops. This enables full bidirectional communication between the intercom system and IP or LTE (3G) based network.

“The single biggest factor that makes RTS the right choice for this installation is its flexibility,” says Richard Fulton. “Some of the studios stand alone with a core backstage crew, but this system allows SABC to quickly switch gears and tie in other studios or remote locations at a moments notice using their existing IT infustructure. OMNEO IP technology ensures that all intercoms throughout the broadcast centre will continue to operate seamlessly regardless of the production’s requirements.”

OMNEO IP technology By utilising both industry and open public standards, OMNEO provides futureproof technology with the highest level of interoperability, flexibility, reliability and resilience.

OMNEO is based on two key technologies – the media transmission component Dante (from Audinate) and the system-control component OCA (Open Control Architecture). OMNEO enables a secure set up at competitively low system cost due to the use of standard IP components, along with lower installation and maintenance costs.

Links Tru-Fi Electronics S.A. (Pty) Ltd: http://www.trufi.co.za South African Broadcasting Corporation: http://www.sabc.co.za

RTS equipment: • 3x ADAM modular intercom frame • 9x AIO-16 analog I/O card • 5x OMI-16 matrix interface card • 6x OMI-32 matrix interface card • 3x TBX-Tribus triple bus expansion card • 129x KP4016 OMNEO keypanel • 26x KP-5032 OMNEO keypanel • 157x MCP-90-12 gooseneck microphone • 21x WKP-4 wallmount keypanel • 2x ARNI-s controller • 32x Vlink device interface software

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Portrait of a metamorphic outreach programme

Still from the short film about the Surf Shack rehabilitation

Chasing the Dragon is a promotional short about Surfshack Outreach in Muizenberg, where local youths are pulled from the trenches of a life on tik by volunteers dedicated to transforming their lives. “This piece had a very personal appeal to me, I felt that I could deliver a level of honesty and insight into it that would complement its authenticity,” says director Siphiwe Myeza. 7Films partnered with Y&R and Surfshack to film Chasing the Dragon.

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hroughout the short the voice-over and music create a relationship between the ocean and the drugs, and plays an integral part of the production.

“The VO marries intimately with the pacing of the cut and determined the amount of scenes we needed to have,” says Myeza. This project attracted his team because it allowed them to connect with a worthwhile cause and give back to the community by doing what they love.

The brief was to make a collection of three short films for Surfshack, and to make them all very different. Therefore three different 7Films directors partnered with three different DOPs to create three very different short films. Written by Patrick Robertson, “all the scripts are very inspiring and each narrative is gripping in its own respect, which made our job so much easier to marry the words with equally beautiful imagery,” describes Myeza.

The spot was shot in Muizenberg and Capricorn in Cape Town using the Arri

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Alexa Mini, which was chosen specifically for its smaller size and light weight. “We needed a camera which could accommodate the intricate and intimate circumstances of the shoot’s locations and schedule,” explains Myeza. “Coupled with an Angenieux Optimo 28-76mm, the combo proved highly effective giving us the versatility we needed moving between interior and exterior locations using only natural light.”

He says they chose to shoot exclusively in natural light as the harsh African summer sun would best portray the hard lives of the young men living in the township. It was filmed on 30 and 31 December 2015 and released on 30 June 2016.

Aiming to be entirely authentic, they decided to work with children of the target demographic. To find the balance between an unforced performance that was consistent and assertive in its delivery, Myeza says was no easy feat.

“So it was important that we got as much footage as we could, it is like digging for

gold.” Myeza says they adopted the same workshop process which was used in films such as City of God and Life of Pi. “The workshop required us to be patient, graceful and sensitive with the children. It not only challenged us and improved us, it did the same for the children,” he says.

Forming a relationship with the children through team building exercises and trust exercises they learnt how to be disciplined and this preparation paid off on set. “Through this process we were able to instil life skills that are reminiscent of the ethos of Surfshack. In this regard it is always fulfilling to build into the community and people’s lives through working together,” adds Myeza.

Shooting in a South African township comes with its own risks and challenges, Myeza explains. “With respect and courtesy, we were able to navigate through the streets of Capricorn township and connect with the community at large,” he says. “The community bought into the idea and fully supported what we aimed to accomplish. The community offered their co-operation and volunteered a hand where they could, which made the shoot so much more worthwhile. We hope that we have done them justice and raised awareness about the challenges that their youth and community face.”

Without a stunt team and water support Myeza says shooting the water and surfing scenes posed the greatest challenge. “We had a very small but multi-talented crew which helped a lot, but the ocean shots took a toll on us both physically and mentally.”

Media Film Services equipped them with all the equipment and underwater camera gear that allowed them to capture intimate shots of the young surfers as they ripped through the waves.

“Surfing on its own is hard enough, carrying around a camera and trying to keep up with these talented surfers made us grateful that we took swimming lessons once upon a time,” adds Myeza.

He describes the team work and co-operation from the cast and crew as amazing. “They had to wake up early on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day,” says Myeza. Capturing the essence of Surfshack Outreach seemed effortless in this short. Myeza was able to depict: “The abyssal, dark and all-consuming drug world versus the robust, volatile and deep ocean. Mind blowing in their similarities, both are adrenaline pumping and somewhat euphoric, but the one takes lives and the other saves lives.” He explores this poetically in his piece. It beautifies the Surfshack Outreach slogan “The cure for addiction is another addiction.” – Cera-Jane Catton

Key crew: Executive producer: Lourans van Rensburg Producer: Nina van Rensburg.

Director: Siphiwe Myeza- Mhlambi DOP: Kabeer Shaik Editor: James O’Sullivan Grade and online: Leon Liebenberg Chief creative officer: Graham Lang Writer: Patrick Robertson Final mix: Gavin Kannemeyer

Key companies: Production house: 7Films Agency: Y&R Post-production: Nova and CV Africa Voice over recording studio: Big Leap Voice over recording: Big Leap Recording Studio

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Creating the exceptional: the champagne of Investment Banking

Still from the ABSA Investment Banking commercial

Playing out like a short film, ABSA’s new Investment Banking commercial is the tale of a vigneron creating champagne.

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rom seed to harvesting to uncorking the bottle, the TVC uses visual and subliminal methodologies to bring out the way in which thought, nature and commerce overcome problems demonstrating how those associated with award-winning wines can equate to those involved in the investment banking profession. It does so by focusing on how insight, understanding and determination are the way to overcome whatever problems one may encounter, and then produce winning results. Augmenting the story told through the visuals is a voiceover consisting of the words of renowned philosopher Allan Watts, used with permission from his son Mark. “We took from actual recordings of many speeches Alan Watts gave in the 50s and 60s and put together a single cohesive message,” says director Sam Coleman of Giant Films.

Crafting the concept for the campaign, Coleman knew that the words and distinctive voice of Watts would lend the required gravitas he and Johannesburg agency, The Jupiter Drawing Room, were searching for. Under the slogan Strive for the Exceptional, Watt’s voice and

28 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

thoughts direct the message in the commercial to meet the standards of the brand.

Copywriter at Jupiter, Matthew Bouch explains that the brief was to create a TV commercial to position Absa’s Investment management division, and its creative platform: Strive for the Exceptional. “This is an area in which the standard of advertising, conceptually and production wise, is incredibly high. So from the word go we knew we had to tell a story of scale and one rich in narrative,” says Bouch.

“The challenge with this was finding a story that also allowed us to touch on the many nuances of investment management: process, determination, teamwork and expertise.”

He says their idea was to tell the story of a champagne farmer and his journey to produce a fine sparkling wine. “This is a craft that embodies the same values as investment management, and through his journey we were able to bring all of these facets to life,” explains Bouch. “Dramatic as our final product is, we worked with actual champagne farmers to ensure that everything is based in fact. The cutting of vines, the grafting of new buds, and even the hail canon, are all actual processes and techniques that are called on to grow the right grapes, and turn them into an exceptional vintage champagne.”

The TVC was filmed in the areas of Muratie, Knorrhoek and Natte Valleij, near Stellenbosch in the Western Cape.

“Authenticity was a key word in the treatment, as a result we consulted with various professionals that helped us with the process of champagne making,” says producer Boris Vossgatter of Giant Films.

Authenticity was the biggest challenge faced aside from being able to film at harvest time.

“From the start getting the best performer for the job was critical, and locking a date down was important as we needed grapes on the vines prior to harvest. This became a moving target using previous records,” explains Vossgatter. “What el nino did the previous year with a warmer summer, was that it made the grapes ripen faster and thus the harvest was done weeks earlier.”

Filming was done over five days in the first week of February. The TVC was released on 4 June 2016.

The commercial was filmed using an Alexa Mini with a Ronin rig. “This gave us a loose feel to the camera movement,” says Vossgatter. “Jamie Ramsay was instrumental in that.” Ramsay, the DOP, requested the Alexa Mini and says the Ronin works best with smaller cameras.

Clear skies are turned grey by Wicked Pixels who created the storm in which the hail cannon is utilised to disrupt the formation of hailstones as a storm threatens the combined work of man and nature in producing award winning vines.

The music accompanying the voiceover was composed by Simon Malherbe of Freqncy.

Throughout the TVC nature is clearly shown to be what it is: unpredictable, sometimes an ally but all too often a foe; while at the same time a good understanding of nature enables one to harness the benefits conferred by it. This analogy is a simple yet powerful way in which to demonstrate the pitfalls involved in the investment banking industry, which

is beset with problems and opportunities that can turn around at short notice, just like nature. Attention to detail, cinematography, post and passion combine to convey a portrait of lifelong lessons as we see a man map out the elusive road to the exceptional.

– Cera-Jane Catton

Key crew: Production

Director: Sam Coleman Producer: Boris Vossgatter Production Manager: Carnita Ferrara AD: Mike Hoyte DOP: Jamie Ramsay Copywriter: Matthew Bouch Grip: Allan Gray Gaffer: Gilles Boisacq Art director: Darryl Hammer Wardrobe: Laura Meek Make up: Anette Keet Unit: Julia and Riaan Serfontein

Post production: Editor: Kobus Loots Colourist: Nic Apostoli Online: Charmaine Greyling Sound: Simon Malherbe Sound Design: Louis Enslin

Key companies: Agency: Jupiter Drawing Room Production: Giant films Post Production: Upstairs post/ludus Video effects: Wicked Pixels Casting: Traffic studio Sound: Freqncy

Conference 8 – 12 September : Exhibition 9 – 13 September RAI, Amsterdam

Connecting Ideas, Transforming Business Explore the growing showfloor with the newest addition to the RAI, Hall 9 and discover our reimagined conference streams in the best IBC yet!

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Meet 1,600+ potential business partners Learn from 300+ thought-leading speakers Network with our 55,000+ strong community Discover emerging technologies with our themed feature areas Celebrate the future of collaboration with our innovation awards

Find out more at IBC.org

#IBCShow

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FCB activation garners 3 million views in three days

Still from the BMW Motorrad ‘Bus Stop’ activation

In June 2016, FCB Cape Town formulated and installed the BMW Motorrad ‘Bus Stop’ activation for the new BMW Motorrad destination store in Cape Town. Developed by art director Janine Coboz, writer David Bassett and group head Dylan Davies along with executive creative director Mike Barnwell, the activation was developed with the payoff line – ‘Blink and you’ll miss it’ – for the new BMW S 1000 RR in mind.

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o carry out the activation, the FCB team were required to rig a bus stop in Cape Town with speakers and install a puddle of water in the road alongside the same bus stop. “The two were linked so that people waiting at the bus stop would hear the sound of a bike travelling really fast and approaching the shelter. As it ‘sped past’, water splashed from the puddle much as it would have if a motorbike had driven at pace through it. But there was no motor bike. ‘Had it been travelling so fast, the people had missed seeing it?’” explains Barnwell. The hysterical and confused reactions of those waiting at the bus stop, experiencing the activation, was captured by hidden

30 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

cameras and shared on social media.

Within just three days, the video had been shared and viewed over three-million times on various social media channels.

Troy Davies and Gareth Place – dual directors, cinematographers and editors on the job – say that the brief was simply to capture the subjects in a creative manner but still maintain a hidden camera approach to the shoot. “We had to convey the idea through capturing genuine reactions.” To best achieve the desired hidden camera style, Davies and Place employed “long lenses and a creative use of foliage” to keep the equipment concealed making use of the

Canon 5dmk111 and various lenses, “mainly for the small form factor,” they explain.

The success of the BMW Motorrad ‘Bus Stop’ activation is proof that in the digital age, effective advertising and increased brand awareness need not be a tremendously costly endeavour. The combination of feel-good humour and the right audience makes the spot enjoyable to watch and to share, making for a significant brand activation and sparking brand conversation.

Dylan Davies, FCB Cape Town’s creative group head says that the success of the BMW Motorrad ‘Bus Stop’ activation reveals the key to the creation

of any successful activation – the right message for the right audience. “In our piece, it was the accelerating power of the BMW Motorrad S 1000 RR that was both our creative concept and mechanic to land a message with bike enthusiasts all over the world: speed – it’s in every biker’s blood, and the piece plays to this particular passion point. And the BMW Motorrad S 1000 RR is the authority on acceleration. It’s so quick that if you blink, you’ll actually miss it,” he explains.

View the BMW Motorrad ‘Bus Stop’ activation on YouTube.

OPINION

Directing influence

| ADCETERA

Written by Arcade Content co-founder and producer William Nicholson

Still from Cassper Nyovest’s ‘Mr Madumane’ music video

Influencer marketing has been a buzzword on everyone’s lips, but it remains one of the trickiest advertising strategies to get right. Its success relies on dovetailing a brand message with an influencer’s or celebrities’ existing voice – if the two don’t match up then both the influencer and the brand come out looking worse for wear.

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hen it comes to brand films featuring influencers, there is an added dimension to consider: the director as influencer. It’s become increasingly important for directors to understand the social landscape of influencers and their fans. It’s no longer as simple as just applying a generic visual treatment to a piece that requires keen attention to social nuance. It’s the nuances that the fans and aficionados truly pick up on – the references to memes, lyrics, disses,

break ups, meltdowns etcetera. A director who already understands and navigates these worlds is a director who is ready to amplify an influencer’s voice in a way that is wholly impactful and authentic.

We’ve had the privilege of working on several campaigns where our directors were brought in not simply for their technical skills and expertise, but because of who they are as people and the social spheres in which they organically find themselves. The agencies and their

clients acknowledged and respected the directors’ natural voice and realised that, as with the influencers themselves, they needed to be given some leeway to let their voice come through into the piece.

It’s a tricky balance and no exact science, but when it works it has the potential to create something that completely transcends traditional brand messaging.

A recent example that we had the privilege of working on was Cassper Nyovest’s music video for “Mr Madumane”. At first glance this seems like a standard, albeit somewhat bizarre and quirky, hip hop music video. But on closer inspection of the lyrics and the imagery, one realises that the song is Cassper’s dig at consumerism, and that this ties in with a larger message about the importance of saving. The track went on to become the centrepiece of National Saving’s month 2016, supported by investment bank Sanlam. At the time of writing the video had garnered 100 000 organic views and over 1500 likes in the space of a week.

The agency behind this subtle but effective campaign is King James, who

invited Arcade Content director Kyle Lewis to not only direct but also conceptualise the music video for Cassper. Kyle, still in his twenties, has spent the past four years making music videos for dozens of different artists, including three previous videos for Cassper. With hip-hop in particular Kyle truly broke the mould, earning respect for videos that subverted genre clichés and offered a fresh take on African aesthetics.

The result is a video that not only meshes seamlessly into Cassper’s oeuvre, but is also a treasure trove of memes, subversions and in-jokes that audiences can sink their teeth into.

While Kyle’s voice is certainly not limited to either hip-hop or music videos (he has done brand work for VW, Absolut and several other clients), this is a case in point for where a director’s familiarity with a sub-culture was as important as their technical expertise. As agencies and clients continue unlocking the potential of influencer marketing, as well as the role of the director-as-influencer, I believe there will be more of this type of work to come.

August 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 31

FILM

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South Africa

Wonder Boy for President

– a gutsy satire that’s all too familiar

SHADY COMRADES: Kagiso Lediga plays the charismatic Wonder Boy

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remiered at the 2016 Durban International Film Festival, the mockumentary which gets its bearings from the concerning current state of South African politics, tells the story of Wonder Boy (Lediga), a charismatic and authoritative young man from the Eastern Cape, who is coerced into running for president by two dubious and crooked characters.

Brutus and Shakes (Ntosh Madlingozi and Tony Miyambo), pull all the strings at the African National Congress’ (ANC) Braamfontein office. But these shady comrades have a sinister plan of their own, to mould the grass roots Wonder Boy into a revered politician and thereafter fix the stakes, creating his fall from grace for the right price. “What they didn’t factor in is that true greatness... falls up,” explains John Barker.

Barker, who in addition to directing,

32 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

co-produced the film with Lediga, says that he wanted to make a film that sparked debate, a film that reflected the current lack of leadership in South Africa, so naturally employing satirical devices was the obvious choice. “Wonder Boy for President follows Julius Malema’s life in that the ANCYL lost their leader. So our guys (fictitious) in the Braamfontein branch were sent out to find a new charismatic leader,” explains Barker.

“Satire is a very important genre that allows filmmakers to comment and critique culture, society and in our case politics. Satire is one of the essential elements of a free society and its existence is a good indicator of a free society.”

Barker explains that South Africa’s current, often tragically comedic, political landscape provides a constant stream of material and inspiration for the making of

Wonder Boy for President, which coupled with the film’s talented and seasoned cast members, meant that minimal research was needed for the making of the film.

“We have a core group of very talented comedians and actors who are very good at improv – stretching back as far as The Pure Monate Show. Many of them are in the film. It’s always good to watch as many local films, television and theatre as possible – especially as you are developing your script and characters…

The political landscape has given us so much material, very little research was needed with the political satire.”

The film employs the technique of retro-scripting, preparing the plot but leaving the actors to improvise a lot of their own dialogue, “and because we had a cast comprising South Africa’s top comedians, the results were hilarious,” says Barker. “It’s a parody of our times,

with commentary on greed, corruption and cronyism, and no-one is spared.”

Additional cast members include Thishiwe Ziqubu, John Vlismas, Akin Omotoso, Loyiso Gola, David Kibuuka, Zabalaza Mchunu, Lara Lipschitz, Christopher Steenkamp, Camilo Saloojee, Daniel Friedman, Tshepo Mogale, Robbie Collins, Mary Twala and Barker. “We were really blessed to have a whole bunch of South Africa’s top comedians who collaborated on the film with us,” comments Barker.

In addition to the aforementioned cast members, Wonder Boy for President, features – thanks to the clever use of available footage from various news sources – a host of well-known faces “that, um, play themselves” says Barker.

These include President Jacob Zuma, Julius Malema, Mmusi Maimane, Floyd Shivambu, Cyril Ramaphosa, Zwelinzima

South Africa

| Film

Director John Barker’s new satirical film Wonder Boy for President, starring comedy heavyweight Kagiso Lediga, opened in cinemas across the country on 29 July…

Vavi, Helen Zille and Zapiro.

In terms of cinematography, the film employs the look and feel of a documentary, in an attempt to enhance the desired realism, DOP Graham Boonzaaier made use of the Canon 5D, capturing the visuals in a handheld style.

Saki Bergh edited the gutsy satire and was key to the retro scripting process according to Barker. In addition to Bergh, the writing team was made up of Barker, Camilo Saloogee, Christopher Steenkamp and Kagiso Lediga. The film features an original soundtrack composed and performed by Durban band Thee Legacy.

Shot over the course of five years in and around Braamfontein, as well as at political rallies and stadiums around Johannesburg, Wonder Boy for President – produced through Barking Rat Film in association with Dog Pack Collective –

along with Barker and Lediga, is co-produced by Tammy LewisHouting and Jeremy Nathan. The film is theatrically released in South Africa by Indigenous Films.

“Wonder Boy for President is a gutsy and deeply funny political satire that delves into the dynamics and challenges unique to the crazy world of South African politics,” says Barker, “…At a time when the rand/ dollar has set a morose mood in the country, and amid all the doom and gloom in the media about corruption, greed and cronyism, it was fabulous to make a film that could parody the current times, make us take a deep long look at the absurdity of it and laugh. Perhaps we all will see some of ourselves in these characters – and perhaps it will help people to make the change they need.” – Chanelle Ellaya August 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 33

FILM

|

Malawi

CREATIVE VOICE Shemu Joyah

Making a difference through storytelling “When I started off I wanted to be as unique and myself and authentic as I could,” says Malawian filmmaker Shemu Joyah. “So I explored stories that relate to Malawian life. I wanted to tell the Malawian story with a Malawian touch, because you only have your own story to tell based on your surroundings.”

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa. With a population of more than 17.5 million, the country has had its fare share of challenges: population growth, ever increasing pressure on agricultural lands, corruption and the scourge of HIV/AIDS. A scene from Joyah’s debut film, Seasons of Life

34 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

Joyah (second from left at the back) with the cast and crew of Seasons of Life at the Zanzibar International Film Festival in 2009

Malawi But despite all these social misfortunes, its people have a positive outlook on things and some transcend the issues to make a difference through storytelling.

Born to Zimbabwean parents in 1959, Charles Shemu Joyah is one of those creative voices that Malawi is proud to have produced.

The award-winning filmmaker wears African prints on set and works with casts of ordinary people. He roots his scripts in things that affect his everyday life; themes like poverty and injustice are a recurring theme in his stories.

To him realism is critical.

“They have to be authentic, not fake,” Joyah says. “If you have a normal set, with normal characters as cast, you tend to get magic in your film and that is what I like about my films: the authenticity that brings the Malawian story to life.”

Joyah began making films in 2006. He saved and bought his camera and three years later he went out to release the film Seasons of Life. The story is about a young girl who gets impregnated by her employer and is forced to stay silent because he pays her school fees. The film won two awards at the Zanzibar Film Festival in 2009.

Joyah says: “That was really encouraging to see how creativity is appreciated by fellow Africans.”

The self taught filmmaker is a B.Sc. holder in mathematics and physics from the university of Malawi, Chancellor College, with an additional honours degree in surveying and mapping from East London University.

“Most people won’t believe it but I currently work as a land scientist in Malawi and provide consultancy services

in land and real estate to finance my creative passion.”

Among the world’s least-developed countries, Malawi’s economy relies heavily on agriculture because it has a large rural population. For years the country has depended on external aid to meet its development needs.

“If you were to look at the challenges that we face as a country you won’t be able to look at the bright side of things because, every report is depressing: no jobs, no money, and no proper infrastructure to run things,” Joyah says. “But all in all art and creativity has its share of importance in our development goals.”

In 2013, Joyah released his second film –The Last Fishing Boat, a powerful narrative about the life of a fisherman whose source of revenue is transformed by the tourism industry. The story depicts how the fisherman copes with the massive changes to his traditional way of life.

The film went on to win numerous awards around the world including, Best Narrative at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival in California, and an award for Best Soundtrack at the Africa Movie Academy Awards.

The entire film was shot in his house and his wife was by his side all the time, preparing meals for the crew.

Joyah adds: “It was a great experience

| Film

that I will never forget for the rest of my life.”

Now confident and a household name in his own right, Joyah believes the things that will make Malawian film great are embedded in the challenges that he faces.

“I look at these shortcomings in film as a proponent to creating great stories that will be made known to the rest of Africa and the world.” He continues: “Most people associate poverty, lack, scourge with a dark theme, but we can lighten things up by capturing these subjects through a brighter perspective.”

With poor distribution avenues and piracy, the filmmaker thinks, it’s a lack of skills that is a major problem.

“As a filmmaker, I will understand if my film is out there without my permission because we live in the age of internet of things but more so, the greatest problem we face in Malawi right now is having unskilled filmmakers and creatives.

That poses a greater tragedy for African creativity.”

He thinks this is one of the reasons why Malawian films are ignored on the international festival circuit. “The art of filmmaking is storytelling. It reaches deep into our souls. Filmmaking brings to life something that was just words on the page. It is only fair if films are done professionally to be appreciated by the rest of the world.” – Sam Charo

August 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 35

FILM | Director Speak ael MichGarry Mac

Do you have any mentors?

Filmmakers Abderrahmane Sissako and Michelangelo Antonioni.

Adroit overachiever, Michael MacGarry is an award-winning

Who in the industry would you really like to work with?

Actor Ntare Mwine.

filmmaker, visual artist and commercials director. He creates sculptures, films, installations and photographs which are designed to question systemic paradigms: sovereign nationality; logics of making and meaning; power relations; notions of value; equity and progress; as well as the relationship between industrial technology and African resources.

He has been researching narratives and histories of socioeconomics, politics, forms and objects within the context of contemporary Africa for more than a decade.

In his filmmaking and photographic work these macro concerns often take the form of micro narratives, personal memory and subtle identity politics in spaces where contemporary life is in a state of invention and flux. He has written and directed seven short films, and has exhibited internationally for more than 10 years at the likes of the Tate Modern, Guggenheim Bilbao and currently at Everard Read Gallery in Johannesburg.

36 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

What is your background and how has this shaped you as a director?

I grew up in Durban where I completed an Honours Degree in Fine Art, I then moved to Dublin, Ireland where I worked as a graphic designer – the plan was to afford tuition fees for a Master’s Degree at Glasgow School of Art. I moved instead to London, continuing to work as a designer, and lived there for a couple of years before moving to Johannesburg to complete a Masters in Fine Art at Wits University.

During my time in Europe I made a series of books and wrote extensive film scripts of future film and visual art projects. This strategy developed into a dogma called ‘All Theory. No Practice.’ whereby I stopped physically making any artworks at all. Instead I published books and online via alltheorynopractice.com. This approach was initially very useful but over time became a serious hindrance to growing as an artist. Consequently, I began making the short films and film ideas I had been writing and thinking about for numerous years. I have so far made 12 of these films, video installations and animations. As these various film projects have grown in audience, production value and scale I have been able to work as a director of TV commercials in the South African film industry, something I have been doing for four years.

Describe the moment you decided to become a director?

I can’t recall a singular moment; it has been a steady process from about my mid-teens. I have never been to film school, but have instead obsessed about films in my own way – how you practically make them and what the medium can really create and mean – more or less consistently from about that time in my life onwards.

Where do you find inspiration?

My work as both a filmmaker and a visual artist is focused on investigating the politics of socio-economics in several African countries right now, as well as projecting into the near future. As such, I find the work itself to be a driving force, an inspiration of sorts – studying contemporary life in places like Angola and Nigeria, in addition to South Africa, provides an unrelenting torrent of information, ideas and connections that feed into new work.

What are your personal career milestones?

Managing multiple careers and ongoing tertiary studies have, and continue to be, meaningful milestones.

Which projects are you currently involved IN? I currently have a solo exhibition titled Between Rot and Genesis at Everard Read Gallery in Johannesburg until 20 August 2016, as well as numerous film festival screenings and museum shows this year in Europe, South America, USA and Israel; I am engaged in a PhD in Philosophy at Wits University; I am completing writing a feature film titled Show No Pain that is an adaptation of a short film I made in Angola in 2014, titled Excuse me, while I disappear. scheduled to shoot in November this year; I am developing a touring exhibition programme with a colleague in Berlin focused on visual art and filmic responses to China’s growing presence in sub-Saharan Africa scheduled for 2017-18; and pitching on TV commercial work with production company Bouffant.

DO YOU PREFER FILMS OR EXHIBITIONS? In addition to film festivals and programmes, my films are often screened as part of my solo and group exhibitions, so both means of display and making are great.

What has been your proudest moment as a director?

Not so much a single moment, rather being able to make seven short films with total freedom and space to genuinely experiment has been a memorable, collective achievement I guess.

If you could produce an African version of a Hollywood classic, what would it be?

The Crowd, 1928.

What or where is your happy place?

With my son, Max. Compiled by Cera-Jane Catton

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Television

|

Cartoon Network and Urban Brew team up on new series Pop Up Party The African continent is synonymous with its distinctive music and dance culture.

Cartoon Network – the most watched kid’s entertainment channel in Africa – and Urban Brew Studios, renowned African content creators, have joined forces to create the new and original locally produced kids’ series Pop Up Party.

T

he series, which is the brainchild of Ariane Suveg, the programming and acquisitions manager for Turner Kids’ channels in Africa, was developed in a collaborative effort with Urban Brew Studios.

“The initial task was to find a common denominator among Africans, specifically among the youth. The one thing that all Africans do when they are happy, sad or angry is dance. Rhythm is in our souls, and with what these kids do, they remind people that sometimes it’s good to just let loose, pop up and dance and so, Pop Up Party was born,” says Urban Brew Studios’ spokesperson Markus Davies, who is the executive producer of the series.

The first season of Pop Up Party, which has been airing on Cartoon Network (DStv channel 301) since 23 July, comprises 10 short inserts which follow a young team of enthusiastic local dancers as they ‘pop up’ in unexpected locations and start to dance, creating an energetic atmosphere and a fun-filled Pop Up Party.

The new series draws inspiration from the countless viral dance and flash mob videos that have risen in popularity and taken the internet by storm over the past couple of years.

In an attempt to find the perfect mix of dance pro enthusiasts, the show’s creators stumbled upon the Michelle Oppenshaw Dance Studio, which is run

by Oppenshaw, a well-known dancer and

38 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

FULL OF LOCAL FLAVOUR: A distinctly African dance party

choreographer. The talented and culturally diverse young dancers that feature on Pop Up Party were all cast from the studio. “We found a group of talented individuals who love to dance, who spend their free time in the dance studio, and invited them to participate in our Pop Up Party,” explains Davies.

Pierre Branco, VP and managing director of Turner Africa comments: “We chose a group of kids that are all the same age as our core target market and from the unique and diverse African cultures to appeal to our viewers. They bring various personalities and different elements to the show, but one thing is for certain, they all are incredibly talented!”

The show’s look and feel is distinctly bright, quirky and slightly edgy. Ariane Suveg, programming and acquisitions manager for all Turner Kids’ channels in Africa, says that the team behind Pop Up Party was deeply inspired by modern African street style and graffiti, “from the likes of Rasty, Tapz and Rekso Le Hond for example.”

“We drew our inspiration from pop art, shweshwe (a traditional printed, dyed cotton fabric) and of course, from traditional African arts and crafts, and the printed fur of some of Africa’s most iconic animals ie. the leopard. The bright, flashy colours and pop art inspired artwork, evokes a sense of excitement, energy and joy in the air – the perfect atmosphere for one heck of a party,” comments Suveg.

In terms of filming style, Pop Up Party employs a fast paced flair, to best capture and reflect the high energy of the crew.

To further enhance the modern African undertones in look and feel, Cartoon Network teamed up with the choreographer and parent of each cast member, in order to create a bright, individual, African street-inspired style specific and authentic to each individual’s character and personality, while remaining true to the channel’s artistic style and aesthetic.

Pop Up Party is a ‘hidden camera concept’, filmed in an unscripted, unplanned environment. For this reason, the cameramen hid in strategic locations, concealed from the public and audience’s sight in order to best capture the energy, surprise, spontaneity and authenticity of the audience and crew on camera. “Some of the filming was captured ‘handheld’ style, also known as ‘shaky cam’, which is a technique we used to give the series a documentary/reality sort of look and feel.

We really wanted to portray the unpreparedness and unrehearsed nature of the reality-style series, which is exactly what Pop Up Party and its crew is all about,” Suveg expands.

The show was filmed with light DSLR HD cameras (Canon 5D mark 2), which Suveg says was best suited due to the disruptive nature of the ‘flash mob’ aspect of the series. “Hand held cameras were extremely crucial to the filming of this

series. Our cameramen were constantly on foot, and had to hide and move constantly, which made the Canon 5D the perfect camera to use throughout the making of this exciting, locally produced series.”

Pop Up Party was shot using 100% natural lighting (specific to each environment) so as to further support the hidden camera/surprise aspect of the show. “We really just wanted to capture the organic reaction of our targeted audiences in their natural habitat; therefore the footage needed to be 100% spontaneous, natural and authentic,” says Suveg. “Lighting and a full camera set up would have been too obvious, and we would not have achieved what we set out to accomplish.”

Season 1 of Pop Up Party was filmed in South Africa, and is currently being broadcast across the African continent, but for possible future seasons of the show, Cartoon Network says that it will investigate the possibility of filming in other African countries. This is the first time that Cartoon Network has teamed up with an African production company to produce something original and exclusive for its African audiences that’s “full of local flavour, while still being true to the Cartoon Network brand and style,” says Branco. “The final product is not only fun, but also surprising, and that is exactly what Cartoon Network’s Pop Up Party is all about.” – Chanelle Ellaya

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FESTIVALS & MARKETS

|

Spotlight on

Zanzibar

AFRICAN FILMMAKERS LAUNCHPAD: The Old Fort amphitheatre is the unique and charming venue for ZIFF 2016

Every year since 1997 the Festival of the Dhow Countries illuminates the heart of Zanzibar. Between 9 and 17 July 2016 Stone Town hummed with the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF). The colourful and crowded streets between vintage hotels saw more than 60 filmmakers traverse between screenings, art galleries, musical performances and parties among thousands of Zanzibaris and international visitors to the vibrant village.

A

full moon graced the closing ceremony, awards evening and numerous after parties that was clearly visible from the quaint and charming Old Fort amphitheatre. This alfresco backdrop hosts the first and final celebrations of the largest East African film festival.

“More than 500 films were entered and 90 were in competition,” says ZIFF acting chairperson Hassan Mitawi. Speaking at the awards evening, he said: “It’s not about the management, I shouldn’t be

40 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

making a speech. Tonight is about the filmmakers, it is they who have made this film festival possible.” He went on to say that while film is the core of the festival, the arts make up the exterior, and artists from all over the world were there to perform.

The opening night film of ZIFF 2016 was the South African film Kalushi, which won the Bi Kidude Award. Composer Rashid Lanie accepted the award, a fitting tribute to the protagonist and apartheid struggle stalwart Solomon Mhlangu, after

whom a school is named in Tanzania. The poignant biopic was embraced and audiences were moved to tears by the graceful portrait. Lanie says that he and director Mandla Dube plan to educate South Africans about their connection to the spice capital, which long served as a hub for “central slave, now cultural trade between many nations from Britain to China, and all these countries were involved in bringing a culture which then extended all the way down to SA, and not many are aware of how much SA culture

stems from Zanzibar. We want to make that awareness from our relationship to Zanzibar. Through music (Lanie) and film (Dube) there is much to learn from ZIFF,” he confirms, “The connection goes far beyond a creative one.”

“There was big buzz but a smaller festival because we had less money to spend,” says ZIFF CEO Martin Mhando.

He explains that the festival was formed to encourage the culture of watching films. In Tanzania all cinemas had collapsed, so ZIFF became the only time

| FESTIVALS & MARKETS ZIFF 2016 Awards: European African Film Festival Awards • Zawadi – Richard Card and David Kinyanjui – Kenya • Watatu – Nick Reding – Kenya Emerson’s Foundation for Zanzibar Award • Daladala – Salum Stika – Tanzania Sembene Ousmane Award • A Place for Myself – Clementine Dusabejambo – Rwanda • Macarrao – Iyabo Kwayana – Brazil • Ugali – The Family Dinner – Tony Koros – Kenya Jury Special Mention • The Suit – Jarryd Coetsee – South Africa • Zawadi – Richard Card and David Kinyanjui – Kenya Signis Prize • Watatu – Nick Reding – Kenya • APlace for Myself – Clementine Dusabejambo – Rwanda Azam Bongo Movie Awards • Best Actress – Godliver Gordian – Aisha • Best Cinematographer – Freddy Feruzi – Kariakoo • Best Editor – Momose Cheyo – Aisha • Best Feature Film – Amil Shivji – Aisha • ComNet Bongo Movie Awards • Best Actor – Salim Ahmed – Safari ya Gwalu • Best Writer – Abubakar H. Guni and Devotha Mayunga – Queen of Masai • Best Director – Chande Omar – Aisha • Best Film in Sound – Joseph Myinga – Bongo na Flava

that the community could sit down and watch a film together. “Our job was to revive the culture. That is why we do not charge locals to watch the films,” he adds.

This year the major sponsor retracted its support in March, pulling out after five years despite having a ten year contract.

“At the same time another ten-year contract with a sponsor ended. Mhando explains, “The biggest problem with them pulling out was the timing, it was very close to the time the festival was on.

Therefore it was very challenging to find sponsorship, but we were able to bring in local sponsors: ZanLink, ComNet and AzamTV for the first time (being the biggest TV station in Tanzania); it is a fitting partnership.”

This is the tenth ZIFF where Mhando has been CEO. Zanzibari born and bred, he has been living in Australia working at Murdoch University but plans to retire in Zanzibar. This will be his final year as CEO, after which, he plans to move on to brighter and bigger things.

Mhando was the first recipient of the ZIFF Golden Dhow for Best Feature Film, and in 2017 he plans to return as he began. “ZIFF launched my filmmaking career and now is the perfect time for me to come back as a filmmaker,” he confirms.

After cleaning up at the awards evening, Watatu director Peter Reding explained that ZIFF is important for Kenyan filmmakers. “It’s the platform where you get your film recognised. He says it was his launchpad, where the success of his previous film Ndoto allowed him to find funding.

“ZIFF opens many doors and it helps filmmakers grow within the industry,” says Leeches director Payal Sethi. “Once you’re noticed at a film festival you can get better funding,” she says. She adds that her “struggle allowed me to tell the story the way I wanted to tell it.” Leeches won the Silver Dhow for Best Film from the Dhow Countries.

ZIFF 2016 awarded some of the best

films from across the globe and announced the dates for ZIFF 2017, which will mark the 20th anniversary and be held under the theme Finding Joy, from 8 to 16 July 2017.

While Mhando won’t be back as CEO he will be busy making his homecoming film and trying to raise funds to restore the old cinema. The Majestic, as it was once known, is now an abandoned and derelict cinema, with decrepit seats filling its two-storey theatre. Marvelling at its exterior Mhando hopes that this cinema can be restored to its former glory for next year’s festival. The task of finding a sponsor to rebuild it has not yet begun.

Despite the dilapidation, the cinema is still used by a handful of elder gentlemen, who watch a VHS video there every afternoon. A reflection of the spark that still remains in Zanzibar for its steadily growing film industry.

– Cera-Jane Catton

ZIFF Awards • Golden Dhow – Best Feature – Watatu – Nick Reding – Kenya • Silver Dhow – Best Documentary – The Valley of Salt – Salaud Morisset – Switzerland/Egypt • Silver Dhow – Best Film from Dhow Countries – Leeches – Payal Sethi – India • Golden Dhow – Short Film – A Place for Myself – Clementine Dusabejambo – Rwanda • Golden Dhow – Special Jury Prize – Me a Belgian, My Mother a Ghanaian – Adams Mensah – Belgium • Bi Kidudu/Chairman’s Award – Kalushi – Mandlakayise Dube – South Africa • Best Music Video – Walk it Off – FID Q featuring TAZ

August 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 41

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FESTIVALS & MARKETS

Behind the scenes – workshops at ZIFF

WELL TRANSLATED FILMMAKING: Steve Clack with a group of his students © 2016 Peter Bennett, Rashde Fidigo

Through the sharing of native narratives, the universal medium of storytelling allows people to better understand one another and greater appreciate diversities. Ensuring that limitations and lack of equipment are not a deterrent, filmmaker Steve Clack takes workshops around the world, to show how one can use what they have to tell their story to the world.

N

ew York based Bent Marble offered a free documentary filmmaking workshop to Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) groups. Founder Clack says his company offers courses that foster multicultural understanding through empowering people to create their own digital stories with the resources they already possess.

Bent Marble focus on locations and communities that don’t normally have access to training in filmmaking and the digital arts.

“The workshops at ZIFF were a great success,” says Clack. His workshop focuses on training in how to make a documentary, including all stages of pre-production, production, and post-production. “I was extremely impressed with the initiative participants showed, the depth and breadth of the topics they chose, and the extent to which they helped each other through this challenging process,” he adds.

Clack says a unique challenge at the ZIFF workshops was that there were many participants who did not speak English.

“To date I have always taught workshops in languages in which I am fluent (English, Spanish, and Indonesian), and this marked the first time that we needed to enlist the help of a translator, who was only available for the first two days. With the translator’s assistance we got through day one, which was a big day of film idea

42 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

Barry Braverman at a ZIFF conference development and production skills training. And on subsequent days, specific students who were fluent in English and Swahili helped their fellows and their instructor, by providing on-the-spot translation when needed. It was truly a beautiful thing how much we helped each other and how well it worked.”

Clack says the final films produced in the workshops were impressive, “and definitely among the best that have been produced by any workshop group I’ve facilitated to date,” and these new works were shown on the big screen at ZIFF on the final night.

Facing mostly fiscal challenges Clack funds the workshops himself and collaborates with initiatives within the country they seek to serve, namely Livity Africa in Johannesburg SA and Art for Social Change in Kampala, Uganda. “To date I have taught around 14 complete workshop series, as well as several topic

specific master classes in editing, sound recording, and documentary camera work in different countries including Russia, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, and Colombia. And I plan on taking our workshops to West Africa over the coming months,” says Clack.

Besides using the technological resources workshop participants already possess, Clack strives to take advantage of the vast experience and know-how that already exists in each workshop. “Our group at ZIFF had folks who were highly skilled in areas such as sound recording and design, and video editing. And these participants were extremely generous in sharing what they knew to help their fellow filmmakers in the workshops,” says Clack.

Hollywood based veteran cinematographer Barry Braverman led a camera and visual storytelling workshop at ZIFF. “The hunger for knowledge in this

part of the world never ceases to amaze me as my students demonstrate an eagerness to learn and practise the fundamental lessons of good visual storytelling and effective camera operation,” he says. Besides offering cinematography courses at ZIFF for four years, he has done them in 29 countries around the world.

“You can’t just bring your skills in and apply them, because they don’t have resources and so you have to adjust your methods to accommodate the conditions,” Braverman explains. “The thing about Zanzibar is that there is a lot of light out there but little indoors, and so one of the things is to use very simple solutions to complex problems.” The use of mirrors and passive lighting was his solution. “When you go on the streets its very bright and it’s also very dark in the same scene and they are using SLR cameras to do video, which are not video cameras and they do not have the ability to capture a lot of detail both in the highlights and in the shadows at the same time, so that’s why I taught them to shoot late in the day when the sun is off the buildings and out of the alleys, then it looks great,” he says. Without a sophisticated camera Braverman says it is best to adjust and shoot early morning or late in the day. “The biggest problem is not technical. As you saw from the festival, audiences will accept all kinds of problems technically if they are engaged in the story. So story always takes priority.

That’s why even in the camera class, it is all about story,” confirms Braverman.

Clack hopes to return and turn his former students into workshop facilitators themselves. He also hopes to improve fundraising so he can continue offering free workshops around the world, “as well as eventually have not one, but preferably three or four workshop facilitators travelling the globe, helping people make and share their stories in the modern form of the ancient art of storytelling that is filmmaking,” says Clack.

– Cera-Jane Catton

PROD U CTION

UP DAT E S FOR FURTHER DETAILS VISIT www.screenafrica.com

Those productions in red are newly listed this month Production Updates Order of Information 1. Title 2. Production company 3. Director 4. Genre

IN PRODUCTION 20 and Free X CON Films Dir: Munier Parker Documentary 50/50 Clive Morris Productions Current affairs 53 EXTRA M-Net Inhouse Productions Dir: Navan Chetty Magazine A BROTHER’S LOVE 1300 Pictures (Pty) Ltd Dir: Elvis Nkosi Feature A CALENDAR OF EVENTS – MEDUPI & KUSILE Betta Beta Communications Prod: Tommy Doig Documentary A MAN OF HIS OWN PRINCIPALS Sekgopha Productions Prod: Buhle Mofulatsi / Thapelo Hlagala TV movie AQUELLE’ MIDMAR MILE 2015 Media Ventures Prod/Dir: Chris Moolman Documentary AFRICA 360 eNews News Head: Patrick Conroy Current affairs AFRO CAFÉ SEASON 7 Bonngoe Productions Prod: Pepsi Pokane Music ArtsCulturex Talent 1000 Championships Michics Global Communications Exec Prod: Mishack Motshweni Series Auditor General Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Brad Montgomery/Natalie Varoy Corporate BACKBONE PROJECT Global Access Creative Agency Prod: GA Creative Agency Documentary BINNELAND Stark Films Prod/Dir: Friedrich / Elsje Stark Series

FRENZY Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Morena Sefatsa Variety

CLAASENS DESIGNS Marketing videoS Panache Video Productions Prod/Dir: Liesel Eiselen Marketing videos

FRIENDS LIKE THESE Urban Brew Studios Prod: Trishana Singh Game show

COOL CATS Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Cecil Berry Children’s show

GENERATIONS Morula Pictures Prod: Mfundi Vundla Series

CORTEX MINING FC Hamman Films Prod Man: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate video

GLAM GURU Homebrew Films Prod/Dir: Paul Venter Actuality TV series

COME DINE WITH ME SOUTH AFRICA Rapid Blue Prod: Kee-Leen Irvine Reality

GOOD MORNING AFRICA Planet Image Productions SA Prod/Dir: Wale Akinlabi Magazine

CUTTING EDGE SABC News Current affairs

GOSPEL GOLD Engage Entertainment Prod: Sthembile Mhlongu Music

Debra Deel Khaki Productions Prod/Dir: Christelle Parrott, Wynand Dreyer Series

Got It Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate

DIAMOND BROKER OF CONGO Bendimir Productions PTY LTD Prod: Dede Tshibangu Documentary

THE GREATEST THING Noble Pictures Prod: Claudia Noble Feature film

DIMENSION DATA Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Natalie Varoy Corporate

THEY, THEM, HERE Left Hand Films Prod/Dir: Lisa Henry Documentary

DINNER DIVAS 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myers Series

GROEN NAMIBIE 2 Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Wildlife

DISHONEST Inhlakanipho Films Dir: Vusi Nhlapo Feature film

HEAT WAVE Ruby Rocket Media Dir: Eddie Edwards TV series

Ditokelo tsa Medupi LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature

HECTIC 99 Okuhle Media Prod: Wilna van Schalkwyk Magazine

DIY MET RIAAN Prod: Riaan Venter-Garforth Magazine

HITACHI POWER AFRICA MEDUPI AND KUSILE Betta Beta Communications Prod/Dir: Tommy Doig Documentary

EARTH BEAT Tekweni TV Productions Prod: Sandra Herrington Series EASTERN MOSAIC Red Carpet Productions Prod: Saira Essa / Mark Corlett Magazine END GAME Fireworx Media/ Tunc Productions Prod: Bridget Pickering Dir: Akin Omotoso/ Thandie Brewer/ Thabang Moleya Feature

HOUSE CALL Urban Brew Studios Prod: Lawrence Molepo Talk show IGNITE Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Reality IHAWU LE SISWE Provoke Entertainment Dir: Sechaba Morojele TV series

EXPRESSO (Season 2) Cardova Prod: Paul van Deventer Series

iParent training clips Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate

BONISANANI Grounded Media Talk show

FACE OF GEMINI Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Series

IMIZWILILI Ukhamba Productions Prod: Alfred Mpofu Music

BRAVO! Homebrew Films Prod/Dir: Paul Venter TV magazine

Facility Management Lectures (A4FM) Panache Video Productions Dir/ Prod: Liesel Eiselen Educational

INKABA Urban Brew Studios Prod: John Kani Telenovela

BRENT OWENS UNWRAPPED…SOUTH AFRICA Oxyg3n Media Prod: Rebecca Fuller-Campbell TV series

Faith Today Impact Christian Media Prod: Carl Schultz TV series

In search of our own Open Window school of film arts Prod: Adriaan De la Rey Documentary

Bugatti Together Lucky Fish Productions Dir: Raphaël Crombez Commercial

FIVE FINGERS FOR MARSEILLES Be Phat Motel, Game 7 Films, Stage 5 Films, Above the Clouds Prod: Sean Drummond Feature film

ISIDINGO SEASON 19 Endemol South Africa Prod: Pumla Hoppa, Leo Phiri Soap

CAINE’S LEGACY Media Navigation Prod/Dir: Dan Akinlolu Short film

FOX NEWS CHANNEL Betta Beta Communications Prod/Dir: Tommy Doig News

CARTE BLANCHE (INSERTS) Modern Times Prod: Sophia Phirippides News

Free State Toursim Indaba Our Time Productions Dir: Jaun de Meillon Corporate

BLOODLINE: NOW OR NEVER Dual Films Prod/Dir: Darrell Roodt Feature film

Unit 3, Harbour Place, 1061 Schooner Road, Laser Park, Honeydew

Carte Blanche shorts TIA productions Prod / Dir: Tarryn Lee Crossman News

JOBURG TAXI Xcut Studios Prod: Dave Kaminer Documentary JOU SHOW Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Talk show

P R ODU C T IO N KWELA Homebrew Films Prod/Dir: Paul Venter TV magazine

MY GENERATION Current affairs Films Dir: Jane Lipman TV series

SHIFT Urban Brew Studios Prod: Bongani Maphumulo Talk show

KHUMBUL’EKHAYA Urban Brew Studios Prod: Khulile Nxumalo Factual entertainment

My name is Funeka Sabido Productions Dir/Prod: Catherine Rice Documentary

SISTERHOOD Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Andy Leze Variety

KOKKEDOOR 2 Homebrew films Prod: Jaco Loubser and Paul Venter Cooking reality series

MZANSI INSIDER Bonngoe Productions Prod: Pepsi Pokane Magazine

SIYAKHOLWA – WE BELIEVE X CON Films Dir: Munier Parker Edutainment

KOLLIG Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Magazine

NEILL ANTHONY – THE PRIVATE CHEF Okuhle Media Prod: Grant Flynn Cooking show

SKEEM SAAM Peu Prod/Dir: Winnie Serite TV series

KONA The Directors Team (Pty) Ltd Prod/Dir: Laurence Lurie / Cathy Sykes Series

NET1 – SASSA Betta Beta Communications Prod: Tommy Doig Corporate

KOOLCON Corporate video FiX Post Production/ Marketing AV Marketing video

NEWS NIGHT eNews Prod: Nikiwe Bikitsha Current affairs

Slender Wonder Doctors Conference Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Prod: Slender Wonder Corporate video

LATE NITE NEWS ON E.TV Diprente Productions Prod: Tamsin Andersson Series Light Girls South African Unit White Heron Pictures Prod: Themba Sibeko Documentary LIVE Urban Brew Music LIVE AMP Urban Brew Studios Prod: Sjula Dlamini Music show LIVE LOTTO SHOW Urban Brew Game show LOVE RUNS OUT Muti Films Prod: Shanna Freedman Feature film MAHADI SEASON 2 Urban Brew Studios Prod: Khulile Nxumalo Reality show MAMELLO SEASON 2 Endemol Shine Africa Prod: Shirley Adonisi TV drama series Mandela’s Gun DV8 films Dir: John Irvin Feature Marang Estate: Mixed Used Development Nov/ Dec Our Time Productions Dir: Jaun de Meillon Documentary MASHELENG1 LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature MASHELENG 2 LMOL Production Dir: Jonny Muteba Feature MassTalk Global Access Creative Agency Prod: Brad Montgomery Corporate MATRICS UPLOADED Educational Improvement and Study Help (EISH) Prod: Lisa Blakeway Educational MOTSWAKO Carol Bouwer Productions Prod: Grant Paul Roy Talk show MCA Training Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate M-NET Short filmS Current affairs Films Prod/ Dir: Jane Thandi Lipman Film MURDER OF A FORMER FIRST LADY Sabido Productions Dir/Prod: Catherine Rice Documentary MUVHANGO Word of Mouth Prod: Pieter Grobbelaar Feature

Oscar Pistorius Documentary Inserts TIA Productions Dir/ Prod: Tarryn Crossman Documentary PASELLA Tswelopele Productions Dir: Liani Maasdorp / Werner Hefer Magazine PAWN STARS SOUTH AFRICA Rapid Blue Prod: Kee-Leen Irvine, Ed Worster, Johan Naude and Kat Weatherall Reality PHUNDEKA READING PROGRAMME SummerTime Productions Exec Prod: Phundeka (NGO) Documentary POWER COMBAT ZONE Mixed Motion Entertainment Dir: Dieter Gottert Sport PROJECT MV Zen Crew Prod: Laura Tarling Music Rands with Sense 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myersin Education RHYTHM CITY Quizzical Pictures Prod: Yula Quinn Soapie RIVONINGO Asi-B Films Prod: Asivhanzi ‘Asi’ Mathaba Children’s show ROLLING WITH KELLY KHUMALO Red Pepper Prod: Cecil Barry Reality ROOTS Ukhamba Communications Prod: Alfred Mpofu Music SAINT AND FREEDOM FIGHTER Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Documentary SAKEGESPREK MET THEO VORSTER SEASON 5 Dirk Mostert Camera Production Prod/ Dir: Dirk Mostert Series SAUBA IMAGOFILM Prod: Tam de Vries Reality TV series SCANDAL Ochre Moving Pictures Prod: Romano Gorlei Soapie SCHOEMAN BOERDERY – MOOSRIVIER Khaki Productions Prod/Dir: Christelle Parrott / Wynand Dreyer Documentary SELIMATHUNZI Sikhoyana Productions Prod: Baby Joe Correira Variety SHIZ NIZ Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Allen Makhubele Variety

UPD ATES

Slender Wonder Patient Testimonial Videos Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Corporate videos SOCCER ZONE SABC Sports Head: Sizwe Nzimande Magazine SODA AND Mayoral Awards Global Access Creative Agency Guy Sclanders Corporate SPRINGBOK STORIES Angel Music Studio Productions Dir: Chrissie Rossouw TV series STUDY MATE Educational Improvement and Study Help (EISH) Exec Prod: Lisa Blakeway Educational SUIDOOSTER Suidooster Films Prod: Colin Howard Soap SUPERSWIMMER Media Ventures Prod/Dir: Chris Moolman TV series THE CHAT ROOM Eclipse Prod: Thokozani Nkosi Talk show THE COMMUNIST REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA Jam TV, Creative South Africa, Nkhanyeti Production Prod: Barthelemy Ngwessam Documentary THE JUSTICE FACTOR eNews Prod: Debbie Meyer Current affairs THE REAL GOBOZA 10 Urban Brew Studios Prod: Sydney Mekgwe Magazine show The Revolution Betrayed Shadow Films Prod/Dir: David Forbes Documentary THE RUDIMENTALS Periphery Films Prod: Simon Taylor Feature THE TECH REPORT Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Technology magazine TEMPY PUSHAS SEASON 3 Endemol Shine Africa Prod: Pumla Hopa TV drama series TIGER KLOOF – A SYMPHONY IN STONE Box Screen Pictures Prod/Dir: Mpho Dintwa Documentary TOP BILLING Tswelopele Productions Prod: Patience Stevens Magazine TOP TRAVEL (Season 3) Cardova Prod: Bradley van den Berg Series TOWNSHIP YOGI GreenShoot Films Dir: Peter Matthews Documentary

Troopship Tragedy (working title) Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Marion Edmunds Documentary

YOTV Urban Brew Studios Prod: Adelaide Joshua Youth show

TRUE LIFE STORIES Endemol Shine Africa Prod/Dir: Victoria Maake Docu-reality series

ZOOM IN Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Talk show

TSHIPE BORWA MANGANESE MINE Betta Beta Communications Prod / Dir: Tommy Doig Documentary TUKUTIKO Celestial Touch Studio Prod/Dir: Clifford B. Okumu TV drama Vaseline Experience Xcut Studios Dir: Lee Anne Theron 4D AV production

IN POST-PRODUCTION A BUSHMAN ODYSSEY Onetime Films Prod: Richard Wicksteed Documentary A DIFFERENT COUNTRY Sabido Productions Dir: Lisa Henry Documentary series

VELDKINDERS Kilroy Was Here! Productions Prod: Gideon Breytenbach Documentary series

A FATAL ENCOUNTER – THE MARLEEN KONINGS STORY Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Johann Abrahams Documentary

VILLA ROSA Spectro Productions Dir: Luhann Jansen / Andries van der Merwe/ Leroux Botha/ Isabel Smit Series

A Love Letter to Luxor Shadow Films Prod/Dir: David Forbes Short film

VLERKSLEEP Homebrew Films Prod/Dir: Ben Heyns Reality TV series Volkspele South Africa Grey Cloud Productions Dir:Jacques Brand Prod: Bertie Brink Documentary WARD 22 TIA Productions Prod/Dir: Tarryn Crossman Documentary

A MOTHER’S MADNESS Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Ayesha Ismail Documentary A STOLEN LIFE – THE SASHA LEIGH CROOK STORY Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Catherine Rice Documentary AFROX CO2 PLANT FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate video

WEEKEND AM LIVE SABC News Current affairs

AFROX FINANCIAL RESULTS FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate video

WIZARD OF ZIM Away From Keyboard Dir: Samora Sekhukhune Documentary

AFROX RAU INSIGHT FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate video

WOMB-MAN Bolobathaba Multimedia Prod: Molatelo Mainetje Documentary

ALL FOR NOTHING – THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BRUNO BRONN Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Barbara Friedman Documentary

YILENGELO LAKHO Prod: Nndanganeni Mudau Current affairs

August 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 45

PROD U CTION

UP DAT E S BA SEKWI Vu Prod.

Prod/Dir: Jeanne Vu Van Documentary

MARIAH’S WORLD ZenHQ Films, SA Production Services Prod/Dir: Jeff Jenkins TV series

TELKOM: BUSINESS INSIGHTS WEBSERIES UZI Films Prod/Dir: Steven Hall Corporate

BEAUTY CONTEST Phoenix TV Productions Prod/Dir: Koketso Sefanyetso Short film

THE MIME ARTIST Phoenix TV Productions Prod: Koketso Sefanyetso Short film

TESSA BEETGE – A Life Interrupted Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Meggan Raubenheimer Documentary

CAESAREAN COMPLICATIONS SummerTime Productions Exec Prod: Professor Eckhart Buchmann Documentary

MURDER ON MILLIONAIRE’S MILE Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Barbara Friedman Documentary

The calling LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature

Challenge SOS 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myers Reality

MY SIGHT FOR SORE EYES Enigma Ace Films Prod/Dir: Ryan Kruger Feature film

THE CODE BREAKER NHU Africa Prod: Vyv Simson / Donfrey Meyer Documentary

Collide Media Village Productions Prod: Ardeen Munnik TV series

NEW LAND Plexus Films/ Four Corners Media Dir: Kyle O’ Donoghue TV series

THE FAMILY PUZZLE Site et Sons media productions Prod/Dir : Zamo Missie Feature

CROSSBOW KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Barbara Friedman Documentary

NIGHT OF THE MASSACRE Tshepo Lesedi Projects, Mathope & Izibuko Films Dir: Charles Khuele Documentary

THE LAST GREAT TUSKERS NHU Africa Prod: Vyv Simson / Donfrey Meyer Documentary

DEBRA DEEL Khaki Productions Prod: Christelle Parrott TV series FASHION GURU SA Pro Media & Spider – Co Productions Prod/Dir: Dee Vanzyl Reality FORMIDABELE VROUE: CISSY GOOL Khaki Productions Prod/Dir: Christelle Parrott/ Wynand Dreyer Documentary

HELL TRIP ACT Animation Films Prod/Dir: Patrick Garcia Feature film

PERFECT SHISHEBO Quizzical Pictures Prod: Nthabiseng Mokoena Series

HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARIES: KIMBERLEY: SOUTH AFRICA Spike Productions Prod/Dir: Steve Muller Documentary

PLAY MORE GOLF FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Commercials

AUGUST 28 JUL – 14 Melbourne International

Film Festival

Australia www.miff.com.au

3 – 13 Locarno Film Festival

Switzerland www.pardolice.ch

15 – 21 Loeries Creative Week

Durban www.loeries.com

27 – 7 SEPT Montreal World Film Festival

Montreal www.ffm-montreal.org

SEPTEMBER 9 – 13 IBC 2016

Amsterdam www.ibc.org

15 – 18 The Fifth Annual Jozi Film Festival

Johannesburg www.jozifilmfestival.co.za

46 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

Pushi- Passion LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Series THE QUIET BOY Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Charlene Stanley Corporate

The Message Reel Edge Studios Dir: David Golden TV drama series THE STORY OF LITTLE FOOT Paul Myburgh Film Prod: Paul Myburgh Documentary THE TRANSPORTERS Sukuma Media/ Reality Motion Pictures Dir: Bonginhlanhla Ncube Documentary TOWNSHIP TERROR Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Melanie Rice Documentary TROOPSHIP TRAGEDY Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Marion Edmunds Documentary Traffic Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant TV series TWEE GRADE VAN MOORD Inverse Films (Pty) Ltd Prod: Barry Strick Feature film UNDER THE MOUNTAIN Plexus Films Prod: Miki Redelinghuys,/ Lauren Groenewald Short film

ROSA 3 Two Oceans Productions Prod: Giselher Venzke & Bertha Spieker TV feature

UNSOLVED – THE STORY OF THE CAPE RIPPER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Johann Abrahams Documentary

I AM…CRAIG Away From Keyboard Dir: Samora Sekhukhune Documentary

SAFE BET Sukuma Media Producer: Nokuthula Sakhile Mguni / Bonginhlanhla Ncube Feature film

UNTHINKABLE Media Navigation Prod/Dir: Dan Akinlolu Feature film

IN THE SHADOWS StreTalk Productions Prod/Dir: Bobby Mokhema Short film

SAMURAI KILLER Sabido Productions Dir: Catherine Rice Corporate

VKB LANDBOU BEPERK FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate video

IQILI Impucuzeko Prod: Sharon Kakora Feature

SECRET PAIN #1 Makoya Entertainment Prod/Dir: Prayer Ndlovu TV drama

When I Was Water Shadow Films Dir: David Forbes Documentary

Joyous 18 RM Recording Prod: Lindelani Mkhize Other

SHALLOW GRAVE Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Meggan Raubenheimer Documentary

XJ-1 Eternal Film Productions Prod: Marius Swanepoel/ Dana Pretorius Feature

JULIUS HAS A DREAM Creative South Africa, Nkanyethi Productions,Jam TV Prod: Bathelemy Ngwessam Documentary

SLENDER WONDER FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate video

XTREME OUTDOORS AFRICA Africa InSight Prod: Esah Panyako TV magazine

SLENDER WONDER MJ LABS FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate video

You Deserve It Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant TV game show

HOUSE OF ENCOURAGEMENT Panache Video Productions Dir/Prod: Liesel Eiselen Corporate

|

NORTH WEST KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Ayesha Ismail Documentary Nyaope Gangsters LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature

HOPE NHU Africa Prod: Vyv Simson / Donfrey Meyer Documentary

UPCOMING EVENTS

NOEM MY SKOLLIE Maxi-D Productions Prod: David Max Brown Feature film

HAD BETTER DAYS Uniquely Novel Productions Prod/Dir: Deon VD Merwe Feature film

THE HOCKEY STICK KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Melanie Rice Documentary

Unit C5 RobeRtville Mini FaCtoRies 255 nadine stReet RobeRtville RoodepooRt 1709

NIGHTCLUB KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Nobathembu Stefane Documentary

KADARA Media Navigation Prod: Dan Akinlolu/ Biola Karonwi TV drama Kerels wat Kook Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant Reality TV series KNYSNA West Five Films Prod/ Dir: Maynard Kraak; Andre Velts Feature film LINCOLN CLAN Total Recall Media Ltd Dir: Adebanjo Oluseyi TV series

SWARTWATER Quizzical Pictures Prod: Bianca Isaac Dir: John Trengove/ Jozua Malherbe/ Denny Y Miller Series THE STORY OF LITTLE FOOT paul myburgh film Prod/Dir: Paul John Myburgh Documentary SUPERDAD Two Oceans Productions Prod: Giselher Venzke & Bertha Spieker TV feature

Screen Africa relies on the accuracy of information received and cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions which may occur.

E-mail production updates to: online@screenafrica.com

| Social Top Chef launches in SA

PHOTOS BY CERA-JANE CATTON

SABC 3 and Urban Brew Studios launched Top Chef South Africa with a cooking challenge at their studios at Brightwater Commons, Randburg. Media, local celebrities and invited guests competed in the same format as they do on the show.

Screen Africa’s resident journalists Chanelle Ellaya and Cera-Jane Catton won the culinary competition. Seen at the launch were…

Steve Steinfeld, Chef James Diack and Robyn Diack

Phil Mphela and Nidha Narrandes

Carine rous High Rollers, Mayuri Naidu and Muzi Mthembu

Aimee Sadie, Nazley Delport and Puleng Mashspies

Yudhika Sujanani and Tanvi Sujanani

Erica Klopper, Anzelle Hattingh and Brad D’arcy

Luke Bennet and Leah Bennet

Brian Mkhabela and Shae Mix

Phindi Siviya and Sydney Mekgwe

August 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 47

| Zanzibar films and festivities

Social

PHOTOS BY CERA-JANE CATTON

The Zanzibar International Film Festival saw outdoor film screenings, live music, art exhibitions, after parties, celebrations and more in the quaint and charming Stone Town. Seen at the ZIFF awards evening were‌

Hassan Mussa and Edima Otuokon

Nick Reding and Lara Preston

Shillingi Abdillah and Ahmad Nassor

Mudathira Ibrahim and Kevin Isangya

Anna Zander, El Seed Art and Sadiq Mshamu

Peter Mashauri and Edwin R. George

Lulu Ali, Hamida Khalid and Feisal Foum

Taybina Aliy, Zhang Yong and Haytham Ibrahim

Meggy Omar and Adila HamisÂ

48 | SCREENAFRICA | August 2016

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