Preview h c e t ia d Me m Festival il F l a n io t a n r Durban Inte Durban Filmmart BROADCAST, FILM, TV, COMMERCIALS, NEW MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY NEWS
www.screenafrica.com
VOL 27 – July 2015 R38.00
| IN THIS ISSUE
16 DIRECTOR SPEAK: Sara Blecher
20
14
Elements of Cinema: Approaching the unexpected
Exorcising history
56
28
Mediatech 2015 Preview
Durban International Film Festival
Special Features DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2015 Ongoing and ever evolving..................... 29
Datavideo TVS 1000 / 1200
FILM
CO-PRODUCTION
complete Trackless Virtual
Exorcising history..................................... 14
South/South collaboration
A comedic look at
set in motion.............................................. 45
studio system............................................. 68 Seachange Nitro........................................ 68
finding love in Lagos................................. 18
Television
Features at DIFF........................................ 30
Atomos Shogun update 6.4.................... 68
Documentaries at DIFF........................... 31
Namibian Broadcasting Corporation
DOCUMENTARY
Making universal stories.......................... 46
Talents Durban 2015................................ 32
extends services
Elements of Cinema:
Wallander comes to Cape Town........... 48
contract with Jasco................................... 69
Approaching the unexpected................. 20
DURBAN Filmmart 2015 DFM Success Stories 2010-2015........... 35
Mediatech Africa Preview Rohde & Schwarz South Africa settles in...................................................... 56
Disposable lives......................................... 22
News
Celebrating our heroines
The Shore Break and Virunga win big at Encounters.................................5 Young filmmaker makes her entrance into ‘Zollywood’..........................5
through film................................................ 24 Morocco channel 2M .............................. 26 invests in documentary............................ 26
New Tanzanian film addresses
BUSINESS, POLICY AND LEGISLATION
violence against women.............................6
A filmmaking hub in
Cine Photo Tools unveils tech for
‘Presenter search on 3’ concludes...........8
South Africa’s golden heart..................... 33
modern filmmakers at Mediatech......... 59
AMI and FEPACI partner on
Hitachi SK-UHD4000 HDTV Studio, Field Production Camera.......... 58
The S-Team................................................. 60 Movievision shows a brighter future.... 62 EVS partners with Inala Broadcast at Mediatech Africa 2015........................ 62 Sony Professional Solutions and Jasco continue southern African partnership................................... 64 Harmonic Electra X Media Advanced Media Processor.................... 66 Outpatch enters the film industry........ 66
www.screenafrica.com
development of African film initiative......8 SA actress wins award at New York 48HFP.........................................8
ADCETERA New O&M ECD believes in people..... 10 Africa is not one story............................ 11 #thedress goes viral once again............ 11 The 37th Loerie Awards
FESTIVALS Zanzibar International Film Festival...... 36
INDUSTRY REPORT
DISCOP DISCOP Africa Abidjan............................ 50
5th StarTimes African Digital TV Development Seminar The road to a digitised Africa ............... 54 SATELLITE & TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGY C-band satellite links under threat....... 70
NEW MEDIA APP-titude................................................... 72
Regulars
Swahiliwood, the art of Tanzanian film........................................ 38
Box Office................................................... 74 Production Updates..................... 76 – 79 Events........................................................... 79
TRAINING & EDUCATION Where to learn cinema in Africa.......... 42
Social............................................................ 80
set to take Durban................................... 12 Digital is disappearing.............................. 13
facebook.com/screenafrica
@screenafrica
za.linkedin.com/in/suncircle
screen_africa
GFC at the Durban International Film Festival 2015 The GFC is proud to have supported the following films that will be screened at DIFF 2015 Tell Me Sweet Something
Tell Me Sweet Something is a romantic comedy feature film produced by Rififi Pictures in association with Mvest Media, The National Film And Video Foundation, Ladies & Gentlemen, The Department of Trade And Industry, The Gauteng Film Commission, Pana TV and Crowd Funders. The film is directed by Akin Omotoso and stars Nomzamo Mbatha and Maps Maponyane as the unlikely couple that fall in love. On the 25th of July 2015 Tell Me Sweet Something will have its world premiere at the Durban International Film Festival. The film will be screening in Kwa Mashu which is part of the publicity drive and awareness creation leading up to the release of the film on the 4th of September 2015 nationwide by United International Pictures.
tribal ground. Tired of his community living without good access to employment, hospitals and schools, Madiba uses every backhanded method imaginable, scurrilously courting private capital and questionable government officials. While the South African President deposes the pro-environment Pondo Royal Family, Nonhle rallies inspiring support with little more than dogged determination. Featuring arresting cinematography, beautiful sand animation and original music from sensational Ntombe Thongo, The Shore Break delivers both a visually and emotionally riveting fight to the finish. There will be four screenings of The Shore Break at DIFF 2015. In August The Shore Break will be screening at South African independent cinemas and all details will be published on www.theshorebreakmovie.com and The Shore Break Facebook page. In the upcoming months The Shore Break will also be available on local television, DVD and VOD (again, release details will become available on www. theshorebreakmovie.com and The Shore Break Facebook page.
Ayanda
The Shore Break
Two cousins, one proposed mining project on tribal land, and a battle of epic proportions. In the Amadiba area, on South Africa’s stunning Wild Coast, the Pondo people have tended their traditional way of life for centuries. Nonhle, a young local eco-tour guide, is a staunch supporter of her people and the endangered environment on which their livelihood and culture depend. Her cousin Madiba, a local entrepreneur and self-proclaimed modernizer, is fully supportive of a titanium-mining proposal and the government’s controversial plan to build a highway across their
An Afropolitan community vibrant with African migrants, searching for something better, spliced between South African’s indigenous, multi-cultured stalwarts, Yeoville has conceived its own set of rules to survive. Occasionally legal. Often – not! Set in Yeoville, Ayanda is a coming-ofage story of a 21-year-old Afro-hipster, who embarks on a journey of selfdiscovery when she’s thrown into a world of greasy overalls, gender stereotypes and abandoned vintage cars, in need of a young woman’s re-inventive touch to bring them “back into love again”. Shot over four weeks in Yeoville, Johannesburg and coming off the critical acclaim received for her previous film Otelo Burning, Ayanda is Sara Blecher’s second feature film. The film presents a new role model for the young African woman and gives voice to her entrepreneurial spirit. With this in mind the producers of Ayanda have
designed an extensive multimedia strategy with a large pan African outreach program. Ayanda has been selected as the opening film of the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) 2015.
Rights of Passage
Rights of Passage, a feature anthology film by the Youth Filmmaker Project was produced by Natives at Large and Jungle Works in partnership with the NFVF and the KZN Film Commission among others. Rights Of Passage has been selected to premiere at the 36th edition of the Durban International Film Festival 2015. Rights of Passage was directed by Ntombizodwa Magagula, Mapula Sibanda, Lerato Moloi, Valencia Joshua, Zandile Angeline Wardle, Tony Miyambo, Rethabile Mothobi, Yashvir Bagwandeen. The Youth Filmmaker Project provides a blueprint of a model to develop and structure ongoing incubator programs for young filmmakers. Rights of Passage will be screened and complemented by dialogue sessions that will position the film in the marketplace, and brand it across its audience base by targeting various venues during the festival.
Necktie Youth
Necktie Youth, previously named Territorial Pissings, is a feature film produced by Urucu Media and written by
For screening details, please refer to the DIFF programme.
Sibs Shongwe-La Mer. The film has been to several international films festivals and has received coverage internationally with reviews in publications such as Variety, Indiewire, Cineuropa, New York Times and Le Monde among others. A picturesque upper class suburban neighbourhood in the newly democratic South Africa is confronted by the seemingly unmotivated suicide of a 19-year-old girl on National Youth Day. The creators of Necktie Youth chronicle a day in the sleepy world of a group of disposed young adults born into the first free generation as they try to make sense of their country, each other, loss and themselves. Through the film’s birthing the aim was to create realism focused narrative journey where the characters individual realities and their reaction to those realities inform the direction of the narratives progression. Necktie Youth is essentially a story of self definition and the varying internal and external factors that contribute to one’s experience and perception of self.
Impunity
The South African feature film Impunity will have its South African Premier at the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) 2015. Impunity was the only South African feature film in official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival 2014. Impunity follows a young love-struck couple who are framed for murder when a cop is forced to help a powerful member of the new elite to cover up a crime of passion. The film was shot mostly on location in Gauteng and stars accomplished South African actors such as Desmond Dube, Vaneshran Arumugam, Bjorn Steinbach and Alex McGregor. Together with the distributors of the film, Indigenous Film Distribution, producers of the film are planning both the Durban launch as well as the theatrical release of the film straight thereafter. •
Gauteng, home to Africa’s economic powerhouse, Johannesburg, boasts an exciting mix of urban lifestyle, diverse cultural and natural attractions, as well as advanced infrastructure. Call us and we’ll show you why Gauteng in South Africa is the perfect location to bring your big idea to vibrant, colourful life.
An Agency of
From the editor A large part of this issue and the next is set aside for previews or reports on events that are either coming up or have just passed. We start here with a brief look ahead to this month’s Mediatech Africa and Durban International Film Festival, as well as an overview of the StarTimes African Digital Television Development Seminar, held in Beijing this past June. This should give you some idea as to the multiplicity of subjects that are currently of concern to our industry. The Mediatech Preview offers the briefest of glimpses at the companies that will be exhibiting at this year’s edition – and their products. Together with the Mediatech section in our June issue, this is intended to be a kind of highlights package. The editorial team is looking forward to attending the show and pressing our fingers to the pulse of broadcast technology in Africa. In the forthcoming edition we will be able to offer some insights into the trends and trailblazers that the show brings to light. Like Mediatech, the Durban International Film Festival is a manyheaded creature whose essence is rather difficult to distill. In this issue we provided the space for the new festival director to outline his plans for this year’s festival. The programme includes a number of themes, which I find particularly exciting: ‘Africa’s Lost Classics’ proves that the film industry on the continent is far better established than some believe by presenting a handful of seldom-screened movies from South Africa, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; the Tunisian focus explores the cinematic explosion that followed the Arab Spring; ‘Just One Earth’ offers some brilliant (yet often heart-wrenching, if you’re an animal lover) documentaries highlighting humanity’s habitual inhumanity to the rest of the lives on this planet, not to mention the planet itself. A section dedicated to this year’s prize winners at FESPACO offers a genuine treasure trove of contemporary African cinema, and ‘DIFF Beat’ highlights the power of music to change the world. So, lots to see at DIFF this year. The only question is, where will we find the time to see even half of those films?! In June, StarTimes hosted the fifth annual seminar on digital television development in Africa. The deadline for digital migration has just passed and yet the majority of the continent is still grappling with a number of issues around when it will happen… and how. Screen Africa was in Beijing for the seminar, and in this issue, deputy editor Carly Barnes shares some of her impressions of the event and its subject, but be sure to see the August issue for our in-depth report. Let me not miss an opportunity to mention one of my favourite subjects – intra-Africa co-production. In June we also visited Abidjan to attend the new edition of DISCOP Africa and we were present at the signing of a co-production agreement between the Ivorian public broadcaster and South African producer Lebone Maema. This in the absence of any intergovernmental treaty having yet been concluded between the two nations. I hope this is a sign that African filmmakers in general, more and more, will take the initiative to cross national divides. – Warren Holden
The Team
Editor: Warren Holden: editor@screenafrica.com DEputy Editor: Carly Barnes: carly@screenafrica.com Journalist: Chanelle Ellaya: news@screenafrica.com Contributors: Sam Charo, Claire Diao Jakkie Groenewald, Louise Marsland Gethsemane Mwizabi, Andy Stead
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.
Editor 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.
Deputy Editor Carly Barnes is a writer, journalist and self-professed documentary geek. Before joining Screen Africa, Carly completed a BA honours degree in Live Performance at AFDA Johannesburg, was named one of Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans (2011) and wrote and performed a one woman show at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. She ran a small entertainment and production company for more than six years before she began a professional writing career – as a contributor to Oprah Magazine. When she isn’t blogging, exploring the local festival scene or dreaming about travelling abroad, Carly is connecting with creative leaders and filmmakers who are shaping the future of content creation on the continent.
IN-HOUSE JOURNALIST 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.
SCREENAFRICA Publisher & Managing Editor: Simon Robinson: publisher@screenafrica.com
CONTRIBUTORS
Sub-Editor: Tina Heron Design: Trevor Ou Tim: design@sun-circle.co.za Website & Production Updates: Carina Vermooten: web@sun-circle.co.za Subscriptions: Tina Tserere: tina@sun-circle.co.za Delight Ngwenya: admin@sun-circle.co.za Accounts: Natasha Glavovic: accounts@sun-circle.co.za
Advertisement Sales: Marianne Schafer: marianne@screenafrica.com Graham Grier: graham@sun-circle.co.za Ruan Brand: ruan@sun-circle.co.za Sales Broker Emmanuel Archambeaud: earchambeaud@defcommunication.com Tel. +331 4730 7180 Mobile. +336 1103 9652
Claire Diao is a French and Burkinabe cinema journalist. A member of the Burkinabe Film Critic Organisation, she covers the African film industry for various international media and moderates the Afrikamera Festival in Berlin each year. Since 2013, she has curated a short film touring programme, Quartiers Lointains, which is held in both Europe and Africa. In 2015, she, together with various African film critics, launched Awotele, a digital magazine that focuses on African cinema. Jakkie Groenewald is an actor/ journalist/translator/sub-editor and proofreader. He graduated in Drama at the University of Stellenbosch and has acted on stage, TV and feature films – more than 100 productions to date – and also works as a voice artist In his career as a journalist he was, was arts editor of the newspapers Die Vaderland and Transvaler. He has also translated five novels from English to Afrikaans. For the past 12 years he was a classifier at the South African Film and Publication Board – classifying films for age restriction purposes and is a judge of the National eisteddfod Academy as well as for Beyond 2000 (the national talent competition). Louise Marsland is a veteran editor and journalist with over 20 years experience in the advertising, media, marketing and communications industries. Based in Cape Town, South Africa, she worked as the editor of AdVantage and Marketing Mix magazines, as well as industry portal Bizcommunity. com. She is currently publishing editor of TRENDAFRiCA.co.za, and is an industry columnist, speaker and content specialist. Gethsemane Mwizabi is an accomplished Zambian photo journalist with several awards to his credit in a career spanning over 10 years in the industry. Although he has covered many subjects in his work, he is biased towards entertainment (film and music), tourism and development stories. Based in Ndola, he has travelled extensively and currently works for one of Zambia’s leading daily newspapers, Times of Zambia. Andy Stead is a broadcast industry professional with over 40 years’ experience in both South Africa and the United Kingdom, having applied his trade at a number of leading industry organisations including the BBC and Chroma Television. Now retired, he remains an active contributor to technical publications in the fields of film, television, broadcast, motoring and travel. He is based in Cape Town.
Sun Circle Publishers (Pty) Ltd Tel: 011 025 3180 Physical address: First Floor, Process House Epsom Downs Office Park 13 Sloane Street, Bryanston, Johannesburg South Africa Postal address: PO Box 559, Fourways North, 2086
Editorial Disclaimer The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of Screen Africa or any employee thereof. Sun Circle Publishers makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. Sun Circle Publishers reserves the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner it sees fit comments that it, in its sole discretion, deems to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, or is otherwise unacceptable. All contents of this publication are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, in any form whatsoever, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publisher.
www.screenafrica.com
South Africa | ZAMBIA
The Shore Break and Virunga win big at Encounters The Shore Break won the Backsberg Audience Choice Award at the 17th Encounters South African International Documentary Festival for Best South African Film, while Virunga was voted Best International Film. Directed by Ryley Grunenwald, The Shore Break is the disturbing story of two Pondo cousins on opposing sides of the Xolobeni Wild Coast mining conflict. The film sold out all five scheduled screenings at the festival, with additional screenings then added in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Encounters programmer Jenna Bass says, “People feel very strongly about environmental matters, but what distinguishes both of these films is that they’re not just about worthy issues, they’re well-told stories with strong characters.” Bass says that in The Shore Break, “It was genius to focus on two opposing characters who are also cousins. The film
Young filmmaker makes her entrance into ‘Zollywood’ Talented, young Zambian filmmaker Jessie Chisi has announced her entry into her country’s film industry with her new feature film, Between Rings: The Esther Phiri Story, co-directed with fellow Zambian Salla Sorri. She is one of the pioneers in the emerging Zambian film industry now being referred to as Zollyhood. An ardent campaigner and supporter of human rights, Jessie Chisi is committed to using film as an advocacy and campaign tool, empowering women to find and use their own voices. She graduated from the Zambia
POST PRODUCTION
isn’t just about the Wild Coast or Pondoland, it’s about these two compelling characters in a timeless story of family.” The Backsberg Audience Choice Award is the second festival prize for The Shore Break, which was also named Best Documentary at the 2015 International Environmental Film Festival (FIFE) in Paris. “The Shore Break was a labour of love so it is very rewarding to know it is well-received by South African audiences,” says Grunenwald. Orlando van Einsiedel’s Virunga is an eco-thriller set in the DRC’s national park, a World Heritage Site that is home to the world’s last mountain gorillas, who are threatened not just by the rebel army but also by a corrupt mining company that has found oil there. The Backsberg Audience Choice Award is just the latest for Virunga, which has won over 20 international prizes and was nominated for an Oscar.
ZAMBIAN PIONEER: Filmmaker Jessie Chisi Institute of Mass Communication in 2008 and undertook further training as a film director in Finland in 2009 and has since written and directed five short fiction films. Between Rings, which premiered recently in Lusaka, underwent numerous changes before taking its final form. Originally called Woman on Hold, the film is a story about her cousin Esther Phiri, the first-ever Zambian female boxer who was torn between marriage and her sporting career. Esther’s story is one of a woman who always put her life on hold for the sake of others – while feeling empty within herself. Chisi started writing stories when she was twelve years old. In school, she
| News
“It’s an extremely powerful and well-crafted story,” says Bass. “You can go in with no interest in Africa, or Congo, or the environment, or animals, but it’s so well-plotted you can’t help but get caught up in the story and its characters.”
Audiences voted Nomakhomazi Dyosopu’s Ndi Vumeni: Faniswa the second most popular South African film, followed by Lebogang Rasethaba’s Prisoner 467/64. Ndi Vumeni: Faniswa screened with Jas Boude, directed by Georgina Warner and Imraan Christian. Bass says she noticed a real questioning of society’s structures, both in the films and in the audiences, who stayed for lively Q&As after many of the films. After programming Encounters, she feels “very positive” about the state of documentaries. “In some ways, there is even more innovation in documentaries than in fiction at the moment,” she says. “There’s so much experimentation, not in a way that alienates but rather in how to make documentaries more accessible to audiences. We saw that with the African documentaries too; we had a really interesting mix of styles and subject matters.”
always did well in literature and storytelling, which became her comfort zone. When she made the decision to take up a career in film – at the tender age of 16 – it was against the wishes and criticisms of many of her inner circle. She pursued her dream regardless. She met the right people in the right place and time. She met people like famed Zambian female activist and filmmaker Catherine Kaseketi, who trained and mentored her for some time, and also Sakafunya Chinyinka who also became her mentor. Filmmaking has been Chisi’s process of inquiring, discovering, experiencing, developing and having fun. She started out as a continuity supervisor, which allowed her to learn and grow, as she was constantly working close to the director on any given project. She worked on Karl Francis’ Hope Eternal, and on Catherine Kaseketi’s films Suwi and Zambian Kitchen Party. When she was growing up, cinema was a luxury or fantasy – going there for holidays or special family events or as a reward for passing exams. Most of her childhood cinema memories are set at
occasional outdoor screenings. She would often save her lunch money to pay for entrance to the movies. One of the films that really left an impact on her was the South African apartheid story, Sarafina alongside stories like Shaka Zulu. Ten years ago it would have been a far-fetched dream for her to have a film screened at a festival. However, in 2009, she attended the Durban Talent Campus, where she met talented people and established filmmakers who encouraged her to dream big. Then in 2010 she was accepted to attend the Berlinale Talent Campus, a six-day creative platform for emerging filmmakers. Chisi, who lives and works in Zambia and Finland, is the founder and director of the Zambia Short Film Festival. With her energy and passion, she is determined to change the landscape of Zambia’s film industry. She was recently awarded the Mandela Africa Fellowship; a six-month mentorship programme inaugurated by US President Barack Obama and offered to 500 youths drawn from different countries in Africa, which aims to mentor the continent’s future leaders. – Gethsemane Mwizabi
INAUGURAL EDITION IMSFF: The Shore Break co-producer Odette Geldenhuys with Backsberg CEO Simon Back
RETAIL / MOTION GRAPHICS / VERSIONING / DESIGN
TINKER TAIL R WWW.BLADEWORKS.CO.ZA July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 5
News
|
www.screenafrica.com
Tanzania
New Tanzanian film addresses violence against women Aisha, a new Tanzanian movie focusing on sexual violence is set to premiere this month. Produced by Uzikwasa, a community based organisation working in Pangani District, in Tanzania’s Tanga Region, Aisha focuses on real issues affecting Tanzanian women. During the past 10 years, Uzikwasa has been working with rural communities pioneering innovative grassroots interventions that encourage a community voice and facilitate transformation and change. Five years ago, the organisation launched the Banja Bas! (Speak out) multimedia communication campaign, which makes use of theatre for development, village cinema, feature films, comic books and interactive community radio (Pangani FM) to promote an ongoing public dialogue about common social problems and challenges around gender justice and leadership. Among the campaign themes are women’s rights violations such as child brides, sexual abuse and violence. For more than two years Uzikwasa has been struggling to raise funds for a film on raising particular awareness around
6 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
FOCUS ON REAL ISSUES: Godliver Gordian plays the title role in Aisha
sexual violence, which also has been a top priority theme for its Banja Bas! Campaign. Aisha arose from this initiative. The movie is being produced almost exclusively with village actors and is based on a true life story and community research. “This way we make sure our audience identifies with the story and watching the movie for them is like looking into a mirror,” says executive producer Vera Pieroth. Although rape is hardly spoken of, it is common in these communities. These women suffer not only physical trauma, they are also blamed and often ostracized by their communities, abandoned by their husbands and families. A common perception is: “She did it to herself, she asked for it, she wore the wrong clothes at the wrong time in the wrong place,” etc. Nobody ever asks the question “what consequences does this crime have on a woman’s life?” With Aisha the aim is to touch the audience – men and women – by showing the victims’ perspective. It explores the stigma and shame that prevent women from speaking out. Even if they do, authorities and leaders often fail to take action and perpetrators get away with it.
Aisha, a young ambitious business woman living in the city returns to her home village to attend her younger sister’s wedding. As she re-connects with her past, meeting family and friends, something unexpected happens that has disastrous consequences for her life. Everyone else would rather turn a blind eye, but Aisha decides to fight a tough battle for justice. This film is dedicated to all women who have gone through the same suffering as Aisha. Directed by Omar from Zanzibar, it stars Godliver Gordian as Aisha; Juma Madenge as Ibarahim, Aisha’s brother ; and Adarusi Wali and Flora Nicholas play supporting roles. The 110-minute movie, which is in Kiswahili with English subtitles, was shot primarily in Pangani villages, Tanga city and Dar es Salaam. Immediately after the launch in July the film will tour Pangani villages to reach the audience for which it was primarily made. “We do hope that soon after this we will continue with wider distribution in and outside Tanzania,” says Pieroth. – Gethsemane Mwizabi
Now you can switch to the world’s best editing software for free! Unlimited Audio Effects
Only DaVinci Resolve 12 combines professional editing with advanced color correction so you can edit and grade from start to finish, all in one single software tool! With over 80 incredible new features including multicam editing, advanced trimming, high performance audio, and incredible media management, DaVinci Resolve 12 is the editing solution you’ve been waiting for.
Now you can create the perfect mix by adding VST and Audio Unit plugins to entire tracks or individual clips! Resolve’s sample accurate playback and smooth tape style scrubbing let you precisely edit audio in the timeline, or you can record fader automation using the new mixer! You can even export directly to ProTools for finishing!
Super Fast Editing
Hollywood’s Best Color
DaVinci Resolve 12 has a massive set of professional editing and trimming tools that work exactly as you expect. You get context sensitive editing, dynamic and asymmetric trimming, titling, transitions, animation and more! The familiar multi track timeline, customizable interface and keyboard shortcuts make it easy to switch to DaVinci Resolve 12.
Incredible Multicam No matter how many cameras you have on your shoot, DaVinci Resolve 12 lets you edit programs shot on multiple cameras faster than ever before. Quickly sync angles using timecode, in/out points, or even automatically based on sound and then watch them all playback in realtime while you cut between angles on the fly!
www.blackmagicdesign.com/sa
DaVinci is the world’s most trusted name in color and has been used to grade more Hollywood films, TV shows, and commercials than anything else. Now you can switch between professional editing and Resolve’s legendary color tools with a single click. DaVinci Resolve 12 goes far beyond anything you’ll find in any other editing systems!
DAVINCI RESOLVE �� Mac OS X • Windows • Linux
Available in July
News
|
www.screenafrica.com
‘Presenter search on 3’ concludes The search for SABC3’s top new presenters has come to an exciting conclusion. After 12 weeks of challenges, the final five contestants – Christopher Jaftha; Danilo Acquisto; Jade Hubner; Khanya Siyengo; and Zoe Brown – faced off against each other in a grand finale on the tropical island of Zanzibar. In a pool-side ceremony, the judges revealed who the three winners are, and which presenting gig they would each get. First announced was 25-year old Zoe Brown as the winner who will join Expresso. The next winner to be revealed was Danilo Acquisto, who will work on the brand-new weekday afternoon show Afternoon Express alongside judges, and now co-hosts, Bonang and Jeannie. The third and final winner to walk away with a presenting spot on the glamorous Top
AMI and FEPACI partner on development of African film initiative
SA actress wins award at New York 48HFP
Billing, is 23-year old Jade Hubner. Not only have these three won dream presenting jobs, but thanks to the show’s sponsors, each of them will get to drive a luxury Mercedes-Benz for a year; receive R10 000 from Nedbank; and with a presenter needing to look stylish at all times, what better way than with a R50 000 Woolworths gift card to take care of all their fashion needs.
Nicola Quinn, a young South African actress who moved to New York to pursue a career in the US industry recently participated in the New York 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP), which kicked off on 29 May. The film she performed in, The Back Up Singer, was produced by Eclectic Productions and earned Quinn the award for Best Actress. In addition, the film won the Best Screenplay award (Christopher Affonco Bradley), and Best Supporting Actor award (Brendan Burke). The 48HFP, which runs in various cities around the world, challenges entrants to write, shoot, edit and deliver a short film in 48 hours. Part of the 48HFP challenge involves
filmmakers drawing a random character, prop and line of dialogue which must be incorporated in their film. The Backup Singer is a comedy about a kidnapping gone terribly wrong involving: Hugh Lawson, a musician (character); grapes (prop); and “He said he’d be here…” (line of dialogue). Key crew and cast members included director Nick Catania, producer Brian Sachson, writer Christopher Affonco Bradley, assistant director Kevin Pazmino and actors Larry Mitchel and Brendan Burke.
The African Media Initiative (AMI) and the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI) have partnered to support the development of high quality audio visual and film content in the continent’s film industry. The two organisations will work together to create the conditions for the production of compelling African stories
which meet international film standards. AMI and FEPACI will also work with regional organisations and national governments in developing conducive legislative and policy environments which will drive the industry’s success and promote cross-border collaborations on production and post-production. The move by the two organisations is
also aimed at scaling up distribution of African content within the region and beyond. The partners will promote and share research and market data on the state of the media and film markets and will work together to help build a body of knowledge which will drive further commercialisation and financial viability of African content production.
The new SABC3 presenters
Nicola Quinn
Maximum Compatibility Today’s workflows rarely involve a single application. Over the course of a project you may move between several software programs, and at each stage professional monitoring and output is essential. AJA hardware is tightly integrated into a wide range of software applications, letting you seamlessly move between tasks to ensure a consistent, high-quality deliverable.
Find out more at www.aja.com Quality
Reliability
Compatibility
You work hard to create great images and our hardware ensures that your vision is maintained right through to the final output.
AJA reliability has been proven over years of real-world use in critical applications from on-air broadcast to post-production and live events and is backed by AJA’s 3-year warranty and free technical support.
Our hardware is compatible with a long list of software applications for editorial, color grading, visual effects, streaming, audio and more.
Touchvision
Tel: + 27 11 886 8572 • www.touchvision.co.za
8 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
ADCETERA
|
Report on the South African commercials industry
New O&M ECD believes in people In two months, Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town will have a new Executive Creative Director in Tseliso Rangaka, who puts people and his craft first and would like his legacy to be one of aiding transformation in the industry. Rangaka’s promotion comes after the agency’s creative head in Cape Town, Chris Gotz, moves to O&M North America in September. Gotz currently shares the role of Chief Creative Officer of O&M with Pete Case, whose digital agency Gloo merged with O&M last year. Case described Rangaka as a “strong integrated thinker with a proven ability to conceptualise across all media and for all markets.” Rangaka first worked for O&M in Johannesburg for five years before moving to Cape Town 18 months ago. Clients he has worked with as a copywriter include Cadbury, Coca-Cola, Metropolitan and several major SAB accounts. He has also racked up the awards, winning Grand Prix at Loeries, Golds at Cannes and the OneShow, and Yellow Pencils at D&AD. He has served on the boards of both the Creative Circle and The Loerie Awards. O&M Cape Town MD Luca Gallarelli said Rangaka “encompasses an exceptional blend of talent, sheer determination and leadership skills,” while O&M South Africa CEO Abey Mokgwatsane, called him a “true legend of the business.” Rangaka is at pains to describe himself as a people’s person, quoting David Ogilvy: “The agency with the best people wins.” “We always talk about getting the best work and the awards, but my creative strategy will be to focus on the people and attract the best people, helping them get the best work out by creating an environment that enables them to stretch themselves and collaborate with other creative people. “I also want to find those points of contact with technology and creativity and use those intersections to come up with innovative ideas. Each one of us needs to find a comfortable space that works with digital, while focussing on our craft and bringing up the level of craft in our work. Since things have to be out quicker, as creatives we have been more focussed on integration and our craft has suffered,” Rangaka acknowledges. The creative trend he is most excited 10 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
about is the fact that campaigns don’t only happen every six months for a brand, but involve continual engagement with consumers. “When I started in the industry, it was all about the campaign and whether it was ‘campaignable’. We thought in terms of campaigns and dipped in and out of people’s awareness. Now we create platforms that engage the consumer all the time. I’m really excited by brands that keep the conversation going. “I think that is the space we need to move into more and also put a bit of fun back into what we do. We have been through our ‘noble PC’ stage (in South Africa), tiptoeing around each other. I’m starting to see campaigns that put the fun back… you take notice… like a slap in the face… it is brave.” He thinks the South African industry is in a good place, although much still needs to be done in terms of transformation and he believes the industry has failed. But he admits it might take another generation without “our issues”. “I would like to see a South African advertising industry that is truly South African in its makeup and talks about digital as its first love and dominates the global stage.” As with many creatives, Rangaka is multi-talented: he is passionate about photography and is also a house DJ known as ‘DJ T-rang’. Nowadays he plays the odd agency party and posts his mixed tapes on Soundcloud and shares with friends. The legacy Rangaka would like to leave in the industry is as a person who “has opened doors,” since he was fortunate enough to work his way up through the ranks of the agencies where he has worked. “I’d like for other black creatives to see advertising as a career option and to believe that all people, if they put their minds to it, can achieve anything within the industry. That for me is very important. “The other thing is you don’t have to be an arsehole to make it in advertising. For the longest time, the big creative egos and those types of people seemed
Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town Executive Creative Director, Tseliso Rangaka to be the people towering above everyone.” He is adamant that no one can do their job in this industry by themselves. Back in the day, it was the “gods that sat in the corner office” who came in for a few hours a day and gave instructions, but
those days are over, Rangaka says. “Having grown up and met people with different styles, it has shown me that it takes passion and dedication and that you can be nice about it. There is no need to kick down a door before trying to open it.” – Louise Marsland
| ADCETERA
Africa is not one story At Markex 2015, Jan Hutton, head of brand and marketing: Africa for Deloitte consulting, presented a session on marketing into Africa, in which she addressed a question she is often asked: Is it worth it? From an economic standpoint the continent is growing and digital penetration is expanding, which promises good things for marketers wanting to reach Africans with their brands. But Hutton maintains that before jumping the gun, marketers need to rethink their strategy for African markets, which means understanding that its problems and opportunities are unique to each country.
One continent, 54 countries Africa has 2 000 languages and 4 000 different ethnicities and cultures. Consumer behaviour differs from east to west and north to south. Speaking about Africa as one entity is grouping together billions of people and assuming that they all think, feel and make decisions and purchases in the same way. This would be a grave marketing mistake and a massive underestimation. For example, in Nigeria where power supply is unreliable, mobile phone brand Nokia, which has declined
in popularity in developed countries against competitors such as Samsung and Apple, has held its popularity due to its long battery life. This is just one example as to why Hutton responds to the ‘is it worth it?’ question with: “It depends. It depends on the product or service, it depends on the country and it depends on the timing.”
Africa rising By 2030 Africa will be home to 736 million people between the ages of 15 and 24. It will also gain a 50% urbanisation rate. Africa’s economy is growing faster than that of South East Asia and similarly, opportunities are growing more and more attractive. “Don’t underestimate how important Africa has become to the global community,” says Hutton. “The economic trajectory is an incredibly favourable one.” However, she adds that developing markets do not respond in the same way as developed markets.
Captivating the continent According to Hutton, Africans are bored of forced, contrived, dull content and there is a need to create compelling ad campaigns which target the various
markets. Traditional mediums such as TV, radio or print don’t necessarily have the same impact as they do in developed markets. Connectivity, made even easier with Facebook drones and Google balloons, means greater access for marketers, a key element in reaching the African consumer. “Without access you might as well put a billboard in the Kalahari,” says
Hutton. “Reconsider where you are amplifying your messaging. “Measurement is key and mobile is king.” With so much possibility lying in wait, marketing into Africa is not optional. Hudson encourages: “Get familiar with the channels in each country. There are so many new possibilities for brand success and credibility you can defend.” – Carly Barnes
testimonials of previously abused women who are now secure enough to speak out from the safety of Care Haven in the Western Cape. The message of the campaign is simple: to raise awareness concerning domestic abuse towards women in South Africa and around the globe, while providing a platform for the courageous women in the ad to tell their stories of triumph over extreme adversity. “It was as if they were speaking directly to other abused women,” comments AK. “All of the women said that within every abused woman lies the power to free themselves and their children from the prison of their
broken relationships and that no matter if you are male, female, young or old, you should break the silence because there are people, like those at Care Haven, who can and will help you.” AK explains that the production crew were given just one day to film the two-minute piece which was shot in March this year in the Western Cape, “The whereabouts of the Care Haven refuge is kept a secret so as not to endanger the families.” For the sake of speed and cost, the campaign was shot by DOP Rob Wilson, with AK on B camera, using two Canon 5D Mark III’s. –Chanelle Ellaya
#thedress goes viral once again Who could forget the infamous ‘dress’ that took the internet and the world by storm earlier this year? Is it black and blue? Is it white and gold? How is it possible that the colour of the dress differs from person to person? Due to the optical illusion it presented, #thedress had everyone from Kim Kardashian, to CNN talking. It was this buzz that led art director Caitlyn Goldring of Ireland Davenport, to ponder just how one could turn this media frenzy surrounding something as insignificant as a dress into global hype over a worthwhile cause. Taking their cue from the interest surrounding #thedress, advertising agency Ireland Davenport and director AK from Spitfire Films in Johannesburg, created a pro-bono PSA campaign for The Salvation Army in Johannesburg and Care Haven, but more importantly, for battered women around the world. And with women’s month around the corner, what better way to do something uplifting for the fairer sex? Director AK explains that the concept for the campaign was developed by the agency who then approached The Salvation Army and Care Haven with the
Still from #thedress PSA campaign idea, “they were delighted to be given such a brilliant ad,” says AK. “As director, I was approached to create a piece that allowed these women to reach out to other victims with a message of hope. Perhaps others could learn that they don’t have to remain victims forever, that there are options and that change is quite possible.” Playing on the illusion of #thedress, the ad shows a woman covered in black and blue bruises wearing a white and gold dress, the tagline reads, “Why is it so hard to see black and blue…One in six women are victims of abuse. That’s no illusion.” The spot continues with heartfelt, moving
July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 11
Photo credit: Gallo Images
ADCETERA
|
The 37th Loerie Awards set to take Durban
Loeries CEO Andrew Human
Creatives in South Africa, and undoubtedly around the world, deal with more rejection than people working in any other sector. Every year, the Loerie Awards bring together creatives from Africa and the Middle East for an entire week, to network, mingle, drink too much and celebrate the inspired work produced by our continent’s booming advertising and brand communications industry.
The 37th Loerie Awards The 37th Loerie Awards is shaping up to be a truly dynamic edition with several changes to the programme and the awards themselves being implemented this year. Originally, the awards were held in the KwaZulu-Natal town of Margate. In 2009 Cape Town became the home of the Loeries. This year, for the first time, the city of Durban will play host to the Loeries and the Loerie hopefuls from 10 to 16 August – a month earlier than usual, at the International Convention Centre (ICC), But that’s not all that is new; The Loerie Awards 2015 sees the introduction of the brand new Service Design category. In March this year, at The Loeries Town Hall Meeting, Loeries CEO Andrew Human said that though advertising may have 12 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
evolved into something different to what we have come to know, it is bigger than it has ever been. According to Human advertising is now more about “internet, mobile, events, design, branded content and service design as the point where brand interacts with the consumer.” This change in the way we view advertising called for the addition of the new category, which – for the first time – allows all industries to enter The Loeries. The Service Design category recognises brands that show innovation in the way in which they engage with their customers. This goes beyond the retail customer experience, including service centres, online and mobile customer experiences, and mixed-media campaigns.
Creative Week The 2015 Loeries Creative week will commence with the judging of entries from 10 to 13 August – a gruelling but rewarding process for all involved. On the evening of the 13th, the second Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) Standard Bank Smartie Awards will take place. The Smartie Awards are the world’s only global mobile marketing awards
programme celebrating innovation, excellence and the talent that pushes the boundaries of mobile marketing. “I am very interested to see if there is an increase in Smartie Awards entries this year,” says Francois du Preez, digital creative director at Grey Africa. “Mobile marketing is in a very exciting space right now and there will hopefully be some inspiring innovations entered. It’s always great to see how different agencies harness technology to interpret client briefs. A lot can be learned at the Smarties, especially in the context of marketing in Africa, where mobile is king.” The DStv Seminar of Creativity and Student Portfolio day is due to take place on Friday, 14 August. The seminar provides a platform for agencies, marketers and the creative industry as a whole to gain knowledge about the latest trends in brand communication from the Loeries international jury chairmen, as well as other global leaders from the industry. International speakers for this year’s DStv Seminar of Creativity are Chuck Porter, partner/chairman CP+B; Thimoteus Wagner, executive creative director Jung von Matt/ Alster Werbeagentur GmbH; Ji Lee, creative director, Facebook Creative Shop in New
York; Chris Clarke, chief creative officer DigitasLBi International; Ali Ali, film director Cairo; Stan Sthanunathan, senior vice president CMI, Unilever; and Steve Vranakis, executive creative director Google Creative Lab. Wrapping up what’s sure to be a more than eventful and gratifying Creative Week will be the most anticipated event on the Loerie calendar – The Loerie Awards 2015 – taking place on Saturday and Sunday, 15 and 16 August 2015. Grey Africa’s Du Preez says that, at this year’s Loerie Awards, he is looking forward to seeing digital agencies finally receive the recognition they deserve, “I have seen how digital, in all its forms, has finally become truly integrated in agency thinking. It’s no longer the afterthought that it used to be. It has become quite rare to see campaigns without a strong digital focus and social media has become an integral part of most campaigns. Social media used to target a very specific audience but with the increase in users from all age groups and LSMs we can now reach a massive portion of the population. I think this increase in social media presence plays a big role in digitally up-skilling South Africans, allowing marketers to push the boundaries of this category.” – Chanelle Ellaya
Opinion
Digital is disappearing
| ADCETERA
By Francois du Preez,
Digital Creative Director at Grey Africa Digital marketing is slowly becoming a thing of the past and this is good news for us digital guys. For far too long have we sat in the shadows, waiting for the tail end of the brief to reach us so we can tick the necessary boxes and ensure the above the line idea is rolled out digitally. Before I carry on, allow me to clarify the very ‘click baity’ headline and opening paragraph: ‘Digital Marketing’ is not disappearing, it is slowly but surely just becoming ‘marketing’. I can’t speak for other agencies but at Grey Africa the lines have become extremely blurred. My role as CD of digital was very clearly defined when I joined – I was to handle all things digital. Now I find myself presenting work to our clients where there might only be a 10% digital component in some cases, and I’m not just presenting the digital portion. This is because we focus on the idea, not the media. If the idea is good the media choice will naturally follow – a brief that started as a digital project will quite often end up with the PR department, a print campaign will go digital and a PR brief will end up as a TV ad. We like to keep the media out of it until we have a firm
grip on the big idea, or the *long idea as we like to call it. Now this is the part where I have to regurgitate the ubiquitous term ‘truly integrated’ like I have in so many presentations before. As much as I would love to avoid this over-used pitch jargon I am afraid I can’t. It finally feels like integration means something, whereas in the past it was just a way to say we have various, specialist departments. Having all the skills under one roof says nothing about integration, especially if the old, linear model is applied where a brief comes in with predefined media, makes its way through the studio, and ends up in the digital and PR departments as an afterthought: “This is what our creative team came up with. What can you add?” Recently I found myself in an amazing situation where our idea was so good, the client started coming up with various executions in our pitch. They started brainstorming with us because they immediately got it. The campaign wasn’t presented using the typical media examples, it was demonstrated to the point where they got it and left it wide open. This is because it could be and
Francois du Preez there was no need to over-sell it. The idea had legs. It was a *long idea. As someone who spent the better part of ten years working on strictly digital briefs, waiting for my turn at the end of the pitch to demonstrate the latest technology, this was extremely refreshing and inspiring. This particular campaign might never even go digital, it might end up being a purely PR solution, but this was our baby and we were damn proud of it. The team that worked on this represented all our departments and came together to build an idea that was truly integrated, not just ‘truly integrated’. At no point did I even have to touch on the various, latest media options based on brand new technology. It’s no longer needed.
I find that South Africa has finally reached a point of digital maturity that makes it possible for us digital guys to join the party. Now we’ll also get to go to the glamorous shoots, brief set builders and give our two cents worth in casting sessions. My role is becoming less defined and I love it. Digital marketing will pretty soon just be called ‘marketing’. *Big ideas come and go. By comparison, long ideas start earlier and live longer. Long ideas travel further across media, companies, people and culture. They are ideas that are entertaining, interesting or useful enough to get shared. They are ideas that involve people, give people something to talk about or do and the means to do it.
Breathe Sunshine
AFRICAN MUSIC CONFERENCE CAPE TOWN
July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 13
FILM | SOUTH AFRICA
Exorcising
history
PAIN IS AN INTIMATE EXPERIENCE: Cast and crew on location during filming of Ladygrey
D
irector Alain Choquart, a renowned cinematographer – whose lens work includes the film adaptation of Athol Fugard’s play, Boesman and Lena – makes his feature film directorial debut. In collaboration with Laurence Coriat, he wrote the script based on two short novels, Une riviere verte et silencieuse and La derniere neige by French author Hubert Mingarelli. The cast includes international actors Peter Sarsgaard (Blue Jasmine and Night Moves), Emily Mortimer (Hugo and Shutter Island), Jeremie Renier (nominated this year for the César for Best Actor in My Way) and Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones). Although the film’s title is Ladygrey, it should not be confused with the actual
14 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
town of Lady Grey in the Eastern Cape. The film was shot partly there and partly in the Drakensberg in the picturesque towns of Underberg and Winterton.
A personal and intimate story Choquart told Screen Africa in an exclusive interview that he has for many years been in love with South Africa. “I have a personal and intimate story with South Africa. I have always been inspired by the strength of its nation. Looking at its history the country is admired by the rest of the world – no civil war erupted and it went to exactly the opposite in a very short time.” He says the storyline of the film fits
perfectly into the South African historical background. A community of black and white South Africans live, 10 years after the end of apartheid, with the memory of an unsolved massacre that traumatises everyone. “In the story people are living their own dreams while they are still suffering from the brutality that took place. They all have to learn how to deal with hurt and understand their own pain. The plot is universal in telling how a community is touched by history. The answers to all the questions belong to everyone. All must find a solution. Because pain is an intimate experience and all have to fight to find the peace they need since no one can forget,” Choquart says. In this milieu, Estelle (Sibongile
Mlambo) struggles to maintain her sense of self, while, at the same time, she has to care for the mentally handicapped Mattis (Renier). To keep her head above water financially, she sleeps with a British landowner Angus (Cunningham). Angus bullies his perplexed wife, Olive (Mortimer), and exploits his day labourers, including Samuel (Sarsgaard), who is raising a young son after the death of his wife.
Onset challenges Filming Ladygrey was not easy, especially taking the South African weather conditions into consideration. While writing the script,
SOUTH AFRICA
| Film
Ladygrey, a feature film coproduced by South African, French and Belgian companies, encompasses atrocities committed in post-apartheid South Africa and how it haunts a small community living at the foot of the Drakensberg Mountains.
Choquart did some location searching in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. “At that stage the areas were yellow and orange due to no rain. Rain was expected in September but two months before shooting had to commence, no rain had fallen. I wanted green scenery. We had to use water tanks and trucks to create rain when scenes demanded it. And to make matters more difficult, our locations were 500 kilometres apart!” One of the universally accepted rules of filmmaking is: “Don’t work with animals or children.” One particular day on set provided the proof for this industry dogma. During a hunting sequence the dogs of a local farmer in the area were used to track some jackals. Raw pieces of meat were spread through the veld which
the dogs had to track. After about the fifth take, the leader of the pack decided he had enough of this business. The dog turned around, jumped back onto his owner’s bakkie (pick-up truck) and refused to take part in the filming again.
South African crew Choquart is especially impressed by the professionalism and work of the local technical crew. These included cameraman Nigel Bluck, editor Pierre Haberer, composer Peter Von Poehl, production designer Birrie Le Roux, set decorator Ashleigh Tobias, costume designer Pierre Viennings, soundman Marc Engels, supervising sound editors Marc Bastien and David Franken,
rerecording mixer Luc Thomas, visual effects supervisor Ronald Grauer, assistant director Wendy Alport, and casting directors Kahleen Crawford and Christa Schamberger. “The only reason why I used a French-speaking sound director, Marc Engels, is because of the French and English dialogue (apart from isiZulu) spoken in the film. It is imperative that the person who captures the sound also understands the language,” says Choquart. (In 1984 Engels also worked on South African Jans Rautenbach’s controversial Broer Matie.) “We also had a dialogue coach on set to assist the international actors with the unique South African accent,” Choquart says.
Ladygrey was recently screened in France as well as at the Miami Film Festival and in Dallas. According to Choquart it was very well received. “The storyline really moved the audience and some even had tears in their eyes when they left the cinema.” Coproduced with Moonlighting Films, Ladygrey will certainly have a South African release but no date has been set yet. South African actors who appear in the film include Sibongile Mlambo, Aura Msimang, Jude Folley, Adrian Mambiza, Gert van Niekerk, Eloise Cupido, Clare Marshall, Ian Winter, Jakkie Groenewald, Christie Lebrog and Louis van Niekerk. – Jakkie Groenewald July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 15
FILM
|
Director Speak
WORLDLY VIEW: Sara on the set of Ayanda
To have your film open the Durban International Film Festival, not once, but twice in just four years, can only mean you are a cinematic force to be reckoned with. And that, Sara Blecher definitely is… When did you realise you wanted to become a filmmaker? Describe the moment if there is one that stands out? SB: While living in Paris and working as a waitress and a baby-sitter, I met this guy who invited me to a party. It was the coolest party with the trendiest people. Someone came up to me and introduced himself as a photographer. He then asked me what I did for a living. Seriously, this was the moment I decided to be a filmmaker. I decided right there and then that I would never again be at a party like that and have to say I was a waitress. That simply wasn’t the plan for my life. So I went back to New York and enrolled in film school. How did growing up abroad shape you as a director? SB: I was born in Johannesburg but then my family immigrated to Brooklyn, New York, when I was 12, so I grew up there going to a public high school. I later went to Georgetown University, but I didn’t last long because I found it stifling. Besides, I had ambitions to be a writer, or at the least a foreign correspondent. So I followed my heart and dropped out of school, and moved into the real world. For an 18-year-old New York-South African Jew, that was Paris – where I lived for a year, before finally returning to NYU film school. Throughout my life I have had a million different types of jobs: I’ve waitressed in New York, Washington and Paris, and I’ve modelled for an artist. I worked as an assistant for an archivist and a playwright. I worked as a food decorator at the US Open. I even worked as an elevator operator (not kidding – I ran the elevator for the models) for a very famous New York fashion photographer. I was also a journalist and a driver. 16 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
All of these jobs have taken me around the world and given me the opportunity to meet so many different people and see so much of the world. I know there are young people, who don’t have much experience of the world who direct brilliantly. I am not one of them. I think I can only direct because of the life I have had. Ayanda is already making waves in the industry. What inspired you to tell this story? How did it come about? SB: My vision for this film has always been, much like Juno did, to present a new role model to young African girls – on the cusp of adulthood – one that would allow them to consider new options and possibilities for their own lives. I wanted to showcase a successful, young woman, an entrepreneur, who managed to navigate her way through the grease and garages that define a man’s world. And one who did so without having to compromise her own passion, originality or style. Being the mother of one such girl, Ayanda is my love letter to my daughter. Or at least that is what drove me to make the film. What has been the highlight of your career as a director to date? SB: My first dream as a filmmaker was to make a film that played on a big screen in a real cinema. I did that. Then my dream was to make a film that opened the Durban International Film Festival. In 2011, my film, Otelo Burning, did. So my dream became to make films that moved people, that took them out of the world they lived in and took them on a journey somewhere else so by the time they emerged from the cinema their lives were richer and something in them had changed. That has been the highlight of my career so far. Who are you mentors, if any? SB: My mother is certainly my greatest mentor. She is by far the most intelligent and bravest woman I know. She has guided me towards living my life deeply and fully and with integrity – even if that often means taking the more difficult pathway. What are your top three favourite films? SB: I don’t have a top three. But three films that have influenced me and the work I do are: City of god – I really do love that film; Waltz for Bashir – I think that is definitely my favorite animation of all time; and maybe Avatar – which I believe has really pushed the boundary of what film can do and where it can take its audiences to.
What has been your greatest challenge as a director to date? SB: For me, like many other female directors, the greatest challenge is to find work. Up until recently I never directed anything that I didn’t create and produce so that I COULD direct. Earlier this year I finally was hired as a director to direct an Afrikaans film called Dis Ek Anna. That was a total treat; to simply direct. What inspires you as a storyteller? SB: Life. And my children. Who is your favourite director? Why? SB: I have so many favourites. All of them I admire for different reasons. My current favourite is Jacques Audiard – who directed A Prophet and Rust and Bone. His new film, Dheepan, also just won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Maybe it is because he was so reluctant to become a filmmaker himself, that I like him. Or maybe because I too am interested in the same stories and characters he is. In any event I don’t think there are many people who are as eloquent as he in using the language of film. And this fluency just permeates all his work. He truly is a master filmmaker. What do you think are some of the defining characteristics of the South African creative industry at this moment in time? SB: For many years as a filmmaker in post-apartheid South Africa, I too felt the relief of not having to make activist films. I think for a short period of history filmmakers in this country were finally free to simply tell human stories or at least stories that didn’t have to include the agenda of fighting for the end of an oppressive regime. This was a massive liberation. But now I feel like that period has ended. Creatives in South Africa are now once again forced to grapple with the political realities of this country. And since both the government and the broadcasters – who are beholden to the government, so heavily subsidise filmmaking in this country – I think this puts filmmaking in the difficult position of having to become subversive again – the difficult but also interesting position. – Compiled by Chanelle Ellaya
AG-DVX200 N!
O COMING SO
| Large format 4/3-inch 4K imager | 12 stop dynamic range | VariCam style V-Log L processing | Leica Dicomar F2.8 4K lens | Variable Frame Rate up to 120fps in FHD resolution
www.pansolutions.co.za Contact: Sean Loeve Cell: 083 677 4917 Tel: 011 313 1622
FILM | NIGERIA
A comedic look at finding love in Lagos Bim is a materialistic, single Lagos girl in search of Mr Right. Ideally, for the worldly Bim, Mr Right would drive an extravagant car (preferably a top-ofthe-line Range Rover), own property in an elite, gated community, practise the Christian faith, possess a cutting edge fashion sense, come from an influential family...and the list is endless. im meets Ife and Timi, two men from different worlds who teach her valuable lessons regarding the truth about love and the weightier side of life. Starring Dolapo Oni, OC Ukeje, Alex Ekubo, Liz Benson Ameye, Linda Ejiofor, Paul Adams and Adunni Ade, Diary of a Lagos Girl is a romantic comedy that promises to entertain the viewer with the often questionable and sometimes comedic antics of Lagos babes in their search for Mr Right.
to know that money shouldn’t be the only criteria to marry a man, there are more important core values one should look out for when planning to settle down.” Directed and written by Jumoke Olatunde (Tunnel 2014), the film’s most important themes touch on aspects of self-worth, belief, charity and values. Erinle explains that after Olatunde wrote the script, she sent it off to be analysed and tweaked by international script consultant and story guru John Rainey. Once she had finalised the script, Olatunde, determined to commence shooting only after significant planning for the film was in place, used Frame Forge 3D Previz, to model the film beforehand as part of her treatment. “In the treatment Olatunde focused on structure and character development,” says Erinle.
The makings
Production quality
“The director wrote the script motivated by the superficial and materialistic life some ‘Lagosians’ live,” comments the film’s producer, Nike Erinle. “People need
Olatunde and the production team at Parables Entertainment focused on maintaining high levels of quality throughout all aspects of the project.
B
18 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
Erinle explains: “Once we had a good story, we turned it into a good script and then concentrated on good acting, good lighting, good sound, good cameras and paid attention to every detail during post-production. We out-sourced the music score to a music composer in Greece, and we wanted a certain look and feel that will translate into a great movie; we achieved it.” The film’s DOP and editor Sanjo Adegoke shot Diary of a Lagos Girl using only HDSLR cameras, tweaking where necessary in post to achieve excellence in colour grading. With regards to lighting, the production team made use of the ARRI Day Light, Fresnel light and LED light, to attain that high-end look and feel Olatunde had initially prescribed. The film was shot in just 11 days in January this year, in various locations in Lagos, Nigeria, including Lekki and the exclusive planned, gated community Victoria Garden City.
Financing This comedic look at finding love in
Lagos, was financed by Erinle, Olatunde and Project Act-Nollywood. The Project Act-Nollywood programme aims to facilitate the film production industry in Nigeria through the provision of grant schemes designed to support existing or aspiring practitioners within the industry, including the diaspora. Project ACT-Nollywood is managed by Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in collaboration with other government agencies.
A universal love story Erinle says that Diary of a Lagos Girl is a film that she hopes will teach its viewers the importance of looking for inward qualities in a partner as well as looking inward at oneself when searching for love. “It’s a movie everyone can relate to, a truly universal story. The dialogue is great, the actors and actresses are fantastic, it’s a love story that’s guaranteed to make you laugh – and we all love a good laugh.” – Chanelle Ellaya
New arrival to the XAVC family!
Nowble! ila a v a PXW-X320 3 x ½” type EXMOR CMOS Sensors
16X Zoom HD Lens
2 x SD/HD-SDI iLink, HDMI
Multiple Codec Support
PXW-X70
PXW-X500
PXW-X160 / PXW-X180
PXW-X200
PMW-300
PMW-400
PXW-FS7
PMW-F5
PMW-F55
PXW-Z100
Sony, XAVC and their respective logos are trademarks of Sony Corporation.
Visit us at Mediatech July 15 -17, 2015. Stand #D37, The Dome at North Gate, Johannesburg
Sony Professional Solutions MEA FZ LLC
Email: middle.east@eu.sony.com | www.facebook.com/sonyprofessionalza | www.sony-psmea.com/xavc
DOCUMENTARY
|
Elements of Cinema: Approaching the unex Not only serving as a tool for education and awareness, documentaries have the ability to offer viewers a different perspective – on a particular issue, culture or story. How fascinating, to look upon a world so different (or perhaps not?) to our own. Now containing many different sub-genres, documentary filmmaking often offers up surprises for the viewer and producer alike. In this scene from The Shore Break, a cinéma vérité style film, which examines opposing perspectives within a rural Wild Coast community on plans for a mining project and tolled highway, unexpected conflict raises the stakes for all those involved.
A SCENE UNFOLDS MID-SHOOT: Still from The Shore Break
.
Ryley Grunenwald on writing: With cinema vérité you never know what is going to happen next, so the scenes unfold while shooting. However this makes it important to have a strict focus because it’s expensive and not good for the story to cover every sub-plot and person involved. The conflict in this scene was completely unanticipated. I was preparing to film a community meeting when the two subjects, social worker John Clarke and Zamile ‘Madiba’ Qunya (from the minority who want mining) began speaking. I was well aware that the two were arch enemies and that they couldn’t stand each other. However, I had not yet had private access to Madiba – I had only seen him once before from afar. So my heart was pounding when he strolled over to speak to John. I started rolling and they ended up having a spectacular argument.
20 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
Odette Geldenhuys on co-producing: The biggest challenge in documentary filmmaking is also the beauty of the documentary form – the ability to stay open to chance. While working within a structure and a tight budget, if one can remain open to unexpected moments, then magic happens. This scene is an excellent example of that. If Ryley as the director and cameraperson had remained solely focused on what she had travelled 14 hours to do – namely to film a meeting – she wouldn’t have been aware of or open to the exchange between Madiba and John.
| DOCUMENTARY
xpected
Ryley Grunenwald on cinematography: Ryley Grunenwald on directing: When it came to this scene the best thing I could do was as little as possible. I didn’t interfere; I just quietly started rolling and kept rolling. I think I gave the sound recordist big eyes to let him know we needed to get this. We only had one camera so I mostly focused on Madiba as he was more difficult to access and at that point a bit of a mystery man. We had already been filming his cousin Nonhle who is against the mining, so here we were able to put a face to her problems. In creating a documentary I think you have to be hones, and genuinely care about the issue and the people. If you have integrity, people will find it easier to trust you.
When you come from a narrative cinematography background, one of the hardest things to do when shooting a documentary is to be able to compromise aesthetic for the sake of the story. In cinema vérité shooting you can’t ask two people to pause their argument until magic hour or until the sun pops back from under a cloud. You cannot block arguing subjects so you have a better background or angle of light. And even if you could pause real life there is no truck of lights, scrim or delicious prime box to help make it look pretty. In this situation the only control you have is positioning yourself to get the best background, to decide who to focus on and what frame size, composition and movement will best help the story. And that is not easy when you’re trying to focus pull, direct and produce at the same time.
Kerryn Assaizky on editing: Documentary filmmaking is always about being true to the integrity of the story first. Everything comes second to that, including the usual rules of editing. This scene reveals really key information about both the story and characters – you couldn’t have wished for better content if it had been scripted but it’s also shot with a single camera at one angle. There are a series of jump cuts in the scene because that’s what we had to work with but also because they impart a sense of immediacy and transparency to the viewer as they’re watching the argument unfold.
Basiami Segola on sound design: My approach was to bring scenes to life without breaking the flow of the story. I also wanted to retain the integrity of what the Wild Coast truly sounds like. The combination of the sounds of the forest, the native animals and birds, as well as the often thundering crashing of waves, is really unique to that area. I played a lot with adding sounds of the environment that were not necessarily on screen, which helped to enhance the basis of the narrative because I wanted people to really feel that the area is both home to the Pondo people, as well as an entire ecosystem of life that would be completely destroyed with the building of the mine. – Compiled by Carly Barnes July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 21
Documentary | SOUTH AFRICA
Disposable lives
A PARADOXICAL DILEMMA: A still from Wild Dog and Mrs Heart
Wild Dog and Mrs Heart, the latest film by documentary filmmaker Riaan Hendricks, follows two animal welfare workers who are sadly familiar with the discarding of unwanted animals. Told through black and white imagery, the story exposes the paradoxical dilemma of animal euthanasia – a necessary fate for millions of pets, so unnecessarily forced on them by humans. Screen Africa: How did you come across this story, and what compelled you to make this film? Riaan Hendricks: Our community newspaper ran a story on the local animal welfare. The welfare director, Julia Evans, expressed her dissatisfaction about the fact they are putting to sleep more healthy animals than sick ones. Generally, these institutions are not open about such things – I therefore found it intriguing. I asked permission to make a 22 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
film about what they do and they said yes. Thereafter it became a process of trying not to offend anyone. I treaded carefully as I was not entirely sure of where and when I’d be crossing the line until one day I was asked: “Riaan, are you not filming the euthanasia?” At the end – this is really the crux of what the film was all about. From there onwards I was allowed free rein into the kennels, operating theatres and animal rescue missions. But more importantly they ignored me to the extent that I was able to craft a story with the lives of the people who are deeply involved in a very dark aspect of human nature. And here I am not referring to the euthanasia of animals – but the consistent disregard of the value of animal life – across all classes of society. Do you feel this numbness is a chosen ignorance? Where does it come from? RH: To me, the film expresses the convenience of group ignorance. That sense of ‘as long as we are not completely aware of the consequences of our actions, then it can’t be harmful.’ But the consequences of our collective ignorance as humanity finally drove the animal overpopulation to a global crisis. My story is located in one animal welfare organisation. Their experiences are reflective of the global companion pet overpopulation crisis we are faced with. Can you talk about the thought process behind the film being in black and white, with touches of colour brought in later on? RH: The real world where the story is set is pretty much absent of hope. Translated into cinema – it’s not the kind of world worthy of colour. Yet it’s the very world
where one would want colour to struggle and overcome. And that is exactly what happens in the film. By the time we reach the end of Act 2b, it’s a crisis where euthanasia has become a normal way of dealing with life, yet every act of euthanasia comes with human conflict. Then the great crisis moment arrives – a crow needs to be rescued. We have been spending animal life throughout the entire film – what value would the life of a crow be? For me, this speaks of man’s material condition. We have grown fat with our intellectual comforts and our wisdom yet we can’t even make a blade of grass. In the great equation of life – who are we to continually disregard nature? The closing moments of the film are of a dog behind the animal welfare bars. It’s that condemning message which the crisis continues. And I do hope it lingers. Like in The Devils Lair, you have allowed the images in this film to tell the story without any narration – what kind of filmmaking challenges does this present in delivering the narrative you envisioned? RH: I’ve always pursued character driven observational documentary films as my hallmark. At first it was mixed with a personal narrative. Of course it’s very challenging to make this kind of film. Yet the unfolding visual narrative is what audiences are used to. Why drown them in a sea of interviews if you could intrigue them with the unfolding reality of character conflict, suspense and story? As filmmakers, the ‘uncertainty’ of life’s moments and what to film is about the only aspect we have to deal with. But the visual story always offers a natural ending. It’s perhaps just a matter of being patient and filming until the world of the
characters has been visually saturated. What were the hardest/ most uncomfortable scenes to film? RH: It was hard to film images of animals which were in severe distress. Shock and bloody violence is one way of creating intrigue. But that kind of voyeurism is of little value to me. The most it would do is up the audience rating of the film – isolating those whom I really want to reach with the story. How do the subjects in the film feel about the film? Were they open to you filming them and sharing their story? RH: They are relieved that the matter has finally been taken into the public. Julia Evans is considered a ‘whistle blower’ on the issue. None of the other animal welfare organisations want to expose the issue to the public, for fear of the wrong type of outcry. The world of the film has some extremities to it. Every day Julia Evans gets hate mail from ‘Pro-Life’ welfare groups accusing her of murdering the animals with euthanasia. This begs the question, is there a place for Pro-Life groups amidst a companion pet overpopulation crisis? What are your hopes for the film? RH: I hope this film will leave an iconic mark on the hearts of animal lovers who might not be aware that their actions are leading to a companion pet overpopulation crisis. We hope to partner with animal welfare organisations across the country and hold some audience development screenings to educate people around the nature of the crisis. – Compiled by Carly Barnes
www.pro-sales.co.za Broadcast Video, Audio & Lighting
75 fleet street, Ferndale, Randburg Tel: +27 (0)11 462 0000 E-Mail: info@pro-sales.co.za Arne Sack 082 576 1366 / Jason Sproat 082 576 1367 / Jonathan Sack 083 695 9656 For a complete list of products, contact us.
TM
Q-Gear
Call us and we’ll help you check off the right stuff
Te l e p r o m p t e r S y s t e m s
Are you getting ticked off with:
Documentary | Ghana
Celebrating our
heroines through film
TRAILBLAZER FOR AFRICAN WOMEN: Ama Ata Aidoo on location 24 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
Ghana
| Documentary
“People like me, African writers, male or female, depending on where history places us, are compelled to deal with issues that may be controversial, that make people uncomfortable.” – Ama Ata Aidoo
A
ma Ata Aidoo is an internationally renowned poet, playwright, essayist and novelist. The first African woman to have a play produced in Europe, her extraordinary talent served as a trailblazer for generations of African women writers. The documentary The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo celebrates her life – the work, the ways, the woman…
The inspiration Yaba Badoe, producer and director of the documentary, has long been interested in making documentaries that explore themes that are relevant to the developing world, in particular, themes that resonate with African women. “Perhaps due to being a writer myself, I thought it would be interesting to do a series of films about African women writers,” explains Badoe. In 2010 Badoe attended an African feminist forum in Dakar, where she spoke with friends, Amina Mama and Abena P.A. Busia, regarding the idea of making a film series focusing on African women writers. Numerous brainstorming sessions later, a concept for the series was secured. However, acquiring funding for the series proved to be more difficult than expected. From this obstacle, came the idea to make The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo – a single film, focusing on a single influential woman. “As one of the great pioneers of African women’s writing, Ama Ata Aidoo was the obvious choice,” says Badoe. “I approached Ama Ata and she agreed to be the first of what we hope will eventually be a series that celebrates the alternative histories women writers tell.”
The life and times The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo, in its form, is a traditional documentary in which Badoe, executive producer Amina Mama and their team, travel with Ama Ata to locations that are of importance to her, starting with her birthplace in the central region of Ghana, where the storyteller talks of her childhood and how it shaped her into the writer she is today. Stories were an integral part of Ama Ata’s childhood; she recalls her youth nostalgically, reminiscing on the times her
mother would enthrall her with tales of all sorts, which led to her wanting “to add to the world’s stories.” The film continues as an extended interview, intertwined with readings of Ama Ata’s work, intercut with old photographs of her life relating to the narration. “We really wanted to provide her with the space to talk about her writing, and the inspiration and cultural innovations that contribute to her writing. It is her testimony about what writing means to her, what she tries to achieve in her writing, and what other people make of her writing,” explains Badoe. The documentary provides a platform for Ama Ata Aidoo to reflect on her life and work, situating her artistic vision in the historical and cultural context of post-independence Ghana while exploring recurrent themes in her plays, poems and novels. “These themes are of particular relevance to Africans everywhere: the issue of slavery and its repercussions on relations between Africa and the African Diaspora, relations between men and women and how these contribute to national development,” comments Badoe.
Financing Badoe and her team shot the documentary throughout the year 2012, moving from Ama Ata’s ancestral village in Ghana, to the University of Ghana in Accra where her first play, The Dilemma of a Ghost, was performed in 1964. Later that year, the production team followed Ama Ata to the USA, where the schools of Literature, Theatre and Design at the University of Santa Barbara held a colloquium to celebrate her work. Badoe explains that the biggest challenge incurred in the making of the documentary was acquiring the money needed to complete it to a professional standard. The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) provided Fadoa Films – the production company behind the documentary – with a grant for the initial filming that took place in Ghana early in 2012. Later that year the AWDF provided the production team with an additional grant enabling them to travel to the University of Santa Barbara. In 2013, with financial support from associate producer Margo
Okazawa-Rey, The Art of Ama Aidoo website was launched, leading to the organisation of a crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo which raised US$45,000, allowing Badoe and her team to complete the documentary. “Not only did we exceed our target, the buzz we created helped us obtain more funding from the AWDF, the Global Fund for Women, Nigerian philanthropist Hakeem Belo-Osagie, Rashid Davari Post Production, Rutgers University Department of Women and Gender Studies, and the Centre for African Studies and Pathways of Women’s Empowerment, RPC, at the University of Sussex,” says Badoe.
Celebrating our heroes The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo is a celebration of the life of just one woman writer, but Badoe hopes that the film will encourage other filmmakers to create works that share and celebrate the experiences and achievements of African women. “I believe that if we don’t tell our own stories and celebrate our own heroines, no one else will,” Badoe comments. The documentary is loaded with ideas articulated by Ama Ata about affirming relationships between women writers and critics, and how, in the end, it tends to be women who validate the creative work of women writers. “In my opinion there’s tremendous value in hearing women’s voices – recording women’s testimonies and weaving them into a film. The process of documenting and disseminating women’s experiences validates our lives by making us the ‘subject’. It also opens up debates and leaves an important archival record for future generations. I hope that The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo will be an inspiration to everyone who watches it – African women especially,” concludes Badoe. *DOP Darren Hercher, along with assistant cameramen Jeremiah Dogbe and Sam Commodore, used a Panasonic AG-AF101e camera and the Cannon 5D to shoot the documentary. All equipment belonged to Hercher and was hired from him for the duration of the shoot. – Chanelle Ellaya July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 25
Documentary | MOROCCO
Morocco channel 2M invests in documentary
DOCUMENTARY, A BAROMETER OF SOCIETY: Reda Benjelloun, head of news, magazines and documentaries at 2M
26 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
MOROCCO
| Documentary
Launched in 1989 by King Hassan II, 2M is now one of Morocco’s main TV broadcasters. Since 2011, a slot entitled Des Histoires et des Hommes (Stories and People) airs documentaries every Sunday at 9.30pm. Reda Benjelloun, the channel’s head of news, magazines and documentaries, chatted to Screen Africa. How did the channel 2M start? Reda Benjelloun: King Hassan II was in France when the private TV station Canal + was launched. He said: “I want the same thing for Morocco.” So two years later, 2M was born. It was a commercial, pay-TV station with entertainment, sport and news. It was the first private TV channel in the Arab world and in Africa. It was the first space of free debate in the Arab world. The visibility was huge and lot of heads of states, when there were summits in Morocco, preferred to express themselves on this channel rather than a European one. It worked so well that everyone was hacking it and its subscription model declined: a decoder for one apartment became a decoder for one building.
When was the slot Des Histoires et des Hommes created? RB: In 2011. It was a crazy dream; I needed a challenge. Every four or five years, I start a new project, a new programme. It coincided with what is called the Arab Spring. We saw the need to testify, to talk and rewrite history unofficially and critically. The world is complex. We need to understand it. Our general manager was really brave. When I told him: “We need to start it,” he answered: “What slot do you imagine?” I thought: “Thursday evening just after the news.” He said: “Why? Let’s put it on prime time. This is part of our public mandate.”
When was it nationalised? RB: In 1995, 2M was close to disappearing and the state intervened to save it. Since then, the government has considered it as their communication tool. We always fight to remind them that it is not a government channel: governments change but the state remains. There is always a struggle over that, whether the government is left wing or Islamist.
How many documentaries have you produced since 2011? RB: The first year, we co-produced three movies, 13 the following year, 17 the year after and 25 the next year. This includes 10x52min series. Our budget rises proportionally to our engagements: we put €15 000 in a co-production and up to €35 000 if we are delegate producer. For a travel diary series we budget €35 000 on each unit.
How is the channel positioned in terms of audience? RB: There are eight channels in Morocco, with three having emerged as the most important. 2M is the leading one. Nevertheless, the channel lost a little bit of its magnificence because it became a public station and because the new generation does not recognise itself in it. Young Moroccans now have access to 100 satellite channels. They have a different perspective when it comes to TV viewing with so many Middle East or European channels available to them.
How does the audience react to your documentaries? RB: From the beginning, we had an amazing and unexpected audience. The best compliment I’ve ever heard came from my grocer after we broadcasted Le thé ou l’électricité (Tea or Electricity), (directed by Belgian director Jérôme Le Maire and co-produced by 2M – editor’s note). He told me he saw his own home in that documentary. I asked: “Are you from this region?” He answered: “No but it’s the same. This is the Morocco we never see.” Documentary is a real society
barometer. If you want to know the current state of a country, look at its documentary production. We are not here to educate people but we help to construct a strong citizenship. Sometimes we broadcast movies and think they won’t be successful, but they are. Some other times, we think movies will achieve huge success but they don’t. We have different audiences every Sunday. What is the current state of documentary production in Morocco? RB: Lots of production companies involved in fiction and commercials are beginning documentaries. It brings prestige, even if you don’t get that much money from it. Famous narrative filmmakers such as Faouzi Bensaïdi or Nabil Ayouch seem to be interested in it and that’s a good thing. Young people like Karim Aitouna or Ala Eddine Aljem dedicate themselves to documentary production. Sometimes people look at European budgets and dream. We need to construct our own business model. If we produce a €70 000 movie, 2M will contribute €15 000 and the Moroccan Cinema Centre a little bit more. We need to campaign for foundations and other funds – this is part of our job. International funds can support them: Hot Docs, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Doha Film Institute, Dubai Film Festival’s Enjazz… The Producer’s Chamber in Morocco is made up of older producers with a lot of experience and money. Right now, young people are setting up a documentary organisation to construct their own identity. This is a good sign. – Claire Diao July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 27
Ongoing and ever evolving Pedro Pimenta, the new director of the Durban International Film Festival, for the first time spoke to Screen Africa about his plans for this, now 36-year-old, celebration of African and world cinema. Screen Africa: The DIFF torch has now been passed from Peter Machen to you. In your approach to the festival, what will you carry over from Peter and previous directors, and what do you plan to bring to the festival that is new and representative of your own sensibilities? Pedro Pimenta: A festival by its very nature is an ongoing construction and is ever-evolving; so you take whatever was done before and then build on that. In the 36 years of its existence there have been many people involved with DIFF and each one has left a legacy of their own. I hope to build on this in a search for innovation as it is a living festival and aligned to the South African and African context. With the team, I plan to bring sensitivity to this context and also take into account both the film industry’s needs and desires, and the important task of audience development in the country. We need to provide for different audiences and their interests, at the same time. What can visitors expect of the 2015 edition of DIFF? Any specific themes or focus areas? PP: There are two major focus areas for DIFF this year: Brazil and Tunisia. Brazil has been selected as it is an important country in terms of cinema and also because of its positioning within the BRICS [the group of the world’s five leading developing nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa] context. On a personal note I find
well, and through our ‘Africa’s Lost Classics’ section we hope to provide interested audiences with elements of history of African cinema. These films include Come Back, Africa directed by Lionel Rogosin; Mapantsula directed by Oliver Schmitz; Badou Boy and Touki Bouki directed by Djibril Diop Mambety; and The Blue Eyes of Yonta directed by Flora Gomes.
CARRYING THE TORCH: DIFF festival director Pedro Pimenta
that there are a lot of similarities at various levels between Brazil and SA, and there are huge differences too in terms of the volume of productions. But we share a challenge of finding and developing audiences in our own territories. It will be interesting to explore this at DIFF this year. The Tunisian focus is a homage to an African country that understands the relevance and importance of cinema on the continent. Their Les Journées Cinématographiques de Carthage Festival was the first film festival in Africa. This was also the country where the Pan-African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI) was established. Also the Tunisian Spring has created a new dynamic in Tunisian cinema, which is reflected in the choice of films which are part of the focus. They include Bastardo directed by Néjib Belkadhi, Bousculades directed by Sawssen Saya and Tarak Khalladi; El Gort directed by Hamza Ouni; Generation Maudite directed by Nasreddine Ben Maati; Le Challat De Tunis directed by Kaouther Ben Hania; Selma directed by Mohamed Ben Attia; Tunisian Spring directed by Raja Amari; Zakaria directed by Leyla Bouzid; and Tahar Chériaa: A l’Ombre du Baobab (In the Shadow of the Baobab Tree) directed Mohamed Challouf. Do you intend to grow DIFF’s capacity as an enabler and facilitator of cooperation and collaboration between film industries within Africa – and how? PP: In the search for bigger relevance for DIFF and our vision to be the best platform for cinema in Africa, a strong component is the African content that is being offered. This will assist
programmers and distributors, in their future decisions to attend DIFF, as they know it is the best place for them to find the content which they seek. We are devising a different level of partnership in terms of programming and strategies between the major festivals in Africa. We have identified some festivals in Africa with whom these partnerships can be worked over the years – these include AFFRIFF (Nigeria), FESPACO (Burkina Faso), JCC (Tunisia), LAFF (Egypt) and ZIFF (Tanzania). These festivals will be represented at DIFF for us to start the conversation about developing efficient partnerships. What is your approach to selecting and curating films for the festival? What are the elements you look for in films to be showcased? PP: The challenge for a film festival is getting the balance right: On one hand we need to aim at industry professionals who need to be exposed to the best and most challenging films in terms of language, narratives, techniques and aesthetics. On the other hand we are dealing with a diverse audience with different interests – so it’s about finding the balance between great artistic cinema and movies that have popular appeal that will attract an audience. Of course there is also the cost factor. A film, for example, that has won best film at Cannes, comes with a price tag, which may not be viable in our programming. We have included the two focus areas mentioned, and also films that were awarded at FESPACO in March, including a re-screening of Rehad Desai’s Miners Shot Down. There will be many African filmmakers present at DIFF to stimulate interest as
You have chosen Ayanda as this year’s opening film. Can you share some of your thoughts on this film and why you chose it to open the festival? PP: We are pleased that this feel-good film will open this year’s festival. The opening film needs to reflect a clear priority established by the festival to reach and develop local audiences. The recently published NFVF report on audiences in this country is very informative and revealing. It shows us that while the industry has been successfully structured and supported from all quarters to allow a regular flow of South African content, much still needs to be done for this content to reach local audiences. By once again opening DIFF with a strong South African film, we endorse this objective. Ayanda offers an interesting and positive convergence of talents, style, resources and distribution potential for the film market. There is a real sense that reaching an audience is the most important motivation equally shared by the filmmakers and their financiers. Aside from your opening film, any other highlights you would like to mention? Any films or filmmakers that you would particularly like to bring to visitors’ attention? PP: Some iconic films that stand out for me include the celebrated film, Wolf Totem directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud which is brought to DIFF by Videovision Entertainment. Then there is Samba Gadjigo and Jason Silverman’s Sembene, a documentary about the father of African cinema Ousmane Sembene. I am also delighted that the great Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi’s film Taxi, which won best film at the Berlinale this year, will be screened, as well as Wim Wenders’ film on photography – The Salt of the Earth which he codirected with Juliano Ribeiro Salgado. – Compiled by Warren Holden
July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 29
Features at DIFF OPENING NIGHT FILM Thursday 16 July
RIGHTS OF PASSAGE
South Africa, 2015
AYANDA
South Africa, 2015
TUNISIAN SPRING (PRINTEMPS TUNISIEN)
France, 2014 ‘wazungu’ from the verb ‘kuzunguka’, to ‘spin around’, as a result of the explorer’s propensity to get lost in their wanderings. A white man meets a black girl. Then the girl disappears. A local journalist tries to understand what happened to her and eventually finish his travelogue. FEVERS (FIÈVRES)
Directed by Sara Blecher World premiere Set in the vibrant, edgy suburb of Yeoville in Johannesburg, Ayanda is a coming-ofage story of a 21-year-old Afro-hipster, who embarks on a journey of self-discovery when she’s thrown into a world of greasy overalls, gender stereotypes and abandoned vintage cars in need of a young woman’s touch to bring them back to life again.
Directors: Various directors World premiere Rights of Passage is an anthology fictional feature-film made by first-time young black filmmakers who were born when Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first democratically elected president and who entered young adulthood during the last years of Mandela’s remarkable life. THE BODA BODA THIEVES
South Africa, Germany, Kenya, Uganda, 2015
CLOSING NIGHT FILM Saturday 25 July THE PROPHET
Canada, France, Lebanon, Qatar, United States USA, 2015
Directed by Roger Allers African premiere The Prophet is an animated film adapted from Kahlil Gibran’s book. The prophet, Almustafa, has lived in the foreign city of Orphalese for 12 years and is about to board a ship which will carry him home. He is met by a group of people, with whom he discusses various topics of life and the human condition.
Directed by Donald Mugisha African premiere Even though Abel is only 15 years old, when his father is injured in a road accident he takes up the responsibility of manning the family boda boda to provide for him and the family, carrying people through the Kampala traffic. When a local hustler offers him the chance to be a smash-and-grab get-away driver, he lurches headlong into a world of easy money and quick thrills. It all turns sour though when Abel himself is robbed of his father’s boda boda. DIS EK, ANNA
South Africa, 2015
NECKTIE YOUTH
South Africa, 2014
Directed by Sibs Shongwe-La Mer. African premiere On the anniversary of the Soweto youth uprising, a group of adolescent friends living in the city of Johannesburg are shocked by the live-streamed suicide of a young girl in her parents’ home. A year after the incident Jabz and his best friend September rummage through Johannesburg in search of answers, drugs, distraction and salvation – hoping to find the carefree hopefulness of their high school years.
Directed by Sara Blecher World premiere A film based on Anchien Troskie’s two top-selling novels, Dis ek, Anna and Die Staat teen Anna Bruwer. Bloemfontein businessman Danie du Toit’s doorbell rings in the middle of the night. At the door, a slender rain-soaked figure stands with her back turned to him. When she turns around, he recognises her face. It’s his stepdaughter whom he hasn’t seen in years. “It’s me, Anna,” she says calmly. Then she lifts the gun... THINGS OF THE AIMLESS WANDERER
Rwanda, United Kingdom, 2014
Directed by Kivu Ruhorahoza African premiere When the first explorers visited East Africa, the local Bantu populations called them 30 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
France, Morocco, 2014
Directed by Hicham Ayouch South African premiere At only 13, Benjamin is a little soldier at war with life, with adults and with himself. He is a troubled kid with a tormented soul and has gone back and forth among foster homes since the age of five. Eventually, his mother goes to jail and reveals to Benjamin the existence of his father. For Benjamin there is just one goal; getting out of foster care. So when the social worker gives him the choice, he decides to go to his unknown father. THE EYE OF THE CYCLONE (L’OEIL DU CYCLONE)
France, 2015
Directed by Raja Amari African premiere Tunisia, a few weeks before the fall of Ben Ali in 2011. Three young men struggle to live and survive in an increasingly oppressing, unequal society paralysed by decades of a corrupt and ludicrous dictatorship. Their itinerary crosses that of the Tunisian revolution which will change their destiny for good. None of them will come out of it the same. SUGARCANE SHADOWS
Mauritius, 2014
Directed by Constantin David South African premiere Marco, Bissoon and their friends are in their mid-fifties. They have worked all their lives in the sugar factory in their village in Mauritius. The factory is closing down and a large billboard appears along the road leading to the village: a golf course and luxury villas are about to be built. Caught up in the events, none of them are properly prepared for the all too predictable collapse of their world. SUNRISE
India, France, 2014 Directed by Sékou Traoré South African premiere Sékou Traoré’s feature debut is a psychological drama about a young lawyer who has been appointed a case that no one else wants: defending a rebel soldier – violent beyond belief, and hardly recognised as human – who refuses to contribute to his own defense. The stronger the resistance from her colleagues, and her own family, the more determined the young lawyer becomes to stand up for her client’s right to a fair trial.
Directed by Partho Sen-Gupta African premiere In the sprawling megalopolis of Mumbai, Inspector Joshi searches desperately for his six-year-old daughter, Aruna, who one day, 10 years ago, did not come home after school. By day, Joshi is a cog in the wheel of the apathetic police force; by night, he roams the back streets endlessly searching for his daughter.
FADHMA N’SOUMER
Algeria, 2014
SHE COMES BACK ON THURSDAY (ELA VOLTA NA QUINTA)
Brazil, 2014
Directed by Belkacem Hadjadj Algeria, 1847: As the French army prepares for the conquest of Kabylia, resistance is organised with the contribution of fighters from nearby lands, including Sharif Boubeghla. It is in this world that Fadhma n’Soumer rises to prominence. In this stunning biopic, Hadjadj brings to life the extraordinary story of a mystic and resistance leader, called by the French the ‘Joan of Arc of Kabylia’.
Directed by André Novais Oliveira South African premiere Oliveira’s is an unusual and refreshing voice in Brazilian cinema, in which the influence of Asian Masters shines through. Maria José and Norberto have seen enough of each other after 35 years of marriage. Maria José goes on a journey to find herself; Norberto is having an affair that isn’t going well. Their sons André and Nato watch all of this with disappointment, and meanwhile have their own relationship problems.
DEMOCRATS
Documentaries at DIFF BEATS OF THE ANTONOV
THE SHORE BREAK
Sudan, South Africa, 2014
South Africa, 2014
Denmark, 2014 African mountain kingdom of Lesotho. Very little appears to be happening in the village of Ha Sekake, but from the perspective of these young people on the verge of adulthood, a lot is at stake. THE SIREN OF FASO FANI (LA SIRENE DU FASO)
Burkina Faso, France, Germany, Qatar, 2015
Director: Hajooj Kuka South African premiere Sudan is doing whatever it can to get rid of the rebel forces in the Blue Nile areas and the Nuba Mountains. Its way of doing this is to obliterate their base. Their base is the people, the villagers who have now been forced to gather in mountain hideouts or refugee camps. Hajooj Kuka has been on the ground filming for over eighteen months. This film takes the viewer through the lives of displaced people who have lost family members, homes, farms and belongings. But instead of finding devastated and defeated people we find a vibrant culture and people who have found new purpose and energy in the face of conflict. The response to the violence is often singing, dancing, laughter and marvelous music that comes from the root of their culture.
Director: Ryley Grunenwald African premiere Two cousins have opposing plans to develop their homeland on South Africa’s Wild Coast. Nonhle wants to preserve their traditional Pondo lifestyle while her older cousin Madiba plans to turn their under-developed community into a bustling mining complex, complete with a national highway. Meanwhile the South African government dethrones their traditional king and queen who speak out against the large-scale developments. WILD DOG & MRS HEART
South Africa, 2015
Director: Michel K. Zongo The Siren of Faso Fani explores the disastrous consequences of global economic policies that are blind to local realities. The shutdown of the oncefamous cotton factory in Burkina Faso in 2001 put hundreds out of work, plunged thousands into poverty and left an entire city reeling. A decade after this economic and social disaster, Zongo returns to a city that is now a shadow of its former self, and to the silent factory that was so central to his childhood. NASSER: EGYPT’S MODERN PHAROAHS
Egypt, 2014
THE DREAM OF SHAHRAZAD
South Africa, Egypt, Jordan, France, Netherlands, 2014
Director: Francois Verster Durban premiere The Dream of Shahrazad is a featurelength documentary film which locates recent political events in the Maghreb and Middle East within a broader historical and cultural legacy: The 1001 (Or ‘Arabian’) Nights. Using the metaphor of Shahrazad – the storytelling princess in The 1001 Nights who saves lives by telling stories – and filmed before, during and after the so-called ‘Arab Spring’, the film weaves together a web of music, politics and storytelling to explore the ways in which creativity and political articulation coincide in response to oppression.
Director: Riaan Hendricks ‘Dare to care’ is a slogan that encapsulates inspectors, Pieter and his fiancée Nadia as they express enough empathy to have their hearts broken countless times when forced to euthanise healthy, abandoned pets. If a society was judged by how it treated its animals, Wild Dog & Mrs Heart would effectively expose our throw-away epidemic. It would show a country that is unable and unwilling, to take care of its own citizens, and even less so their animal companions. The film is told from a deep wellspring of tenderness that Hendricks shares for the animals who share our homes and hearts. COMING OF AGE
Germany, South Africa, Lesotho, 2015
Director: Teboho Edkins African premiere Coming of Age is a film that follows teenagers over the course of two years as they grow up deep in the southern
Director: Jihan El Tahri South African premiere For six decades, Egypt’s post-colonial leaders forged a system that harnessed military and religious powers, struck a delicate balance in foreign relations and muzzled a complacent civil society. Egypt’s Modern Pharaohs follows the trajectory of the rise and fall of the post-colonial state – seen through the Egyptian prism – and recounts vivid moments weaving the struggle for power between the army and the Muslim Brotherhood. Through specific events we will get to know the inside story of Egypt’s leaders and their entourage, identify with its people and understand how and why the 2011 Revolution became inevitable.
Director: Camilla Nielsson African premiere Democrats is a unique film that maps the three-year process of the creation of a new constitution in Zimbabwe. In 2008, President Robert Mugabe gave way to opposition and international pressure to create a new constitution which, after three decades of dictatorial rule, would bring democracy to Zimbabwe. The film follows the work of two lawyers from competing camps who were commissioned to prepare a new constitution. VIRUNGA
United Kingdom, 2014
Director: Orlando von Einseidel Virunga is the true story of a group of brave people risking their lives to build a better future in a part of Africa that the world has forgotten. It is a gripping expose of the realities of life in the Congo. The film trails the forested depths of eastern Congo. In this wild but enchanted environment is a small and embattled team of park rangers – including an ex-child soldier turned caretaker of orphan gorillas and a dedicated conservationist. When the newly formed M23 rebel group declares war, a new conflict threatens the lives and stability of everyone and everything they’ve worked so hard to protect. THEY WILL HAVE TO KILL US FIRST
United Kingdom, 2015
Director: Johanna Schwartz African premiere They Will Have to Kill Us First sees musicians on the run as it tells the story of the uprising of Touareg separatists. The film reveals rare footage of the jihadists; captures life at refugee camps where money and hope are scarce, and charts perilous journeys home to war-ravaged cities when it follows the characters as they set up and perform at the first public concert in Timbuktu since the music ban.
July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 31
Talents Durban 2015
CARRYING THE TORCH: DIFF festival director Pedro Pimenta
The 36th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is proud to announce the participants of the 8th edition of Talents Durban, presented in cooperation with the Berlinale Talents. Talents Durban is a five-day development programme made up of workshops and seminars for African filmmakers delivered by film professionals, academics and intellectuals. The Talents, who are selected through a rigorous application process, will also have the opportunity to attend screenings and events at the Festival.
32 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
T
alents Durban is produced by DIFF in collaboration with Berlinale Talents, an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival. Talents Durban is one of the six Talents International programmes formed by Berlinale Talents in Africa and around the world such as Talents Beirut in Lebanon, Talents Buenos Aires in Argentina, Talents Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Talents Tokyo in Japan and Talents Guadalajara in Mexico. Forty filmmakers from 10 countries across the continent including South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Zambia and Cameroon will be in attendance. The following are the selected participants of Talents: Oluwakemi Adesoye (NiGERIA), Ssenkumba Adnan (UGANDA), Lawrence Agbetsise (GHANA), Isabella Akinseye (NIGERIA), Kassim Braimah (NIGERIA), Bentley Brown (TUNISIA), Lucky Nhlanhla Cele (SOUTH AFRICA), Karien Cherry (SOUTH AFRICA), Joanne Corrigall (SOUTH AFRICA), Angeline Dimingo (ZIMBABWE), Daniel Ecwalu (UGANDA), Daniella Esua (NIGERIA), Polani Fourie (SOUTH AFRICA), Mehluli Hikwa (ZIMBABWE), Benjamin Johnson (SOUTH AFRICA), Njata Joseph (RWANDA), Andrew Kaggwa (UGANDA),
Joel Kapungwe (ZAMBIA), Godisamang Khunou (SOUTH AFRICA), Trent Kok (South AFRICA), Makundi Lambani (SOUTH AFRICA), Sheetal Megan (SOUTH AFRICA), Theoline Maphutha (SOUTH AFRICA), Francisca Meyer (SOUTH AFRICA), Ali Mwangola (KENYA), Samantha Nell (SOUTH AFRICA), Simphiwe Ngcobo (SOUTH AFRICA), John Nyoka (SOUTH AFRICA), Roselidah Obala (KENYA), Agbor Obed (CAMEROON), Temotope Ogun (NIGERIA), Olawale Oluwadahunsi (NIGERIA), Kennedy Omoro (KENYA), Osei Owusu Banahene (GHANA), Davashni Rajoo (SOUTH AFRICA), Charne Simpson (SOUTH AFRICA), Samson Ssenkaaba (UNGANDA), Tendai Charles Tshuma (SOUTH AFRICA), Amy van den Houten (SOUTH AFRICA), Mark Wambui (KENYA) Presented under the theme Start Motion, Talents Durban aims to boost the already rising flow of current filmmaking in Africa, and to encourage filmmakers on the continent to share their stories through their own cultured lense. Participants interact with over 600 delegates of DIFF and Durban FilmMart, the co-production and finance forum which takes place from 17 to 20 July at the festival. Selected participants get to be part of numerous project-oriented, hands on skills development programs. Practical
development programmes within Talents Durban include Talent Press, Script Station and Doc Station. Script station is a script development programme for short films which pairs four writers with script editors who assist in clarifying story and getting to an advanced draft of their script. Our participants this year are John Nyoka, Mark Wambui, Quwakemi Adesoye and Polani Fourie. The mentors for the programme are Tracey Dearham-Rainers and Karima Effendi. DOC station selects three documentary projects in development for coaching and mentoring towards participation in a public pitch at the DFM’s pitching forum, The African Pitch. Participants are given mentoring prior to the pitching and during preparations at the festival. Doc Station participants are Bentley Brown, Sheetal Megan and Tendayi Tshuma and the producer mentor is Odette Geldenhuys. They will receive additional mentorship from Andy Jones, Jihan El Tahri and Khalo Matabane. Talents Durban is presented by the Durban International Film Festival in collaboration with Berlinale Talents, an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival. Talents Durban is supported by the KwaZulu-Natal Film commission, the Goethe Institute SA, the German Embassy in South Africa and the Gauteng Film Commission.
|
BUSINESS, POLICY AND LEGISLATION
A filmmaking hub in South Africa’s golden heart
Less than a year ago, Andile Mbeki was appointed to the position of CEO at the Gauteng Film Commission (GFC). Mr Mbeki and Desmond Mthembu sat down with Screen Africa to outline the GFC’s functions, its plans for the Durban International Film Festival and the big changes that are just around the corner. Development and promotion Based in the Johannesburg city centre, the GFC, like its counterparts in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, is mandated to facilitate and develop the film industry within the borders of the province. Its functions include the promotion of Gauteng as a film production hub and providing assistance (both financial and non-financial) to film production units throughout the production value chain, from preproduction to distribution and marketing. “In production, we play a significant role in terms of those services that are non-financial – assisting and facilitating productions,” Mbeki says. “We are able to go out of our way for filmmakers when it comes to these facets of the business. In the production phase, it’s in the acquisition of permits and closing off of streets and those kinds of things, where we offer the most assistance. When we venture into the area of post-production, we know that Gauteng is a hub of the film industry. But post-production facilities are largely in the hands of commercial enterprises that are bottom-line oriented. For smaller, independent productions, it can be quite difficult to access these facilities so we try to help with that as
much as we can.” The GFC places a heavy emphasis on audience development and on training filmmakers in business skills. Says Mbeki: “It’s no use helping to get films made if there is no audience, so we do our best to get the films distributed appropriately. We are also looking at various distribution platforms. In the old days we relied on cinemas; that’s no longer the case, as everyone knows. Digital platforms are gaining momentum. The productions and companies that we support, we make sure they tap into that space. We also try our best to make sure that when it comes to film festivals and export markets, companies that we have supported are able to get to those events.”
GFC at DIFF 2015 At the 36th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) (16-26 July), the GFC is proudly supporting the showcasing of no fewer than six feature films that were produced with its support. These include Ayanda, Impunity, Tell Me Sweet Something, The Shore Break, Rights of Passage and Necktie Youth. “One of the things with any festival is that your film may be selected but that’s only half the battle. It is still incumbent on the producers to make sure that there are
bums on seats when the film is screened,” says Desmond Mthembu. “Our role as the GFC for these six films is for us to help them with marketing collateral, so that they can publicise their screenings. We can’t just rely on the festival catalogue; each production company needs to have the tools to promote their work.” This is one of four projects that the GFC will be busy with during DIFF, Mthembu explains. “We will also be involved in Talent Campus. There are a number of young people who are given the opportunity to attend training. They are looking at 40 attendees in total and 11 of those are coming from Gauteng. As GFC we saw a need to participate and ensure that young people get a chance to attend DIFF and to learn. “GFC will also support four Gautengbased trainers from the Documentary Filmmakers Association (DFA) to participate in the Business Model Canvas, which is a business tool that is used as training module in Canada for creative content producers. The output of the business model canvas is a visualized business plan for a particular project. The power of this initiative lies in the narrative and visual approach to the plan, which makes it easier to understand and interpret for users who may not have formal training in business management “Finally, we are inaugurating the Lionel Ngakane Short Film Award in partnership with DIFF. We have partnered with the festival itself to offer this award for short films and it will be awarded for the best short film screened at the festival – it doesn’t have to be a South African production. For us this is a way both to recognise the role that short films play in the industry and also to honour Lionel Ngakane, who is regarded by many as the father of South African cinema.”
Changes in store Mbeki says that there are some major plans in store for the GFC beyond DIFF, many of which cannot be revealed just yet. Most of these arise from the plan that he presented to the industry, detailing new roles and operations for the commission. For now, he is able to offer a little foretaste of what is certainly the most fundamental change the GFC is set to undergo. “Our core business has always been mainly film. The Gauteng provincial government has taken a view to expand our scope of work. There are processes being undertaken at the moment which we have to adhere to in terms of that transition process. The crux of that transition is this: we are soon going to be expanding our work to include other components of the creative industry – like theatre, music, visual art, even fashion. So with anything that will have to do with the creative industries in Gauteng, the buck will stop with us. We are currently a relatively small entity because of our focus only on film but if we talk to you this time next year, we will be speaking a different language altogether.” So a name change will soon be on the cards, as well as a considerable expansion in the commission’s infrastructure and responsibilities. Mbeki assures the film industry that it need not worry about being neglected when their colleagues in other creative fields start vying for his team’s attention. The commission and its staff will simply expand to meet all these needs. “The pool of funding and expertise available to the industry is going to get bigger,” he concludes. . July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 33
2015 at the Durban Internat
ional Film Festival
Durban FilmMart is a joint programme of the Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF)
Find out more on www.durbanfilmmart.com
ADVERTORIAL
|
DFM Success Stories 2010-2015 Now in its sixth year, the Durban FilmMart (DFM) has become an integral part of the fastgrowing South African film industry. Since its inception in 2010, DFM has helped to facilitate more than 80 African co-production projects, many of which have subsequently been produced as acclaimed films.
A
s a result of DFM’s success, the Durban International Film Festival now regularly includes works from DFM alumni in its programme. Major fiction projects from the past six years that had their genesis at DFM and were subsequently screened at DIFF include Ayanda (DFM 2013), the opening film at this year’s festival, the acclaimed Boda Boda Thieves (DFM 2011) from Ugandan co-operative Yes! That’s Us Films and Imbabazi: The Pardon (DFM 2012), a personal account of the Rwandan genocide.
Fiction film success stories The Nigerian film Confusion Na Wa was a DFM project in 2010 and went on to win best film at the 2013 African Movie Awards, as well as other awards around the world. A dark comedy about a group of strangers whose fates become intertwined over the course of 24 hours, Confusion Na Wa was produced by Tom Rowlands-Rees and directed by Kenneth Gyang. Imbabazi: the Pardon was one of the selected project at DFM in 2011, as a result of which producer-director Joel Karekezi attended the Rotterdam Lab in 2012. A very personal story about the genocide that took place in Rwanda, the film screened at DIFF 2014 as well as other festivals around the world, from Chicago to Luxor. A Shot at the Big Time (DFM 2012) is inspired by the true story of director Janet van Eeden’s brother, Jimmy, who took his own life rather than fight in the Apartheid border war. After receiving its world premiere at DIFF, the film was
ACCLAIMED FILMS: The Shore Break
Ayanda
Boda Boda Thieves
The Dream of Shahrazad
selected for the Cannes Court Metrage, the short film corner of the official Cannes Festival 2014. The film was later nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the Independent Mzansi Short Film Festival. The feature film version of A Shot at the Big Time is currently in production. Boda Boda Thieves began its life as a pitch at DFM 2011 and has gone on to receive international acclaim. A collaboration between South African producer James Tayler and Kenyan producer Sarah Muhoho, the project was awarded the CineMart Rotterdam Lab award at DFM and went on to win a Highlight Pitch Award at the Berlin Film Festival’s Talent Project Market. The Boda Boda Thieves tells the tale of a poverty-stricken family from Kampala, Uganda, who support themselves by driving a motorcycle taxi or ‘boda-boda’. Both producers and the film’s director Donald Mugisha are passionate about creating and developing content for African cinema, which they believe expresses a “proud identity of humanity, heritage and culture”. Ayanda, which was selected as a project for DFM in 2013, will be opening the 36th edition of the Durban International Film Festival. Directed by Sara Blecher and produced by Terry Pheto, the film tells the story of a 21-year-old woman who fights to save her late father’s motor repair shop when it is threatened with closure. Ayanda received its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June this year where it was awarded a special mention in the world fiction category.
Documentary success stories South African director Mayenzeke Baza’s short documentary film Ndiyindoda (I Am a Man) tackles male circumcision, highlighting the dilemma it poses for South Africa as the country forges a position for itself in the modern world and attempts to reconcile its strongest traditions with newly enshrined democratic rights. Produced by Andy Jones, the project won Most Promising Documentary at DFM 2011, enabling Baza and Roughton to attend the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) later that year. Devils Lair chronicles the life of a convicted murderer and gang leader named Braam as he comes to terms with a lifetime of dubious choices. Producer Neil Brandt and director Riaan Hendricks won Most Promising Documentary Project at DFM 2012 – which came with the opportunity to participate at IDFA Summer School and to pitch at the IDFA Forum The film went on to premiere at Hot Docs and became one of the highlights of DIFF 2013. It received three nominations at the SAFTAs in 2014, going on to win Best Feature and Best Editor, as well as numerous other awards at festivals around the world. Unearthed, directed by Jolynn Minnaar and produced by Dylan Voogt, Stacey Keppler and Saskia Schiel, explores the effects of fracking in the United States in anticipation of proposed shale gas extraction in the Karoo and elsewhere in Southern Africa. Selected as a project for
DFM 2013 and winning the WorldView Development Grant, the film screened to enthusiastic audiences at DIFF in 2014 and won the Green Award at the Sheffield International Documentary Festival the same year. The Shore Break was selected as a DFM project in 2012 and premiered at IDFA in 2014. A powerful documentary whose narrative is every bit as engaging as a fiction thriller, the film will screen at DIFF this year and has already screened at the Encounters documentary film festival. It was the only South African documentary in Competition at IDFA 2014 and the only South African feature length documentary selected for Hot Docs 2015 in Toronto. The film won Best Feature Length Documentary at the 2015 Festival International du Film d’Environnement (FIFE) in Paris. The Dream of Shahrazad (DFM 2010) directed by Francois Verster and produced by Neil Brandt, Shameela Seedat and Wael Omar, explores the relationship between art and revolution through the famous story collection The 1001 Nights. The film received development and production support from DFM as well as the Sundance Institute, the IDFA Bertha Fund, the NFVF, the Hakkaya Network, the Dutch Film Fund and Spier Films, who also act as the films sales agent. The 6th Durban FilmMart takes place in Durban, at the Tsogo Sun Elangeni from 17 to 20 July 2015, during the 36th edition of the Durban International Film Festival (16-26 July 2015). •
July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 35
FESTIVALS
|
TANZANIA
Zanzibar International Film Festival
RECORD NUMBER OF FILMS: The House of Wonders in Stonetown, one of the ZIFF’s venues
The Zanzibar International Film Festival, sponsored by Zuku, is the longest running film-festival in East Africa, with global credibility and instant Pan-African recognition. The 18th edition takes place from 18 – 26 July 2015 in Stone Town.
T
he films in ZIFF’s official selection were chosen from a record 419 submissions. The list contains 20 feature films, 56 shorts and 24 documentaries from over 30 countries across the globe. The festival this year will be attended by over 80 filmmakers with films in competition, as well as over 250 filmmakers and industry persons taking part in 15 workshop programmes. These programmes include The MAISHA Film Lab for East African filmmakers, as well as workshops on digital migration, PanAfricanism, and many more topics. The festival programme gives particular prominence to the visibility and interests of women and children, including the youth. The main panorama features international film and video screenings, and international retrospectives along
36 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
with music and performances, main stage events, exhibitions, workshops and seminars. Emphasis has been given to the East African Film Makers Forum and this will continue in 2015, as will dialogues with various filmmakers from across the region. Festival Director Dr. Martin Mhando had this to say of the submissions and selections for ZIFF 2015, “We would like to congratulate and thank all those who submitted their films. With so many films to choose from the selection process was especially difficult. This has been the largest number of films received to date. We are also thrilled to be once again hosting such a diversity of filmmakers from so many countries in Africa and beyond.” With a full arts and culture programme supplementing the film screenings, over
240 artists and musicians will also perform during the eight days of the festival. ZIFF also has a strong focus on regional films with the Zuku Bongo Movie Awards holding a place of honour among others, including the Sembene Ousmane Award, the European Film Festival Award, and a range of category awards – the winners of which take home the coveted Golden Dhow. ZIFF 2015 opens with the Academy Award winning film Selma on 18 July, which of course is also Nelson Mandela’s birthday. ZIFF promises eight days of film, music, arts and culture, at nine different venues throughout Stone Town, that will host over 30 000 people.
ZIFF Director Martin Mhando
TANZANIA
| FESTIVALS
OFFICIAL FEATURE AND DOCUMENTARY SELECTION ZIFF 2015 FEATURE FILMS Director COUNTRY Algun lugar/On the Road Somewhere Guillermo Zouain Dominican Republic Beautiful Tree , Severed Roots Kenny Mann Kenya Diamond Tongues Brian Robertson and Pavan Moondi Canada El mal trato/Maltreatment Daniel E.V. Yudin Chile Fievres/Fevers Hicham Ayouch France Habibie and Ainun Faozan Rizal Indonesia Jongo Love Kenya Kutakapokucha Tanzania Munnariyippu/ The deadline Venu N India Mr Kadamanja Adam Kuambiana Tanzania Nightrunners Rowan Nielsen Kenya Pishu Leah Mwendamseke Tz Pride Matthew Warchus UK Selma Ava DuVernay USA Single Zero Timoth Conrad Tanzania Strength of a Woman Gilbert Lukalia Kenya Sugarcane Shadows David Constantin Mauritius Superstition Paresh Gondaliya and Zziwa A. Alone Uganda The Gods of Water Pablo Caesar Argentina/Ethiopia/ France The Last Drive-in Theater Iberê Carvalho Brazil Wazi?FM Faras Cavallo Kenya Price of Love Hermon Hailay Ethiopia
AT ZIFF 2014: Biyi Bandele accepting Award
DOCUMENTARIES Director COUNTRY 21 Icons – A Journey to Democracy Adrian Steirn South Africa Abasezi (The Nightdancers) Aemile Dinneen Ireland/Uganda Bintou Simone Catharina Gaul Germany Croc in a Museum Rwanda Daddy’s Wedding Dubai Dancing With Maria Ivan Gergolet Italy/Argentina/ Slovenia Grandma Knows Best? Tamara Dawit Ethiopia Life In Progress Irene Loebell Switzerland Life is Waiting: Referendum and Resistance in Western Sahara Lara Lee Western Sahara Low Season Madeleine Dallmeyer Germany Maramaso Ashley Beckett Kenya Mbwa Mwitu Farid Uwezo Tanzania Moussa Diallo: The Man and the Music Helle Toft Denmark NAPPS- Memoire Of An Invisible Man Tami Liberman Germany Obohozi Kenya Papa Machete Jonathan David Kane U.S.A. Prisoner 467/64: The Untold Legacy of Andrew Mlangeni Lebogang Rasethaba South Africa Red Over the Rainbow Baumont Vincent Vietnam Shadeism: Digging Deeper Nayani Thitagarajah Canada Shadow Fighters Josefine Heimburger Denmark/Tanzania The Beauty That I Saw Benjamin Abrams U.S.A The Broken Heart Fabian Püschel Germany The Hustle Ashraf Said Mswaki Turkey The Rwandan Genocide: Reunited Through Polaroids Colin Crowley Rwanda The Springboard Joseph Ndayisenga Burundi Twende! Let’s go! Silvana Zancolo Italy Ady Gasy Nantenaina Lova Madagascar For more information visit www.ziff.or.tz www.facebook.com/ZanzibarInternationalFilmFestival
Adeyemi Michael with award July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 37
INDUSTRY REPORT
|
TANZANIA
Swahiliwood, the art of
Tanzanian
Swahiliwood, an industry that started to develop over 10 years ago, is taking shape in Tanzania. It was inspired by already existing brands, like Hollywood, Nollywood and Bollywood. Swahiliwood filmmakers tackle issues such as love, jealousy, religion and witchcraft. These everyday concerns are getting a huge following among the Tanzanian audience, drawing it away from the local market’s Hollywood obsession.
38 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
film
TANZANIA
| INDUSTRY REPORT
I
n 1962, Howard Hawks directed the action/adventure romantic drama titled Hatari. The name is a Swahili word meaning danger and the film portrays a group of professional wildlife catchers in Africa. The film starred John Wayne, and it was shot in Tanganyika – which makes up most of current-day Tanzania. The film was a box office success. Known for its breathtaking scenery and wildlife, Tanzania is one of the best tourist destinations in the world and continues to offer the finest in Swahili culture, cuisine and arts. Against this background, a thriving local film industry is forming. “Tanzania’s Swahiliwood is one of the most vibrant enterprises that were inspired by Nolliwood,” says Sam Obae, the founder of Kilimanjaro Film Institute. “The art form is loosely characterised by quirky characters and weird issues that resonate with us as Tanzanians. Over the years we have developed our own voice that transcends beyond the Swahili culture.” In the recent years, films such as White Shadow, Darwin’s Nightmare, Bongoland 1and 2 have propelled Tanzania’s film industry into the international arena. The
SWAHILIWOOD: Shooting Moyo Wangu
use of Kiswahili, a language spoken in several countries across East Africa, with over 200 million users, makes Swahiliwood films ideal for the East African market as a whole, easily moving across Tanzania’s borders into neighbouring Swahili-speaking countries.
“We are watched in Kenya, Uganda, Congo, Rwanda and Burundi,” Obae adds. “If you look at Swahiliwood films, you will realise that the demand is beyond high, people want a story that is simple, needs no translation and is easy to get into. That’s why people relate to this industry.” The four-million dollar industry is inspiring local filmmakers to tap into its positive growth, helping young filmmakers nurture their talent and showcase their creativity. “Swahiliwood pays me; it offers me meals and a chance to travel,” says Jacob Stephen, fondly known as JB, and the owner of Jerusalem Film Company. “I have, over the years, been able to do films as an actor/director and writer and I can confidently say that the local industry is exciting and pays well if you are hardworking, creative and forward looking.” The Tanzanian Film Commission, a government body under the ministry of sports and culture, is tirelessly working to improve the working conditions of the filmmakers and protecting their creativity at large. It offers tax cuts on any film that is done in Swahili. “TFC’s mandate is to advance and protect the creativity of local filmmakers and equip them with the necessary tools that will enable them to become better story tellers,” Albert Doddy, the assisting director of TFC explains. “We aim to recognise local talent and also want to protect its intellectual property in the long run.” In the past 10 years there have been thousands of films that have come out and the overwhelming response from the local filmgoers have been a keen motivation to sustain the industry. DVD sales and the printing of posters and t-shirts to market the films have positively affected the development of the industry, making it an exciting frontier for local film lovers. “I am a fan of Swahiliwood,” says Agnes Mapenzi, a Kenyan film fan. “I order DVDs from Dar es Salaam – anything new. I watch them and then sell
them on to my friends, who are also fans here in Mombasa.” The Kenyan coastal town of Mombasa is one of the key market targets for the Swahiliwood films because of its cultural resemblance to Zanzibar. Swahili is the unifying factor here and the Swahiliwood filmmakers are keen on tapping into that advantage. “When we do films in Swahili, Mombasa is definitely one of our targets,” JB adds. “I have been in Mombasa and the people are passionate about Swahiliwood films, therefore it’s ideal to consider Mombasa when planning distribution of our films.” Swahiliwood has created a plethora of stars that have attracted Nollywood’s attention, leading into collaborations with the West African brand. Films such as She’s My Sister, and From Dar to Lagos to mention but a few, are some of the Nigeria/Tanzania joint productions that are known to star famous names. The late Steven Kanumba starred in She’s My Sister, a dark drama that came out in 2007. Kanumba is still considered one of the most established names in the Swahiliwood industry even after his demise; he continues to demand respect. At his funeral, hundreds of thousands of fans attended from different parts of East and West Africa. “He was a legend and a star,” says former Miss Tanzania turned actress Wema Sepetu. “Of all the people that have come out from Swahiliwood, his name comes up on top, because of the charisma and grace that he exuded as an actor.” It is expected that in the next 10 years, Swahiliwood’s market share will have increased by 100% making it the largest film industry in Eastern Africa with over 300 million fans. “If anyone has any doubt about Swahiliwood, they better think twice because these projections are realistic and factual,” Sepetu quips. “It’s only a matter of time when movies from Hollywood will have little or no relevance in East Africa courtesy of competition from Swahiliwood.”– Sam Charo July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 39
Non contractual images. TriCaster and TriCaster Mini are trademarks of NewTek, Inc. Copyright ©2015 NewTek, Inc. and 3D Storm. All rights reserved. All specifications are subject to change without notice.
TriCaster
™
NOW WITH SUPER POWERS
FIND THE ONE TO POWER YOUR PRODUCTIONS
TriCaster 8000
TriCaster 860
TriCaster 460
TriCaster Mini
L E A R N M O R E O N W W W. 3 D S TO R M . C O M NEWTEK SPECIALIST DEALER 1 Ormonde St, Bryanston - Sandton, Gauteng, 2021 South Africa - Tel.: +27 11 706 7081 Email: armand@timbre.co.za - www.timbre.co.za
15 - BOOTAHFRBICA Y L U J 7 1 5 H 1 RG - SOUT
JOHANNES
BU
3D Storm is the Master Distributor Of NewTek Products - Find a reseller on www.3dstorm.com 70, Avenue de Capeyron - 33160 Saint-Medard-en-Jalles, France - T: + 33 (0) 5 57 262 262 - F:+ 33 (0) 5 57 262 261 - info@3dstorm.com
Step up to the New way to do BROADCAST
See us at Mediatech – Stand B15
Broadcast without boundaries
Clip
Cube
VidiU
Bond
Bolt
True tapeless TV environment
XPLAYOUT
XCAPTURE
XSCHEDULER (FREE)
XTRIMMER (FREE)
XROUTER (FREE)
XINFO (FREE)
XEMERGENCY (FREE)
XREMOTE (FREE)
Panasonic the ONLY solution for professional broadcast – audio – video – studios – OB vans – Mobile rigs & custom applications
TIMBRE BROADCAST
www.timbre.co.za
Tel: +27 (11) 706-7081 Fax: +27 (11) 706-7140 SYSTEMScc E-mail: armand@timbre.co.za 1 Ormonde Street Bryanston, Sandton, South Africa
TRAINING & EDUCATION
|
Where to learn cinema in Africa In the 1960s, when African filmmakers wanted to study cinema, they were mostly sent to Europe, USSR or America. Throughout the years, African cinema schools (public and private) were built. It is now possible to study in many countries on the continent. Screen Africa reports.
Morocco
Tunisia
Burkina Faso
Ghana
Benin
Nigeria
42 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
Cameroon
Rwanda
La Reunion
BENIN
KENYA
Institut supérieur des métiers de l’audiovisuel (ISMA) – Cotonou Private school Date of creation: 2006 Courses: Audiovisual Journalism, TV and Cinema Filmmaking, Light & Sound, Sound & Sound Effects, Editing & Post-Production, Production, Operating Equipment http://w3.isma-benin.org/
Hot Sun Film School – Nairobi Private school Date of creation: 2009 Courses: Filmmaking, Scriptwriting, Storyboarding, Production, Directing, Camera, Sound, Editing, Marketing, Distribution, Entrepreneurship, Social Networking. http://hotsunfilmschool.com Africa Digital Media Institute – Nairobi Private school Date of creation: ??? Courses: Screenwriting, Directing, Producing, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Sound Design, English and Business Studies. http://www.jfta.co.ke/
BURKINA FASO Institut Imagine – Ouagadougou Private school Date of creation: 2003 Courses: Punctual trainings in filmmaking, scriptwriting, image, editing, light, sound and animation. http://www.institutimagine.com Institut Supérieur de l’Image et du Son (ISIS) – Ouagadougou Date of creation: 2005 Courses: Filmmaking, Scriptwriting, Image, Sound, Editing. Professional Master in Fiction or Documentary. http://www.isis.bf
BURUNDI
Egypt
Burundi Film Center – Bujumbura Private school Date of creation: 2007 Courses: Theory, Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production Training. http://www.burundifilmcenter.org/
CAMEROON
Ethiopia
Institut de Formation au Cinéma et à l’Audiovisuel de l’Afrique Centrale – Cameroun Private school Courses: Filmmaking, Scriptwriting, Image, Sound, Editing, Acting, Animation. Date of creation: 2011 http://www.iaf.cfi.fr/fr/iscac-cameroun
EGYPT
Kenya
Higher Institute of Cinema – Giza Public school Date of creation: 1959 Courses: Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Arts, Bachelor of Arts, Short Courses and Post-Graduate Training.
ETHIOPIA Blue Nile and TV Academy – Addis Ababa Private school Date of creation: 2009 Courses: Camera, light, sound, directing, scriptwriting and editing. http://www.coloursofthenile.net/about/ organisers/blue-nile-film-and-televisionacademy
GHANA
South Africa
National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) – Accra Public school Date of creation: 1978 Courses: Film Artistic, Film Techniques, Broadcast Journalism, Multimedia Production. http://www.nafti.edu.gh/
LA REUNION Institut de l’Image de l’Océan Indien (ILOI) – Le Port Date of creation: 1983 Courses: Multimédia, Animation, Audiovisual, Video Game, IT and Communication, Internet and New Medias, Photography and Video, Infographics, Digital Expertise. http://iloi.fr/
MOROCCO Ecole supérieure des arts visuels (ESAV) – Marrakech Private school Date of creation: 2007 Courses: Cinema and Television Filmmaking, Image, Sound, Editing. http://www.esavmarrakech.com
NIGER Institut de Formation aux Techniques de l’Information et de la Communication (IFTIC) – Niamey Date of creation: 1989 Courses: Journalism, Archiving, Library, Operating Equipment, Camera, Sound, Editing https://fr-fr.facebook.com/pages/ IFTIC/254262901259566
NIGERIA National Film Institute – Jos Date of creation: 1995 Courses: Film Art, Motion Picture, Production, Research and Documentation. http://www.nfi.edu.ng/
RWANDA Kwetu Film Institute, Kigali Private school Date of creation: 2009 Courses: Directing, Cinematography, Production, Screen Writing, Editing, Sound Engineering, Location Scouting, Lighting and Set Design. http://kwetufilminstitute.com/
SOUTH AFRICA Big Fish School of Digital Filmmaking – Johannesburg, Cape Town Private School Date of creation: 2007 Courses: National Certificates in various filmmaking disciplines http://www.bigfish.org.za/
| TRAINING & EDUCATION Footprint Media Academy – Johannesburg Private Courses: National and Further Education and Training Certificates in Film and Television Production, Broadcast Engineering and Journalism. http://www.felinetech.co.za/ SAE Institute – Cape Town Private Date of creation: 1976 – Cape Town campus established in 2008 Courses: Degree and diploma courses in Animation, Film and Audio http://capetown.sae.edu/ The South African School of Film, Television & Dramatic Art (AFDA) – Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth Private School Date of Creation: 1994 Courses: Degree and diploma courses in film and television production, specialising in disciplines such as producing, writing/ directing, cinematography, sound design, editing and acting. www.afda.co.za South Africa also has quite a number of smaller, privately run film schools, which , due to space limitations, could not be included here.
TANZANIA Kilimanjaro Film Institute (KFI) – Arusha Private school Date of creation: 2007 Courses: Directing, Camera, Editing, Sound, Presenting, Researching. http://www.kilimanjarofilm.org/
TUNISIA Académie des Arts de Carthage (AAD) – Tunis Public school Ecole des Arts et du Cinéma (EDAC) – Tunis Date of creation: 2005 Courses: https://fr-fr.facebook.com/edactunis Ecole Supérieure de l’Audiovisuel et du Cinéma (ESAC) – La Marsa Date of creation: 2004 Courses: Institut Supérieur d’Art et de Multimédia (ISAMM) – Tunis Date of creation: 2000 Courses: Filmmaking, Image, Sound, Editing. http://www.isa2m.rnu.tn/isa2m/welcome. php/ Institut International du Numérique et de l’Audiovisuel (IINA) – La Manouba Private school Date of creation: Courses: Filmmaking, Image, Sound, Editing, Production http://iina.tn This list includes only dedicated film and TV schools. Many universities across the continent also offer reputable film, TV and media courses. – Compiled by Claire Diao July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 43
Fast, Mobile, Cost-effective Virtual Sets Having to create interesting and innovative sets for quality viewing on less than a shoestring budget, is frustrating. You might have tested the waters for virtual sets, but found no simple or cost-effective system solutions. From the ashes rises the phoenix and your world is about to change. PhoenixFIRE Systems creates the world’s easiest virtual set systems: Simple to use; astonishingly costeffective; high-end quality; endless possibilities. This is exactly what the creators of PhoenixFIRE Systems had in mind when they set out on their quest for a revolutionary virtual set broadcast solution. Well-known Joburg-based production and stage designer, Dewet Meyer, from Jdmunlimited was on the brink of importing a high-end tracking system from overseas with virtual set studio production in mind, when he realised that the eventual cost to the production house would far exceed what he expected it to be and wanted to offer. The import was canned, when quite by accident, Dewet’s virtual online path crossed that of technical whizz and special effects 3D programmer, Andrew Griffiths, South African born member of the UK-based graphics company, Renderheads. Renderheads develops live interactive video and graphics programming projects that specialise in augmented reality and interactive installations. Having designed high profile sets ranging from Miss World, Idols, Fifa Draws and CNN Multichoice Journalist of the Year Awards to Give met that Bill and Big Brother MZANSI, Dewet and Andrew immediately saw the possibilities in a collaborative relationship. PhoenixFIRE was born. What can PhoenixFIRE offer you? A simplified, easy-to-use and – most importantly – a truly cost-effective virtual set system that can be set up in a small studio environment – even an office.
Catch Mela on SABC 2 Sunday at 10:30am.
Has there been a demand for the PhoenixFIRE system, since its inception in 2012? The interest sparked at AfriCAST in Abuja, Nigeria, where it was introduced to the public, was nothing less than HUGE. This led to the development of a portable, one-box-that-does-it-all solution. The product attracted an enormous amount of attention (especially from East and West Africa) at the MediaTECH 2013 Exhibition. The SABC 2 show Mela currently uses the system. Do you need high-end greenscreens and complicated lighting to get a good key in order to use the virtual sets? No, this chroma keyer makes it easy to get a great key. With basic camera and operational skills, you will be able to use this easy system on any even blue/green background. How does it work? The PhoenixFIRE system simply takes the HD-SDI data from any static HD camera, processes the key and virtual environment and outputs it again over HD-SDI. Two audio input channels – either from a mixing desk or microphone – are then added to the output feed. The entire process happens in real-time with minimal frame delay. Would a virtual set convince the viewing public? A prerequisite for a convincing virtual set, is the illusion of a moving camera with different angles producing shot variation. Not having to rely on a tracking system, and working with one static camera, means MASSIVE SAVINGS. However, most
static camera virtual set systems have limited shot angles and backgrounds. Not PhoenixFIRE. Rather than being locked into a static background to your static camera, the virtual set can be moved around and the integrated talent visual moves with the movement of the virtual camera. The ability to control your virtual camera around the 3D virtual set, gives you a sense of camera movement and a more realistic production look, and – take note – without the massive technical and financial investment in live camera tracking. How do I create my virtual set to be used on the PhoenixFIRE system? It is quite easy. Sets can be made on any 3D software programme able to export to FBX (from SketchUP to 3D STUDIO MAX). This gives you the opportunity to design your own texture and light baked scenes. Send us your FBX file and we’ll convert it for your PhoenixFIRE system. Your system will be able to hold an almost unlimited amount of sets. The file package is so small, it can be e-mailed. What if I cannot create my own set? Well, we can do it for you!
Your PhoenixFIRE system has three generic sets installed that is ready for immediate use. Alternatively, you can commission a custom set (we provide a complete set design service in full consultation with client) and quite soon, you’ll be able to purchase stock sets on the PhoenixFIRE online shop. Go to: www.PhoenixFIRE.tv www.facebook.com/PhoenixFireGFX Contact: Dewet: +27 83 961 9568 contact@phoenixfire.tv
SOUTH AFRICA | NIGERIA
| CO-PRODUCTION
South/South collaboration set in motion
HUGE RESOURCES AND BENEFITS: SA Nigeria co-production summit attendees
With digital migration and the resulting increased demand for content an eventuality, it is hard to understand why there haven’t been more collaborative production efforts between African countries. This was the premise for the South Africa/Nigeria Co-Production Summit, which was hosted by the KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission in early 2015.
A
follow-up on theSummit will take place at the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) as well as the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF), later this year. In the first quarter of 2015, the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) released its annual co-production report for 2014, which revealed that South Africa has faced a decline in co-productions over the last three years. Collaboration is complex and requires an extra initial outlay of time, effort and costs, which can be off-putting to filmmakers. “You don’t need to look very far to see the huge resources and benefits Nigeria and South Africa can bring to bear by working together,” says executive director of UK-based Talking Drum Entertainment Dapo Oshiyemi, who offered an international perspective at the summit. “Just look at what is already being done in banking, telecoms, music, subscription TV and retail. Collaboration in the film industry has just been slow to take off between the two countries for some strange reason and that’s why we had the summit in Durban.”
Common ground Establishing healthy co-production relationships across the continent is the ultimate goal. Not only do subSaharan countries have much in common culturally and economically, they also share in their desire to be less dependent on the West. Mahmood Ali-Balogun, Nigerian filmmaker, managing director of Brickwall Communications Limited and head of the Nigeria delegation at the summit says, “Such cooperation will finally begin to put an end to the hang-over of dependence and overbearing influence of the West or Europe and its collaborators on not only the continent’s economy but the genuine socio-cultural and even political aspirations of the African people.” Jackie Motsepe of the KwaZuluNatal Film Commission adds: “There is a lot of potential in South/South collaboration as the markets are well positioned to receive each other’s content.”
Scale matters The major benefit of any co-production is a pooling of resources, and this ranges from financial to creative to knowledge sharing. Looking specifically at Nigeria and South Africa, there is much for both countries to gain. Oshiyemi highlighted that Nigeria has the fastest growing film industry in the world and access to a valuable audience. “Nigeria’s film industry has a huge home market of 170 million people and there is also an estimated four to six million Nigerians living outside Africa, mainly in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia,” says Oshiyemi. “That not only offers a vast global audience for films but also a pool of world class creative and technical talent which is currently underutilised.” He also pointed out that the South African film industry is structurally strong, has world class filmmaking facilities and infrastructure, constructive government backing and first-rate talent behind the camera. Motsepe adds: “The beneficial resources that South Africa has in place are the funding instruments, the skill, talent and locations. From the Nigerian side, the distribution model (which is very successful in realising a return on investment for productions), the private investment into film and the Nigerian banks which finance production.”
Prospective path Though there is a renewed energy around initiating South/South co-production, concrete activation is much like the broader issue of African
collaboration: slow-moving. The summit in Durban established a goal to develop and produce films which would be released through the distribution platforms available in the two countries as well as screen at DIFF and AFRIFF, by 2016. Motsepe said the discussions taking place at DIFF and AFRIFF 2015 will be to determine what possible programmes can be put in place following the initial engagement at the summit. Ali-Balogun explains: “The follow ups at both festivals will be a strengthening and fine tuning of the outcomes of the March summit, with a view to initiate and implement some the resolutions agreed to, such as co-production agreements, partnerships between the festivals and distribution possibilities.” But according to Oshiyemi, coproductions between Nigeria and South Africa are already a reality and a number of projects are currently underway. He also explained that the South Africa co-production treaty with the United Kingdom allows a co-producer established in another country which does not have a treaty with either the UK or South Africa to participate and access all the benefits of the treaty. “This is vital for Nigeria, which has very strong foundations in the UK, because they can use this treaty as a vehicle for film production and don’t have to wait for a treaty to be signed between the two countries,” says Oshiyemi. The NFVF and the Department of Arts and Culture are currently working on a co-production treaty between South Africa and Nigeria. – Carly Barnes July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 45
Television
|
CO-PRODUCTION | SOUTH AFRICA
Making universal
stories
FROM SLAVERY TO FREEDOM: Anjanue Ellis and Lyriq Bent in Book of Negroes 46 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
SOUTH AFRICA
|CO-PRODUCTION | Television
The Book of Negroes, a South African-Canadian co-production based on the novel by Canadian author Lawrence Hill, was broadcast at the beginning of 2015 in Canada and the United States to widespread critical acclaim. Screen Africa spoke to South African producer Lance Samuels about the series and the even more ambitious project he currently has in pre-production.
T
he Book of Negroes is a six-part miniseries following the story of a slave named Aminata Diallo. At the age of 11, she is kidnapped from her village near Segou (in presentday Mali) and sold into slavery in colonial America. The story follows her separation from her family and her search for freedom, which takes her through the American Revolutionary War and relocation to Canada under the British administration, and finally to the colony for emancipated slaves in Sierra Leone. Hill’s novel was optioned by Canadian production house Conquering Lion – owned by writer-director Clement Virgo and producer Damon D’Oliviera. Virgo adapted the novel together with Hill and directed all six episodes. While the show was in pre-production, Virgo and D’Oliviera made the acquaintance of Lance Samuels, whose production house, Out of Africa, has offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Toronto and Los Angeles. “It’s a universal story,” Samuels says. “Even though it’s specifically about how a group of black people were taken into slavery in the States and then found their freedom in Canada, I think the story resonates in any country – especially South Africa, which has followed its own painful journey to freedom. So in that sense I just felt it was universal. And it was the main reason that I felt that the book could translate into a successful miniseries.”
Bringing the story home “They really didn’t know where they wanted to shoot it,” Samuels says. “So naturally I said, ‘come to South Africa; we can get it done there.’” The exchange rate, the desirability of South Africa’s locations and the high standard of the local crews, made it an easy sell. Out of Africa and Conquering Lion partnered on the project under the auspices of the South Africa-Canada co-production treaty. South African locations made up a sizeable part of production, with the rest being shot in Canada. “It’s a journey,” says Samuels. “We start off in West Africa and you move to Boston, New York and the American south, before moving to Nova Scotia and then back to West Africa
– all in a late 18th Century timeline. So we really had to start from scratch.” Samuels explains that no major studio shoots were involved. The entire series was shot on existing locations – either as they were or carefully modified to suit the needs of the narrative. “For example, for the southern plantation, we shot on a wine farm not far from Cape Town and we literally had to build a plantation house from nothing. We also removed the vineyards and planted crops that you would have found in the south of the US at that time. We even built the ship that brought them from West Africa to New York. “To recreate Charleston, South Carolina, we took over the Company Gardens at Parliament in Cape Town and transformed that. We used the old parliament building as a backdrop and CGI’d it from a Dutch look to an English look. It was a combination of existing locations, CGI and a lot of planning. We could do that in South Africa because it was so cost effective. We could never have done it in Canada.” For the scenes set in Sierra Leone, the production moved to the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, using the unspoiled landscape of the Wild Coast to approximate the lush, tropical look of the Atlantic seaboard in pre-colonial West Africa.
Co-production: worth it? Co-production is an idea that gets thrown around a lot these days, with South Africa’s National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) constantly working to sign some new agreement or memorandum of understanding. How beneficial is co-production to the countries involved? “The benefits are huge,” Samuels says. “Some producers hear the word co-production and they take a step back but if you actually break it down, it’s a simple procedure. It’s about partnering with another country to benefit the production as well as both countries. That’s a great business plan – it makes sense. It’s not as complicated as people think. I’ve done, all in all, 15 co-productions with Canada, the UK and Germany. I’m currently also interested in exploring Australia. As long as it makes sense for the production, and it isn’t contrived, I would highly recommend it.”
The crew included a large number of South Africans, including three heads of department: director of photography Giulio Biccari, costume designer Kate Carin and production designer Brian Glaser. Among the cast, supporting American and Canadian headliners Aunjanue Ellis, Lyriq Bent and Cuba Gooding Jr, is a long list of South African talent that includes Siya Xaba, Armand Aucamp, Andile Gumbi, Lemogang Tsipa and Erica Wessels.
‘One of the world’s greatest stories’ Out of Africa’s next production is a six-part series on the life of former President Nelson Mandela. The production has been in the planning stages for several years, having received the green light from the great man himself. With Long Walk to Freedom released only a few years ago, followed by smaller-scale productions such as Mandela’s Gun, one has to wonder what Samuels and his collaborators hope to show us about this story that we haven’t already seen. “I strongly believe that the definitive story of Nelson Mandela has still not been told,” Samuels says. “I think the problem with the films that have come out so far is that they tried to tell one of the greatest stories of one of the greatest men ever to live, in such a short period of time. So what you got was bits and pieces of his life. We have six hours. We can really, really get to understand the man. That’s the biggest difference. We have the time to dive into the story, to understand not only him and the people that surrounded him, but also the apartheid regime. If audiences don’t understand what Madiba was up against, it’s difficult to make a judgement on the situation, so we’ve really made time to explore that side as well as the point of view of the struggle. That will make this the definitive version of the story.” The series will again feature a multinational cast and crew. Samuels is committed to ensuring that this production, unlike most others that have tackled the same subject matter, will feature a far greater percentage of South African performers – especially in the headlining roles. “The big question is who is going to play Mandela? We can go the obvious route and do what everyone else has done and go to America and find a lead actor there. But it’s important for me that we first search South Africa thoroughly for that actor. I desperately want to hire a South African performer to play the lead and then surround him with recognised international actors in supporting roles so we can sell it internationally. We are not going to look anywhere else until we’ve tried all avenues in South Africa.” Production of the Madiba miniseries will start in Johannesburg in January 2016. A South African broadcast date for Book of Negroes has yet to be announced. – Warren Holden July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 47
Television
|
POST-PRODUCTION | SOUTH AFRICA
Wallander comes to Cape Town
FULLY LOCAL POST: On the set of Wallander: ‘The White Lioness’
The latest season of the popular BBC crime series Wallander, starring Sir Kenneth Branagh, was shot in and around Cape Town earlier this year, but the big news is that all the post-production and deliverables were also completed in the mother city.
‘T
he White Lioness’ is the first episode of the new season. The other two were filmed in Sweden in October last year. Branagh returns in his award-winning role as the brooding and introspective Inspector Kurt Wallander. ‘The White Lioness’ is set in South Africa in the 1990s and tells the story of a local politician under the threat of assassination. Local actors include
48 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
Lemogang Tsipa, Bonnie Mbuli, John Kani and Deon Lotz. The international production company is Left Bank Pictures and the South African production company is Out of Africa. “All the post-production was previously completed in the United Kingdom,” says producer Sanne Wohlenberg. “In the initial planning no post was scheduled for South Africa. It would have been helpful to be able to do it here, but the normal issues arise – safer using tried and trusted facilities, not having to have people stay when they want to return home and the inherent costs.” So why the change? Wohlenberg explains: “This was different because distance is a factor, so it would have been attractive to at least fine cut in South Africa while we were here. Out of that came the thought: “why not do full post here?” There were also financial considerations – and the dti rebate became a factor; one can achieve the maximum benefit if the post is also done in the country. So it became a mutually beneficial financial exercise and once the calculations were completed it confirmed that doing the post here had to be considered.” Wohlenberg says that, while many production companies do their offline edits in South Africa while shooting, she knew no-one among her immediate contacts that had also graded, conformed and completed deliveries from here.
“I picked Waterfront Film Studios. There were not many post production companies that could do everything I wanted. Some were limited in their resources, and I needed the full gamut – sound and picture. If I could not have found a facility that could provide the kind of quality I needed I would not have come. My track laying and general post is very complex. “I chose Barry Strick as the local post production supervisor. I knew of him by reputation, and his name came up. Without him I would not have gone this route. He is knowledgeable, hard working and he also helped Waterfront Film Studios in the coordination and guidance. I hired him directly as I wanted a post supervisor who was independent and not aligned to any specific facility. He looked after everything extremely well, and with the amount of deliverables we had this was essential.” The editorial staff all came from overseas. It is interesting to note that, although Wohlenberg was completely satisfied with the edit and grading jobs she got, she found the sound mixing process more problematic. “Most of the sound was done in South Africa,” she says, “but my sound editor came from overseas, and that was almost essential. I don’t think the sound side of post is well serviced in South Africa. I think there is scope for some training.” “I am happy with the way the sound turned out, but without the help and
support of my sound editor, who knows how big the sound edit is, there could have been a problem. This was not the case with the picture and grading; I think that your grader Craig Simonetti is world class. We used the Baselight and I had an amazing experience.” Wohlenberg stayed on for the finishing as did the director Benjamin Caron. The DOP Lukas Strebel came back for the grade. “I have been here for six months and I love Cape Town but it’s time to go home,” says a weary Wohlenberg. “It has been a long haul and I am glad it’s over. However, it was a success story, and I will recommend it to anyone.” Local post supervisor Barry Strick comments: “The international highquality post work is coming in, so we need to match the skills set. We have enough people but they need good direction, so for the next post job I would bring in one sound supervisor because we do so little post generally and we don’t get exposure to this kind of work. Barry Donnelly did a superb final mix, but the UK sound editor on this production had been on the previous Wallander series, and so brought familiarity, skills and experience to the project.” “I think it was brave of Wohlenberg to consider doing this type of show here. Everyone pulled together – particularly Steve Harris of Waterfront Film Studios who really came to the party with people and equipment,” Strick concludes. – Andy Stead
at Se M eJ ed V ia C’s te p ch ro Af fes ric si a, on 15 al -1 ca 7 m Ju er ly as 20 15 See JVC’s professional cameras at Mediatech
TRAVELLING LIGHT? PACK YOUR ESSENTIALS
Microphone not included
Introducing new 4KCAM cameras from JVC, including the compact GY-HM170, offering 4K/HD/SD recording and professional features. Part of JVC’s new range of 4KCAM camcorders, the new JVC GY-HM170 handheld camcorder delivers professional features in a lightweight package. Based around a 1 / 2.3" 12.4 Megapixel CMOS sensor with a 12x optical / 24x dynamic zoom lens, it records 4K Ultra HD and full HD files (H.264 4:2:2) at up to 50Mbps to readily-available memory cards, with the fast shoot-to-edit workflow JVC customers have come to expect. The GY-HM200 camcorder adds balanced audio inputs via a detachable handle, along with all the IP features from the top-of-the-range JVC camcorders too, including excellent network connectivity, FTP file transfer and live streaming capabilities. As a special offer until the end of July, JVC is offering a GY-HM170 bundle, featuring this cancorder together with the KA-HU1 balanced audio handle. The handle (standard on the GY-HM200) has two XLR audio inputs with indepedent gain controls for use with an external microphone, each Mic / Line / Mic +48V switchable, which can be assigned to either channel 1 or 2. Stock should be available at the Mediatech Africa show.
+
GY-HM170E
KA-HU1
$2249 suggested price
Excludes local sales tax and delivery
To find our more about our new 4K camcorders, please visit our resellers’ stands at Mediatech Africa, or contact them directly: • Concilium Technologies (Mediatech stand E9, T: +27 12 678 9200, www.concilium.co.za) • KPG Media Technologies (Mediatech stand J5, T: +27 11 326 3478, www.kpg.co.za) Alternatively, visit mea.jvcpro.eu/4kcam or email exportsales@jvcpro.co.uk.
DISCOP
| Special Report | Cote d’Ivoire
DISCOP Africa Abidjan
MOVING UP NORTH: The venue for DISCOP Africa in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
Between 2 and 4June, DISCOP Africa, the continent’s foremost television content market, was held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, having already been organised for several years in Johannesburg. The emphasis of the event was on forging production and distribution partnerships between Anglophone and Francophone Africa – starting with a strengthening of ties between South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire.
50 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
I
t is strangely surreal for a South African to go to an event in a foreign country to find a list of long-established local productions being offered for possible distribution to a different culture. Nor were these just any productions – they were staples of South African television: Isidingo, Top Billing, Muvhango, Generations. There they were, being offered by the SABC for syndication and – why not – even licensing and remakes. A French-dubbed version of Muvhango seems absurd but no less so than the idea of Mexican or Turkish telenovelas dubbed into Swahili or Hausa – and look at how the market for those has exploded. As the country of honour at the inaugural Abidjan edition of DISCOP Africa, South Africa was given a platform
to present its product, its expertise and its partnership to Africa at large – and to Francophone Africa in particular. For its part, Cote d’Ivoire not only held its own with respect to content on offer, but showed itself to be extremely receptive to producers, distributors and creators from its neighbor to the far south. The resulting market and conference made two things undeniably clear: the continent’s film and television industries are more than ready to do business among themselves and, in particular, French-speaking Africa is coming into its own, preparing to play a larger role and showing a willingness to trade and interact with other regions on the continent. In summing up the three-day event, July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 50
WE ARE LIVE TV See us on Stand B9
From SD to 4K, TV to Online, we have the perfect live production solution for you. KAHUNA Kahuna is the most versatile switcher range on the market – including more 4K capability than any other system. The new Maverik control surface is easily reconfigured to meet the needs of every production.
MV-FLEX A flexible, cost effective solution for multi-image displays - offers two frame sizes and up to 72 inputs/12 outputs.
SIRIUS Sirius’ unique integrated Advanced Hybrid Processing makes this the most compact and flexible routing infrastructure there is; all the functionality and all the formats – SD to 4K – all in one box.
It all works together as a fully integrated solution that delivers great workflows to get quality content to air, web, tablet and mobile, fast and efficiently.
snellgroup.com/livetv Zimele Broadcasting Services Tel: (011) 770-9760 email: sales01@zimele.com Building 1B Unit 8, Northgate Office Park, Aureole Ave, North Riding 2194
297x210_TVB_LiveTV.indd 1
29/06/2015 12:16
DISCOP
| Special Report | Cote d’Ivoire
AFRICA AT LARGE: Takis Candilis, president of Lagardere Entertainment, Amadhou Bakayoko, director-general of Ivorian public broadcaster RTI and South African independent producer Lebone Maema, sign a pioneering co-production agreement
Patrick Zuchowicki, CEO of DISCOP organiser, Basic Lead, said: “The success of this past edition mirrors the increasing role of Francophone Africa for panAfrican content coproduction and sales business, and the fast rising importance of relationships between Anglophone and Francophone Africa. Abidjan is shaping up to become Francophone Africa’s production and distribution hub and has been an extremely hospitable and dynamic location for our event. We’re looking forward to returning in 2016 for another hugely successful market.”
‘Hospitable and dynamic’ Indeed, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire’s former capital and still its commercial and administrative centre, is extremely welcoming to foreign visitors. It helps to know a little French, and it is advisable to quickly get a good idea of distances around the city and the value of a cab ride before negotiating fares with the drivers of the orange taxis found all over the city. But once you’re in those cabs and, provided you have enough French for a basic conversation, drivers become unofficial tour guides, pointing out landmarks, guiding you through the city’s myriad informal markets if you require, 52 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
and even offering insight into the history and politics of their nation. Those cab rides are a pretty accurate introduction to the experience of communicating and doing business in the city and the welcome in the country extends beyond mere tourism. The Ivorian government has some very progressive policies in place that open up channels for foreign investment and for the establishment of businesses in the country by foreign entrepreneurs. One of the exhibitors on the DISCOP Africa floor was CEPICI (www.cepici.gouv.ci) – the centre for the promotion of investment in Cote d’Ivoire. The state-run organisation operates a relatively barrier-free process for the setting up of companies in the country. In business, as in the creation of cultural product, Cote d’Ivoire seems to work according to dynamic and liberal policies, which, though they may spark some debate around issues of beneficiation, certainly do throw the doors wide open for co-production possibilities.
Co-production, content and the digital age While the South African, Nigerian and Kenyan governments have long been in
discussions around securing and promoting intra-continental coproduction, producers have been relatively slow to put agreements made at government level into practice. Events that took place around DISCOP in Abidjan offered a refreshing change of course in this regard. South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire have no official coproduction treaty in place. Yet, on the second day of the market, a coproduction agreement was signed between the Ivorian public broadcaster, RTI (Radiodiffusion- Télévision Ivoirienne) and independent South African producer Lebone Maema. The agreement will result in the production of the TV show, L’Ambre, which is the result of a competition that RTI ran to find new scriptwriting talent in Cote d’Ivoire. L’Ambre was the winning script, written by young Ivorian, Binta Dembélé. Among the main themes discussed during the conference sessions that took place alongside the market were questions around the multifaceted content demands of Africa’s audiences. The opening session, titled ‘Other ways to entertain Africa’, given by Ivorian representatives of the French-founded TV channel BBlack TV, attempted to address the question of how to entertain an
African audience that is both proudly grounded in its own identity and, at the same time, influenced by western cultural product. Another pressing issue was the matter of Africa’s impending digital revolution – not only in terms of terrestrial television but in all other forms of distribution that are now becoming commonplace in the digital age and competing for audiences. Côte Ouest CEO Bernard Azria led a panel discussion examining how new technologies, changing advertising models and the rapid expansion of distribution channels will affect the work of content creators and owners. Basic Lead reported a record number of delegates at this latest edition of its African content market, which seems to indicate that its move into Francophone Africa was a timely one. The organisers will surely be planning to build on this for the Johannesburg edition, set to take place in November. What will be interesting to see is where this enthusiasm for intra-African and Anglophone-Francophone dialogue and cooperation will go now that this all-important first move has been made. – Warren Holden
5th StarTimes African Digital TV Development Seminar | SPECIAL REPORT
The road to a
digitised Africa
Just ahead of the international switch-on date for digital migration, Screen Africa’s Carly Barnes was lucky enough to be invited to a conference in Beijing, hosted by Chinese multinational pay-TV operator and broadcast technology developer StarTimes, on how Africa going digital could contribute to social development on the continent.
I
was especially excited to hear from a number of key players from an array of countries, as to what their status was in the journey towards digital migration, and how they felt the transition could benefit their people. Even though I am immersed in the world of content on a daily basis, I am in no position to say I know everything there is to know about digital migration – this is an intricate process with more facets and complexities than you can imagine. It is therefore not surprising that each of Africa’s 54 countries seem to be sitting at
54 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
a different stage in the process, with some unique challenges to overcome. Even some of the handful of countries which had successfully met the deadline – Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Mauritius and most recently, Kenya and Namibia (though the last two are not yet registered on the International Telecommunication Union or African Telecommunications Union lists) – claimed to still be dealing with trials relating to migration. Maybe I am just sentimental or maybe it was my African pride pulling at my
heartstrings – but being in the same room with such a diverse group of representatives all so genuinely wanting to bring the ample social and economic opportunities associated with digitisation to their populations, was incredible. The will is there, no doubt. But what was also very clear is that the means are not. Digital migration costs money and a lot of it – we know this. But I couldn’t help but wonder about the internationally imposed switch-off date, and how countries in Africa, which have a number of developmental hurdles to overcome,
were being supported (or not) by international parties in this changeover. When people hear the words ‘foreign private investment’ in the same sentence as Africa – in digital migration as in other contexts – the air gets a little thicker with the awkward mumblings of mixed opinion. On the one hand many people are of the opinion that this is the opportunity Africans have been waiting for – to pave their own (‘own’ being the key word here) path to a thriving and successful broadcast and production sector. For those on this side of the
SPECIAL REPORT
| 5th StarTimes African Digital TV Development Seminar
DIGITAL LEAP: StarTimes Group and Discovery Networks signed a historic deal during the seminar. Back: StarTimes deputy general manager media Shirley Tian, StarTimes group VP Michael Dearham Front: Discovery Networks CEEMEA SVP & country manager emerging business, James Gibbons, StarTimes chairman XinXing Pang
argument, this opportunity is best taken for Africa, by Africans so that we can forge our own path without having to rely on foreign aid. But the question must be asked: if African countries simply don’t have the capacity, capital, technical experience, knowledge or infrastructure to make the transition happen, and an international party is able to offer them sufficient solutions in this regard – would it be the worst step to take? If it meant an outpouring of opportunity and a long-awaited leap forward in a race that many African countries are already losing? I know it’s not that simple, but I did find myself torn between the two ideas after hearing from a number of delegates on just how much support they required – wherever it eventually comes from. Three major challenge areas emerged from discussions at the conference. The big one was funding. StarTimes chairman
Pang Xinxing gave a cost estimation to the tune of US$102 million for digital migration, which is in line with estimates from other sources. Some delegates claimed that public funds are not enough to meet these financial requirements and that more government collaboration with the private sector was needed. Another issue which seemed to pop up constantly – even from those already enjoying digital dividends – was the challenge of delivering good quality local content. A number of suggestions arose including repurposing archived content using a new metadata system and forming content exchange agreements with neighbouring countries. I’m still not sure I have a clear answer as to why there is not enough local content production to fill the extra spectrum which will become available once the migration to digital has been completed. I would think local content creators and producers, now
enabled by the advancement of mobile phone technologies and affordable digital cameras, would be grabbing the bull by the horns. Once again, it seems to boil down to a lack of resources. Perhaps it has to do with the expectations Africans have of their governments. A lack of government funding can’t be allowed to hinder content creation. The creation of content on a mass scale would surely mean producers taking a more entrepreneurial approach in seizing these opportunities. We need only look to Nigeria as an example of how this can be done. With any great change in society – and this is a great change – education is always going to play a key role. Even I am surprised to know many of my friends and family haven’t the faintest idea what digital migration is, never mind a set-top box, which they may have to purchase in the next few years.
Something that Francis Wangusi, the director-general of the communications authority of Kenya, said in his address at the conference, really struck me. He said that education was needed beyond a consumer level – it needed to extend to stakeholders, broadcasters and even the judicial system, where mainstream media feuds were playing out in his country. It reiterated a phrase which has always driven me – you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge. Perhaps this is the foundation on which we need to build our digital empire, because without a clear understanding of the obstacles ahead and the terrain of the path they lie on, the ability to make any headway on this journey could be hindered. Don’t miss our detailed report on the 5th StarTimes African Digital TV Development Seminar in the August edition. – Carly Barnes July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 55
| PREVIEW | ADVERTORIAL
Rohde & Schwarz South Africa settles in Rohde & Schwarz was established as a wireless electronics company in Munich, Germany in 1933, by Dr Rohde and Dr Schwarz.
I
t has grown into a fully international company with over 9300 employees world-wide. The Rohde & Schwarz SA Liaison Office was opened in South-Africa in 2006 by Mr Piet Beukes. The official inauguration of Rohde and Schwarz South Africa (Pty.) Ltd followed in November 2014, headed up by General Manager Mr Hans-Mathias Boos. Rohde and Schwarz South Africa (Pty) Ltd is an independent sales, service and solutions provider for customers in the fields of Radio and TV broadcasting and media, test and measurement, IT Security, radiolocation and mission-critical radio communications. In addition it offers technical support, services and equipment repair. The company is known for its TV and radio broadcast transmitters, currently being used around the world. R&S now also manufactures a Digital head-end and remote Network Management System to complement its range of broadcast transmitters. R&S Test & Measurement equipment also ranks amongst the best on offer. R&S is very active in the Secure Communications (Air Traffic Control and Military), Radio Monitoring and Radiolocation fields. In its continuous efforts to offer top-of-the-line equipment and services to their customers, Rohde & Schwarz has entered the studio and production domain with the acquisition of the DVS Group of Companies in 2011, boasting familiar names in this market such as
56 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
Venice, Clipster and Spycerbox, satisfying critical requirements in mainly post production. Most of the company’s staff have technical backgrounds with decades of experience in the broadcast field. So it does not come as a surprise that we are also involved in providing turnkey solutions specifically offering our services in the digital migration race. Rohde & Schwarz has successfully completed DVB-T2 sites and projects in
several countries with more to come. Despite several transmitter manufacturers having serious financial challenges, Rohde & Schwarz remains financially independent. Our contact details are as follows: Rohde and Schwarz South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Building no 1, Clearwater Office Park, Strubens Valley, Roodepoort. Tel: 011 671 8800 Visit Rohde & Schwarz at Stand H1b.
Authorised Dealer and Service Centre for:
Telephone: 0114637584 082 378 4084 Neil White Sales Consultant Cell: +27 (0)82 8000 217 Email: neil@sbss.tv
James Macpherson Sales Consultant Cell: +27 (0)82 569 4136 Email: james@sbss.tv
Dexter Forbes Engineer / Workshop Cell: +27 (0)72 743 9262 Email: Dexter@sbss.tv
Najma Hoosain Sales Consultant Cell: +27 (0)84 626 8965 Email: najma@sbss.tv
Sony PVW-FS7, A7S and PXW-X70 Camera’s and Full or Basic Kits Choice of Sony, Canon, Nikon and Zeiss Lenses Shoulder Rigs, Matte Boxes, Filters
Tel: +27 (0)21 425 6337
Fax +27 (0)21 421 1178
1 Port Road | V&A Waterfront | Cape Town | South Africa
BEE Level 1
and Sound Equipment Package deals, plus Digital Tailoring
| PREVIEW | ADVERTORIAL
Hitachi SK-UHD4000 HDTV Studio, Field Production Camera • Employs B4 [BTA S-1005A] 2/3-inch lenses – the industry standard. • B4 lenses have a standardised image size, flange-back distance and electrical interface with the camera. • Compatible with existing and future HDTV broadcast, bayonet mount lenses from all manufacturers. • Allows 4K productions using 2K B4 mount optics without any sort of attenuating adapter like the ones in single sensor 4K cameras. Adapters additionally void any electronic chromatic aberration correction system offered by the camera. • Functions as a normal 2K (1920x1080/60p) 3G camera while recording 4K in real time. • Employs HITACHI RLAC [Real-time Lens Aberration Correction] system that eliminates most lenses’ lateral chromatic aberrations. • Designed around the latest generation of CMOS sensors.
• A high signal to noise ratio of 62dB is assured. A high sensitivity of F8.0 is achieved in full 4K [3840 × 2160/59.94/P] progressively scanned raster image. • High resolution with effective 4K pixels: 8.8 million • Super-sampled 1920x1080 (2K) HD-SDI outputs. (down-converted from 4K) offers superb image quality. • Retains a faithful 4:2:2 color space at 10-bits/sample. • Camera head power consumption: <38W. • Employs existing SMPTE-304/311 Hybrid fiber cable and connectivity. • Available 2x 2K progressive outputs directly from the camera head. • AC Power + Digital and analog teleprompter outputs at the camera head. Find out more about Hitachi products at the Telemedia stand (D7)
Broadcast Equipment Rental
20 years & growing strong! Upgrading equipment weekly Visit site for details
What’s your case?
The Case Connection Manufactures a range of custom made products: • Aluminium Flight Cases • Cordura Nylon Padded Bags and Covers • Wooden Flight Cases • Honeycomb Polypropylene Cases • Polyethylene Tubes • Design and Fitting of bespoke foam interiors in any case No request is too large or too small. The Case Connection will manufacture any case to suit your requirements. Tel: (011) 794 9588 Fax: (011) 794 9597 e-mail: info@caseconnection.co.za Web: www.caseconnection.co.za 1464 Vragboot Street, Laser Park, Honeydew
58 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
www.thecameraman.co.za
+27 11 482 8101 camera@icon.co.za Mediatech special: Quote “CAM-MAN TECH” for serious discount, T&C’s apply
ADVERTORIAL | PREVIEW
|
Cine Photo Tools unveils tech for modern filmmakers at Mediatech Cine Photo Tools, the sales division of equipment hire company Photo Hire, is exhibiting a number of new technologies at Mediatech 2015. At their stand (Stand H2), visitors are invited to view and experience some of the industry tech already gaining recognition in overseas markets.
Lighting equipment As the official South African distributers for a number of established lighting brands including Zylight, Chimera, Kino Flo and Broncolor, Cine Photo Tools presents cinematographers with multipurpose solutions to illuminate their shots. Of interest is the new Broncolor FT system – a set of continuous lights which serve photographers and cinematographers alike. A flicker-free light fits into a Broncolor Paras, including the new Para Heat Resistant reflector which supports the most powerful lighting options. The new Para Focusing Tube lamp head design allows the use of HMIs, tungsten heads and strobe heads in parabolic light banks and is quick and easy to set up. Another product on offer is the Kino Flo Celeb 400Q. The Celeb offers energy efficient, portable, colour-accurate lighting, and is one of the largest LED soft lights available in the market. The programmable settings without flicker or colour shift make these lights effortless to operate. Cine Photo Tools owner Pieter Badenhorst adds that there is an exciting new product on the horizon: “The Westcott Flex LED is bendable; waterproof; battery operated, and can be
SMALL, LIGHTWEIGHT, EFFECTIVE: The SmallHD 502
rolled up and stored conveniently. It’s an amazing product which is being developed in a range of sizes.” Wescott won several awards for Best Lighting at NAB 2015.
Cameras and accessories Cine Photo Tools will show a number of products which meet a growing demand for smaller, lighter and more compact filming equipment. “We’re going to have a lot of accessories for cameras available – like shoulder rigs, follow focuses and remote follow focuses,” says Badenhorst. A range of lenses will be available including Schneider’s FF Xenon full-frame Prime lenses which are designed for 4K resolution digital cinematography; and Samyang, which offers users good value for money and are available for stills
and video. Leica and Canon products will also be on display. Also on show will be Canon cameras which offer internal 4K recording for the video and filmmaking professional. Highlights include: The compact EOS- 1D C, a DSLR camera that excels at both stills and video/movie shooting; and the C300 MK II Digital Cinema Camera, which can record 4K in both broadcast and DCI cinematic resolutions. A new product by Glidecam is the DEVIN GRAHAM Signature Series, which combines many features of Glidecam’s popular HD hand-held stabilisers with high-end features formerly only found on their more expensive and elaborate systems. This next-generation stabiliser is designed for all Cine, HD-DSLR and Video cameras and the series won Award of Excellence at NAB 2015.
Ground-breaking monitors According to Badenhorst, SmallHD is an industry leading brand with an NAB award-winning new model – the 502. The monitor is the size of a mobile phone but is full HD and has a number of built in features. In addition, Cine Photo Tools will showcase Eizo monitors and looks forward to bringing its customers the highly anticipated ColorEdge CG318-4K and CG248-4K products, which are self-calibrating, with a DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) 4K (4096 x 2160) native resolution. For more information, please visit www.cinephototools.com. Visit Cine Photo Tools at Stand no. H2.
July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 59
| PREVIEW | ADVERTORIAL
The S-Team
SERVICE AND CLIENT SUPPORT-BASED: Sony PMW F55 and PXW-FS7K cameras
Specialised Broadcast Sales and Services (SBSS) was formed 17 years ago. The company is run and managed by a small number of shareholders that have been involved in the ever changing broadcast industry for many years. The business is based around service and client support.
S
BSS represents a number of agencies in the broadcast field and has been involved in supplying and servicing many broadcasters and postproduction companies in and around South Africa. The staff and owners of SBSS are Neil White (owner), Dexter Forbes (owner), Amanda Cavanagh (owner), James Macpherson, Najma Hoosain and Sadia Abrahams. SBSS is proud to be a Sony dealer and service centre and to have supplied more Sony PVM OLED monitors than any other supplier in South Africa. SBSS is also the leader for sales in the high-end camera market, having sold in excess of 15 Sony PMW F55 cameras as well as loads of the popular PXW-FS7K cameras. SBSS’s agencies include: • Content Agent (Root 6 Technologies): Content Agent provides a central hub from which to manage and automate all aspects of file-based workflow from ingest to delivery. Powerful resolution
60 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
independent transcoding ensures that the files you have are easily transformed into the files you need to work on and the subsequent deliverables. It is a product all major broadcast professionals use on a daily basis. http://www.root6technology. com/contentagent/ • FilmLight: Develops unique colour grading systems, image processing applications and workflow tools that are transforming film and video post-production and setting new standards for quality, reliability and performance. http://www.filmlight.ltd.uk/ • EditShare: EditShare is the technology pioneer in networked shared storage and tapeless end-to-end workflow solutions for the post-production, TV and film industries. http://www. editshare.com • Steadicam: Camera Stabilising Systems have been industry leaders in developing stabilised hand-held camera equipment for over three
decades creating endless handheld possibilities. http://tiffen.com/ steadicam/history-of-steadicam/ • TVU Networks: Is a technology and market leader in IP-based live video solutions. TVU’s solutions help transform broadcaster’s SDI-based operations – which include acquisition, transmission, routing, distribution and management – to an IP-based infrastructure. It is an exciting agency that has recently been offered exclusively to SBSS. http://www. tvunetworks.com/ Some of the companies that SBSS have supplied product to in the past months are: • EditShare, which is used for the Big Brother series at both ZSE and Red Pepper. • New Baselight to Blade Works post production as well as large software upgrade to their existing Baselights. • Waterfront Television Studios has also purchased a new Baselight.
• Searle Street Post Productions recently purchased an upgrade to their Content Agent, incorporating Vidcheck into their workflow to automatically check and correct video and audio in file-based digital video. • Sony HD camera chains and ancillary control room equipment to upgrade Expresso television to HD. • Sony OLED monitors have also recently been supplied to Blade Works, Black Ginger, Waterfront Film Studios, Deliverance, Dimension TV, The Worx, Media Film Services and Panavision to name a few. These monitors have virtually become the industry standard in the SA broadcast and post-production market. • Kenilworth Racing recently took delivery of five new Canon HD lenses. SBSS is proud to be registered as a BEE Level 1 company and strive to offer their customers service that is necessary to be a top-end supplier.
| PREVIEW | ADVERTORIAL
Movievision shows a brighter future The Punch Plus by AAdynTech is the most powerful daylight-balancing white light LED fixture on the market. Flicker free up to 12,000 fps, the fixture delivers an output of 4,044 fc @ 10 feet, which is comparable to a 2,500 watt HMI. All while consuming less than 5 amps of power – this truly is an exceptional standard that AAdynTech has now set in the world of LED lighting. There are various quick change lenses available which have been specially designed to adjust the beam angle for narrow, medium or flood while maintaining a flat, even field and the single light source eliminates multiple shadows. The Punch Plus fixture is the professional solution to a variety of lighting applications. This fixture is
LED TECHNOLOGY BREAKTHROUGH: AAdynTech’s Punch Plus lights up the Superdome in New Orleans, LA self-contained with a universal power supply and the no-heat design leaves the fixture cool to the touch, ensuring no threat to crew or talent. Already recognised by many professionals in the film/event/lighting
world as a breakthrough in LED lighting, the Punch Plus reaches beyond all expectation and is the most economically/environmentally friendly fixture available. Movievision is a proud dealer of
AAdynTech in South Africa. Kim Reed Movievision cc Cell: +27 82 558-1710 Office: +27 11885-2042 Fax: +27 11 885-2125 www.movievision.co.za
EVS partners with Inala Broadcast at Mediatech Africa 2015 Live video solution provider EVS, has announced a partnership agreement with African systems integrators Inala Broadcast, a division of Inala Technologies. The partnership will see Inala Broadcast supporting EVS sales and services to the sub-Saharan broadcast market. Its international partnership approach will give the African market access to products and technical expertise. “Our partnerships with leaders in the broadcast technology space, like EVS, are extremely important to Inala Broadcast’s ability to make improvements in 62 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
NEW PARTNERSHIP: DYVI IT-based production switcher workflows for all aspects of programme making in Africa,” said Colin Wainer, executive at Inala Broadcast. “We trust how efficient and reliable EVS’ live production technology is and being able to support its services is a huge benefit to us.” As part of this partnership EVS will have two demonstrations on Inala Technologies’ stand at Mediatech Africa 2015 in Johannesburg featuring the latest in live production solutions. On display will be EVS’ XT3 and XS production servers – now with increased
SuperMotion camera configurations. The “LSM Cockpit” and EVS’ IPDirector will also be on display at the show. The cockpit will showcase how operators can pilot the best tools for quick highlight creation and the addition of on-the-fly virtual effects and IPDirector will show how it allows ingest control, metadata management, on the fly editing and playout scheduling from a single interface. EVS’ new IT based production switcher, DYVI will be on display to show how scalability and professional-grade
switching makes the unit ideal for the dawning of IP production technologies and remote production infrastructures. Felix Trapiello, area sales manager for Spain, Portugal and Southern Africa at EVS said “Mediatech Africa is a great place to promote our new partnership with Inala Broadcast. EVS solutions are well-known all around the world and to have this additional support for our services in the sub-Saharan area will only help reinforce that idea.” Visit Inala Technologies at Stand no. C21.
| PREVIEW | ADVERTORIAL
Sony Professional Solutions and Jasco continue southern African partnership Jasco Broadcast Solutions recently announced the renewal of its partnership with Sony Professional as their specialist dealer as of 1 May 2015 for a further 12 months.
J
asco Broadcast Solutions has a longstanding relationship with Sony dating back to 1996, first as a part of Spescom and later as the Jasco Group. This history has enabled Jasco to cement its position as a specialist partner of Sony professional products and solutions to organisations such as the SABC, eTV and local houses of worship. In addition, Jasco is a Sony authorised service centre, adding value to customers by providing a one-stop shop for all their professional broadcast needs. “Our relationship with Sony has grown significantly over the years. The majority of this business was for South Africa. However, we also have an established footprint in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region which has contributed to our high sales figures,” says Rupert Dalton, sales executive, Broadcast Solutions at the Jasco Group. Sony’s professional broadcast and A/V products and solutions offer unrivalled quality, reliability and choice for shooting, editing, broadcasting and archiving. Jasco’s main markets for these offerings include major broadcasters, production houses, video equipment rental companies, professional videographers and various houses of worship. Jasco provides a complete, end-to-end solution offering around the Sony products. This includes pre-sales consultancy as well as after-sales service and warranty coverage through the service and repair centre. In addition, Jasco maintains stock levels of faster moving products such as media storage, to ensure fast turnaround time for customers. Other solutions are ordered and configured on demand, according to customer requirements. “Jasco Broadcast Solutions has been a valued Sony partner for almost two decades, and their commitment to our product offering and added value to customers is evident in their growth. Together we look forward to a successful partnership by working together and exceeding our customers’ expectations,” says Paul Martin, business head – Channel 64 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
Marketing and Sales, Sony Professional Solutions MEA. “We will continue to develop and invest in our relationship with Sony, and we are proud to have played a role in supplying this global leading brand to the market,” Dalton concludes.
About the Jasco Group
Jasco delivers end-to-end best-of-breed solutions across the entire ICT value chain. Their services include solution design, business consulting, project management and logistics to manage the supply, installation and commissioning of solutions; and professional services to provide integration and customisation of solutions; and managed services, support and maintenance. Jasco’s operating divisions – namely Intelligent Technologies, Enterprise, Carriers and Electrical Manufacturers – deliver a range of solutions and services. Intelligent Technologies deliver broadcast, power, data centres and Property Technology Management (PTM) solutions as well as energy optimisation and co-location services, a carrier-neutral co-location telecommunications hub where the network infrastructure serves multiple service providers. The carrier business provides solutions and components for access and transmission networks as well as hi-sites. The enterprise business delivers contact centre solutions, unified communications, cloud solutions and security and fire solutions. Electrical Manufacturers division delivers contract manufacturing of white goods. The Jasco Group has a national footprint with offices in Gauteng, Western Cape, Free State, Eastern Cape and Kw-Zulu-Natal. Other than South Africa, the organisation trades within many sub-Saharan African countries, with a special focus on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. For more information visit Jasco at www.jasco.co.za.
CEMENTED HISTORY: Rupert Dalton, sales executive, broadcast solutions at the Jasco Group
Proven, real-time collaboration for post production
ISIS | 1000 Accelerate editorial efficiency with powerful yet affordable shared storage Post production can be extremely challenging. You need the flexibility to move at lightning speed, deliver simultaneous collaboration with all contributors, and produce the high-quality content that audiences demand. Only ISIS® | 1000 shared storage lets you: •
Get proven performance, reliability, and scalability in an affordable, easy-to-use system
•
Integrate with Avid and third-party editing and asset management tools
•
Experience predictable performance under all load conditions
•
Speed up production by enabling up to 24 contributors to access and share assets
•
Prevent media loss with rock-solid data protection technology
®
Find out what 3,000 of the world’s top broadcast and post-production studios already know— explore Avid ISIS | 1000 today.
Be sure to stop by our booth G17 July 15th to 17th at: Mediatech Africa trade show Ticketpro Dome, Northgate, Johannesburg Broadcast.sales@jasco.co.za +27 11 266 1500
© 2015 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Avid, the Avid logo, and ISIS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
| PREVIEW | ADVERTORIAL
Harmonic Electra X Media Advanced Media Processor
The latest model in the Electra line of video encoders and transcoders offers the following features: • More efficient video compression, enabling true codec independence, supporting MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC and HEVC Main 10 transport streams and the most common SD and HD content formats for broadcast, cable, satellite, IPTV and OTT delivery • Preprocessing: advanced noisereduction capabilities include Harmonic’s signature motioncompensated temporal filtering
(MCTF) to enhance the appearance of incoming material. Electra X processors also support powerful deinterlacing to cleanly deliver progressive formats. • High-Quality Graphics and Branding • Statmux Over IP: Electra X2 and X3 processors both maximize the efficiency and flexibility of statistical multiplexing through tight integration with the Harmonic ProStream® product line and DiviTrackIP™ statmux technology. Applicable for either LAN or distributed WAN environments, DiviTrackIP can support up to 300 ms
Tough 600D Nylon and Ripstop Canvas bags Tough inner board with two types of foam (Extra lining on camera bags)
of WAN round-trip delay, auto-adjust to IP network variations, and form MPEG transport streams with up to 64 channels per pool. • SD-to-HD Up-Conversion • Audio Processing: Electra X2 and X3 support embedded audio and can natively encode AC-3, E-AC-3 and AAC/HE-AAC. Integrated Jünger Level Magic™ enables compliance loudness
by automatically eliminating audio level changes both within a channel and when switching from one channel to another. Find out more about Harmonic products at the following stands: African Union Communications (A5), Graphic Image Technologies (C15), Inala Technologies (C21), WTS (G9)
Outpatch enters the film industry Outpatch was established 19 years ago and started out in the leisure industry, creating fishing rod and reel covers from their standard 600D nylon material. Outpatch now boasts surprising versatility, catering to the expectations of various customers and markets. From wild game transporting equipment to protective computer bags for use on mines, specially formulated to withstand falls from great heights, there’s virtually no form of protective storage and carry materials that Outpatch cannot manufacture. Upon a new break into the film industry,
Outpatch has already made their mark with a whole new take on lighting carry bags. With their ingenious design these bags can be bought with your desired logo and then customised by you to store, carry and protect your lighting equipment in a range of sizes. These bags are not only versatile but also made with amazing features such as concealed backpack straps and they are designed to be easy and comfortable to carry without taking away from a sleek and professional appearance.
• Fully branded • Customised sizes • Concealed backpack straps 120 Claim str Boksburg East T: 011 917 2938 F: 086 696 5336 Craig: 082 859 4609 outpatch@absamail.co.za SURPRISING VERSATILITY: Outpatch Kino range of bags
66 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
SMALL HD MIXER: BIG NEWS AT MEDIATECH 2015 SE-700 The Datavideo SE-700 will be an ideal HD upgrade path for many clients using the popular Datavideo SE-500 SD mixer. SE-700 is an affordable, high quality HDvideo mixer /switcher. It is easy to use with a vast array of features, including: 2x HD-SDI and 2x HDMI inputs 2x HD-SDI + 1x HDMI (assignable) outputs, 2x balanced XLR audio inputs • Chromakey • Lumakey, • Downstream keying, • PIP (picture-in-picture), • Frame store, up to 500 images • PC & Tablet control available • Tally to connect to Datavideo ITC Comms and Tally units. • Easy to use On-screen Menu for quick setting of parameters • Full M/E Preview function
COMPLETE AND EASY TO USE VIRTUAL STUDIO TVS-1000
TVS-1200
The Datavideo TVS-1000/ 1200 is a trackless virtual studio that is very easy to use. Other than typical virtual studios, the TVS doesn’t focus on difficult tracking techniques or complicated 3D backgrounds. Up to two HD cameras, some lights and a green backdrop, that’s all you need. An auxiliary expansion for an extra HDMI channel is also available. TVS-1000/1200 is capable of recording (H.264) and streaming your production (Youtube Live, Ustream.tv) The built-in Virtual Set Maker allows users to fully customize their sets: background images can be inserted with ease, logos can be added to any surface and video can be run in the backdrop. The TVS-1200 comes with the RMC-220 remote controller. This controller makes the whole system even easier to use. See www.datavideo.co.za for more info With 30 included background images the TVS-1000/ 1200’s 5 in 1 design consists of: Virtual studio system. Video switcher. Character generator. Video recorder & Web streaming encoder.
HRS-30
CG/TC-200
PTC-120 & RMC-190 TVS-1000DAC-70 7
Truly portable CG software HDMI output from laptop to TC-200 Overlay box for key and fill (Foreground and background)
Portable HD recorder Lookback Monitor Sony V lock / 220V
PTZ camera+ RMC Controller HD-SDI, DVI + Composite out 20x Zoom
Up/ Down / Cross converter
www.datavideo.co.za www.macrovideo.co.za email: info@macrovideo.co.za Tel. 012 346 7601 Macro Video Pty Ltd are the official distributors of Datavideo products in Southern Africa
| PREVIEW | ADVERTORIAL
Datavideo TVS 1000 / 1200 complete Trackless Virtual studio system Datavideo’s TVS complete Trackless Virtual studio system is a versatile, easy to use and cost-effective solution, suitable for production companies, corporate producers, users in education, small studios and TV stations. • The built-in Virtual Set Maker allows users to fully customise their units: • 30 included background images can be inserted with ease, logos can be added to any surface and video can be run in the backdrop. More backgrounds are available for download. The TVS series is a 5 in 1 design which consists of: • Trackless virtual studio system: One or two camera inputs, four virtual angles simulating a multi-camera studio production, each angle supports 3 phases (pan, tilt, zoom movements). High quality Chromakey function delivers perfect keying • Video switcher: Switching function
between live camera input(s) , four virtual cameras, video clips and still pictures from a built-in media library for easy selection 2 x DSK for animation and CG overlay to enrich message delivery • Character generator: CG is built in and CG content can be imported and modified quickly, live. Simple and user-friendly • Video recorder: TVS records to removable hard disks or into the system using highly-efficient H.264 and MPEG 2 recording format • Web streaming encoder: Stream directly, with no need for an external encoder with ‘’Push to stream’’ – one button simplicity. Find out more about Datavideo products and solutions at the Macrovideo stand (A15)
Seachange Nitro
Nitro is a multiscreen subscriber experience designed to deliver intuitive navigation and television across IP-enabled devices. Features: • a custom interface that personalizes the viewer experience and provides consistent presentation and navigation of broadcast, on-demand, OTT and time-shifted television • optimises engagement and content promotions to ensure that the value of all content is fully realised from subscriber viewing across TVs, PCs, mobile devices and OTT streamers. This enables easy monetization across
68 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
various platforms • Next-gen client software that attracts new customers, retains existing subscribers, and monetizes content in any location • Easily stream linear, video-ondemand or OTT content from the cloud via any connected device • Provides fast content search so viewers can spend more time watching • Shared experience with family, friends and online community • Highly scalable solution capable of supporting millions of subscribers Visit Seachange at Stand no. B7
Atomos Shogun update 6.4
The AtomOS6.4 update for the Shogun video monitor and recorder is available for free download from www.atomos. com/support. The new features include: • FS700 & FS7 4K-DCI RAW to ProRes/ DNxHR record • Anamorphic de-squeeze for 2x, 1.5x, 1.33x and the specific Panasonic 8:3 mode support • Pre-roll recording of 8s HD, 2s 4K
• Custom time lapse recording • LUTs able to be applied on output, in recording, on screen and split screen • Expanded meta data tagging • Genlock activated • Playlist generation Find out more about Atomos products at the following stands: Pro Sales (B3), Moviemart Sales (E3), Visual Impact (F4)
ADVERTORIAL | PREVIEW
|
Namibian Broadcasting Corporation extends services contract with Jasco The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) has recently signed a three-year Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Jasco Broadcast Solutions, extending the original SLA of one year. This SLA covers second-line support across a variety of equipment from studios to final control, ensuring that any issues are resolved within agreed-upon time frames and that all equipment continues to function error-free. Maintaining availability of technology within the television centre is critical to the continued operations of the NBC, and as such this SLA is essential to
UPGRADING LEGACY INFRASTRUCTURE: Avid ISIS centralised storage solution the business. Over the past five years, Jasco Broadcast Solutions has been instrumental in upgrading legacy infrastructure and solutions at NBC to improve workflow, increase storage and enable integrated management and control of all media assets. In addition, Jasco Broadcast Solutions has assisted NBC on its journey toward digital terrestrial transmission, implementing a
Multichannel Control Room in 2013 that monitors outgoing and off air television signals to identify and resolve breakdowns in transmission. The SLA extension highlights further growth in this relationship, offering essential services to ensure that NBC can provide world-class content delivery to its audience. “As the national broadcaster of Namibia, the NBC is mandated with providing uninterrupted transmission,
both for customer satisfaction purposes and to meet their own compliance objectives. Ensuring that internal systems experience maximum uptime and availability is therefore a crucial business function. As a long-standing customer of Jasco Broadcast Solutions, with a relationship that has evolved over the years, we were the ideal choice to provide this vital service,” says Paul Divall, Managing Director – Intelligent Technologies at Jasco, incorporating Broadcast Solutions. The SLA covers pre-defined repair and support services on a variety of different system components from the studios to the final control systems. These components include: Sony studio cameras; video production equipment; audio systems; ClearCom intercom systems; transmission control routing switchers; master control switchers; XOR Media playout servers; Avid automation systems; and Axon monitoring and compliance recording equipment. The SLA also covers the Avid newsroom computer systems (NRCS), Avid editing systems for news and production, the Avid ISIS centralised storage solution and the playout servers. In addition, the SLA incorporates regular site visits to proactively monitor and maintain NBC’s computerised editing and newsroom systems.
real IT
real HD
real flexibility
Official Worldwide Olympic Partner
4K Cameras
Av m Pa
nas
Series
ark Systems
d mite i l n U cialists e
onic B ro a d c a s t S p
Series
LCD Display & Monitors
CONTACT US FOR MEDIATECH SPECIALS
Authorised Distributor
www.avmarksystems.co.za Email: sales@avmarksystems.co.za
Switcher & Mixer
Camera Systems
Avmark Systems cc Digital Broadcast & AV Systems Tel: +27 (11) 463-3167/8 Fax: +27 (11) 463-2534 Unit 5 Bryanston Gate, 170 Curzon Rd, Bryanston, South Africa
July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 69
SATELLITE & TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGY
|
C-band satellite links under threat The broadcasting industry has, for many years, relied heavily on the reception of satellite signals, which started when the only telecoms satellites available were operating in the C-band range of frequencies. Huge dishes were required to transmit and receive, which very few service providers had at the time – typically only government telecommunications providers, and a few small private companies.
E
ven with the advances in satellite technology towards smaller antennas, operating in much higher frequency bands (such as the Ku/K band), C-band satellite signals remain absolutely essential to the TV and radio broadcasting industry. This article seeks to bring to the attention of the wider broadcasting community just how essential and important C-band satellite links are for broadcasting. At the upcoming International Telecommunications Union (ITU) World Radio Conference in November 2015 (WRC’15), there is an agenda item on the proposal to re-allocate the C-band reception band of frequencies (3.6 to 4.2GHz) to IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications) – otherwise known as mobile/cellphone links. Specifically for South Africa, the 3.6 to 3.8GHz sub-range
70 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
is being considered. Most European broadcasters no longer rely on C-band transmissions as heavily, due to the high population density and abundance of high speed fixed-line telecommunications services. Every day most broadcasters and service providers receive a variety of television broadcasts, both permanent ‘back haul’ and ad-hoc feeds via C-band satellites. Both contribution links to the broadcasters and distribution links to the terrestrial television transmitter networks use C-band satellites. C-band Satellite News Gathering (SNG) links are used for
high priority sport, news and entertainment contribution links, when the satellite link needs to be immune to rain fade on both the transmit and receive portions of the link. If this band were to be re-allocated to terrestrial mobile cellular services, all C-band reception dishes would suffer detrimental interference, resulting in significant loss of business, a decreased ability to provide unique solutions to customers and millions of Rands worth of infrastructure being rendered useless. This pending change would also affect C-band data (VSAT) links, widely used by air-traffic control systems, defense and diplomatic communications networks and corporate networks in remote locations. Satellite owners such as Intelsat, SES and Eutelsat are closely monitoring the progress governments are making in their decisions, since it will impact dramatically on their ability to provide reliable C-band satellite bandwidth to customers. They will not be able to sell the capacity, which in turn would drive up the cost of the C-band bandwidth not being affected by the change in allocation, which is the remaining portion from 3.8 to 4.2GHz. There are no other feasible alternatives to this method of delivery. There is no other comparable technology and no cost-effective replacements. Multichoice, Sentech, the SABC and many others do
not have budgets for alternative delivery methods. By its very nature, the beauty of satellite broadcast technology is such that 100% coverage is achieved using a single transmitter (located in space). This allows the ability to transmit (or receive) from anywhere within the satellite’s coverage area. A feasibility study has been conducted by Sentech, to ascertain the amount of money required to install fibre optic connections to all of the terrestrial transmitter networks scattered all over South Africa. It was found that the total cost would be greater than R4 billion (+- US$333 million). Telemedia (and many other C-band reception sites) currently experience detrimental terrestrial interference from a number of sites transmitting in the 3.5 to 3.7GHz band. Numerous attempts have been made to filter the undesired signals, but since most are on the exact satellite receive frequency, any filtering has no effect. Our only option would be to physically move away from these sources. This option is however not feasible, since we are now noticing these data links transmitting in all directions. Telemedia’s Rivonia Teleport and Multichoice in Randburg are also affected, and in recent months Sentech in Honeydew and Telkom Hartebeeshoek are starting to experience similar widespread local data links in the 3.6 and 3.7GHz band. ITU and European Broadcasting Union (EBU) have conducted official scientific studies, and all conclude that sharing of this frequency band is not an option. It has been technically shown that very weak satellite signals get wiped out by any terrestrial signals operating in the satellite dish’s location. Multichoice has attempted to shield some of their dishes, but only with limited success. At a governmental level the decision is still to be decided – a country position is then taken to a regional (SADC) level before the African Telecommunications Union put forward an African position. It is hoped that significant pressure from the central and West African member states are able to keep the C-band frequency range for exclusive satellite-toearth communications. Andy Louis works for Telemedia (Pty) Ltd. and is currently the chairperson of the National Association of Broadcasters Technical Commitee.
NEW MEDIA
|
APP-titude
We take a look at the apps which are simplifying workflows in pre-, post- and production.
FilmTouch Publisher: MonkSeal Media Compatible devices: iOS Price: US$ 9.99 H
How it works: This app is essentially a digital callsheet manager for TV ad and music video crew members. Once a callsheet is received via email from a production company, the FilmTouch app gives users the option to send it to the app where it soon appears as a ‘New Job’. The callsheet information is then converted into a shared searchable list containing jobs, companies, colleagues and the relevant contact details. The app only works with text-based PDF files and cannot convert scanned callsheets. It also has a function which allows users to see each project a particular crew member is associated with using information from other users’ callsheets. Why this is awesome: All the information relating to a production day is listed in a callsheet and shared with members of the production team. Having this information available on a device means that it can be accessed on-the-go by any crew member, a convenience which eliminates the need for daily print outs. The app, which according to reviews is very user friendly, provides an easy way to remember all the names of the production crew and provides the user with a comprehensive record of everyone they have worked with. Building and maintaining contacts and relationships in the production industry is a crucial tool for long term success.
Action Movie FX Publisher: Bad Robot Interactive Compatible devices: iOS Price: Free
How it works: This app allows users to add Hollywood style special effects to films shot on an iPhone or iPad. Users need only to select a particular action scene and can then begin filming a target. Featured effects include: spider strike, avalanche, missile attack, car smash, demolition rock and rough terrain. Developed by J. J. Abrams’ production company Bad Robot Productions, the app gives burgeoning filmmakers an opportunity to experiment with effects which would conventionally take months to bring to life on a full scale professional feature film. While some of the effects featured in Action Movie FX are free, others might require an in-app purchase. Why this is awesome: Applying visual effects to a film allows filmmakers to break through a number of creative boundaries in order to tell any story they like. More and more novice filmmakers are using smartphones to experiment in this medium and build on their experience in the field. With access to a number of special effects a mobile filmmaker has the ability and freedom to execute the fantastical without having to sacrifice the time and funds which would be required when applying effects to a feature film.
Using a filmmaking app you think we should know about? Tell us why you think it’s awesome by emailing: carly@screenafrica.com.
72 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
Come and talk to us on Stand H11
Box Office
|
Figures supplied by SAFACT
Action-packed flicks score at the South African box office this June Jurassic World
Pitch Perfect 2
Director Colin Trevorrow’s sci-fi blockbuster has become the fastest film to reach the US$1 billion mark at the global box office, reaching the milestone in just 14 days. Securing the top spot this month Jurassic World stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard as employees of a dinosaur theme park trying to cope with the escape of a gigantic, genetically modified carnivore. The film earned R20 621 247 in just two weeks at the local box office.
Dropping three places from the number one spot last month, Pitch Perfect 2 comes in fourth at the local box office this June. Homegrown audiences have an insatiable appetite for the Barden Bellas with the Universal Studios smash hit bringing in R755 164 locally in its sixth week, a 47% drop on the previous weeks earnings, bringing the frivolous flick’s national income to an impressive R22 975 600.
Inside Out
Wild Card
Coming in at number two at the South African box office is Disney’s Inside Out. Receiving rave reviews both locally and internationally for “expanding the possibilities of animation” as one critic put it, the animated comedy garnered R3 352 879 nationally in its opening weekend. Inside Out is directed by animation heavyweight Pete Docter, with voiceovers by the hilarious Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader.
Spy Melissa McCarthy shines in this brilliantly raucous, action-comedy showcase, proving once again that the hysterical actress and director Paul Feig are a theatrical match made in heaven. Winning praise from audiences and critics alike, Spy – starring McCarthy and co-stars Jude Law, Jason Statham and Rose Byrne – took R1 259 795 in its third week running, bringing total gross national revenue to R8 484 464.
While director Simon West’s crime thriller received mostly negative reviews from critics it won praise for writer William Goldman’s sharp and witty dialogue. The film is based on Goldman’s 1985 novel Heat, and is a remake of the 1986 adaptation that starred Burt Reynolds. Wild Card took R567 488 in its opening weekend at local theatres.
Mad Max: Fury Road Coming in at number six at the South African box office this month, and maintaining a spot in the top ten is director George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road. The film – starring Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy – earned R293 351 nationwide in its sixth week running, bringing total gross national income to R13 290 623.
– Compiled by Chanelle Ellaya
74 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
47 De Villiers Street, Zonnebloem, Cape Town 8001 Contact: 021 462 6933 • info@cinephototools.com
www.cinephototools.com DAYLIGHT LED
BEST NAB LIGHTING 2015
The fully-bendable Westcott Flex™ features a ultra-thin surface lined evenly with LED diodes. The outer edge is lined with a durable wire framework and protective leather finish, allowing the Flex to be molded into various shapes, then remain in place once positioned.
Hand-Held Stabilizer 2 to 12 lb Load Capacity Position-Adjustable 3-Axis Gimbal Quick-Release Sliding Camera Plate Fine-Tuning Knobs on Camera Platform Telescopic Center Post with Guide Marks Adjustable Dynamic Balance Base Platform Foam-Padded Handle Grip 12x Counterweights Carry Bag Included
502 HD
ON CAMERA MONITOR
1080p Full HD Display Weighs less than 1/2kg Best-in-class 3D LUTs Advanced Scoops Cross Conversion
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 3 TALK Urban Brew Talk Show 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
LIGHTING • CAMERAS • LENSES • GRIPS • AUDIO • DISPLAYS
JHB STORE NOW OPEN!
76 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
COOL CATS Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Cecil Berry Children’s Show CORTEX MINING FC Hamman Films Prod Man: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video COME DINE WITH ME SOUTH AFRICA Rapid Blue Prod: Kee-Leen Irvine Reality CUTTING EDGE SABC News Current Affairs Debra Deel Khaki Productions Prod/Dir: Christelle Parrott, Wynand Dreyer Series
AFRO CAFÉ SEASON 7 Bonngoe Productions Prod: Pepsi Pokane Music
DINNER DIVAS 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myers Series
ArtsCulturex Talent 1000 Championships Michics Global Communications Exec Prod: Mishack Motshweni Series
DISHONEST Inhlakanipho Films Dir: Vusi Nhlapo Feature Film
Auditor General Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Brad Montgomery/Natalie Varoy Corporate
BINNELAND Stark Films Prod/Dir: Friedrich / Elsje Stark Series BRAVO! Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Magazine
www.broadcastlighting.co.za
CLASH OF THE CHOIRS Endemol South Africa Prod: Josh Feldman Talent / Reality
DIMENSION DATA Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Natalie Varoy Corporate
JHB STORE NOW OPEN!
CALL US ON (011) 4660277
CLAASENS DESIGNS MARKETING VIDEOS Panache Video Productions Prod/Dir: Liesel Eiselen Marketing videos
AFRICA 360 eNews News Head: Patrick Conroy Current affairs
BIG BROTHER MZANSI Endemol South Africa Prod: Terja Beney, Liza Kleitman Reality
Unit 2, Moon River, 6 River Rd, Barbeque Downs, Kyalami
Carte Blanche shorts TIA productions Prod / Dir: Tarryn Lee Crossman News
DIAMOND BROKER OF CONGO Bendimir Productions PTY LTD Prod: Dede Tshibangu Documentary
LIGHTING • CAMERAS • LENSES • GRIPS • AUDIO • DISPLAYS
CO M E VIE W OU R L AR GE R AN GE OF V IDEO AND P H OTOG R A P HIC E QUIP MEN T FOR SALE & H I RE
CARTE BLANCHE (INSERTS) Modern Times Prod: Sophia Phirippides News
AQUELLE’ MIDMAR MILE 2015 Media Ventures Prod/Dir: Chris Moolman Documentary
BACKBONE PROJECT Global Access Creative Agency Prod: GA Creative Agency Documentary
CO M E VIE W OU R L AR GE R AN GE OF V IDEO AND P H OTOG R A P HIC E QUIP MEN T FOR SALE & H I RE
CAINE’S LEGACY Media Navigation Prod/Dir: Dan Akinlolu Short Film
Ditokelo tsa Medupi LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature DIY MET RIAAN Prod: Riaan Venter-Garforth Magazine 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
BONISANANI Grounded Media Talk Show
EXPRESSO (Season 2) Cardova Prod: Paul van Deventer Series
Bugatti Together Lucky Fish Productions Dir: Raphaël Crombez Commercial
FACE OF GEMINI Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Series
Facility Management Lectures (A4FM) Panache Video Productions Dir/ Prod: Liesel Eiselen Educational Faith Today Impact Christian Media Prod: Carl Schultz TV Series FOX NEWS CHANNEL Betta Beta Communications Prod/Dir: Tommy Doig News Free State Toursim Indaba Our Time Productions Dir: Jaun de Meillon Corporate FRENZY Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Morena Sefatsa Variety GENERATIONS Morula Pictures Prod: Mfundi Vundla Series GOOD MORNING AFRICA Planet Image Productions SA Prod/Dir: Wale Akinlabi Magazine GOSPEL GOLD Engage Entertainment Prod: Sthembile Mhlongu Music Got It Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate GROEN Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Wildlife HEAT WAVE Ruby Rocket Media Dir: Eddie Edwards TV Series HECTIC 99 Okuhle Media Prod: Wilna van Schalkwyk Magazine HITACHI POWER AFRICA MEDUPI AND KUSILE Betta Beta Communications Prod/Dir: Tommy Doig Documentary HOUSE CALL Izwe Multimedia / Urban Brew Prod: Annalie Potgieter Talk Show IGNITE Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Reality IHAWU LE SISWE Provoke Entertainment Dir: Sechaba Morojele TV Series iParent training clips Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate IMIZWILILI Ukhamba Productions Prod: Alfred Mpofu Music INKABA Urban Brew Studios Prod: John Kani Telenovela In search of our own Open Window school of film arts Prod: Adriaan De la Rey Documentary ISIDINGO Endemol South Africa Prod: Pumla Hoppa, Leo Phiri Soap
PRODUCTION JOBURG TAXI Xcut Studios Prod: Dave Kaminer Documentary
MCA Training Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate
PROJECT MV Zen Crew Prod: Laura Tarling Music
JOU SHOW Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Talkshow comedy
M-NET SHORT FILMS Current Affairs Films Prod/ Dir: Jane Thandi Lipman Film
Rands with Sense 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myersin Education
KOKKEDOOR 2 Homebrew films Prod: Jaco Loubser and Paul Venter Cooking reality series
MURDER OF A FORMER FIRST LADY Sabido Productions Dir/Prod: Catherine Rice Documentary
RHYTHM CITY Quizzical Pictures Prod: Yula Quinn Soapie
KOLLIG Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Magazine KONA The Directors Team (Pty) Ltd Prod/Dir: Laurence Lurie / Cathy Sykes Series KOOLCON CORPORATE VIDEO FiX Post Production/ Marketing AV Marketing 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
MUVHANGO Word of Mouth Prod: Pieter Grobbelaar Feature MY GENERATION Current Affairs Films Dir: Jane Lipman TV Series
LIVE LOTTO SHOW Urban Brew Game Show 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
RHYTHM CITY INTERACTIVE Quizzical Pictures / e.tv Prod: Viva Liles-Wilkin Interactive Platform Media RIVONINGO Asi-B Films Prod: Asivhanzi ‘Asi’ Mathaba Children’s Show
My name is Funeka Sabido Productions Dir/Prod: Catherine Rice Documentary
ROLLING WITH KELLY KHUMALO Red Pepper Prod: Cecil Barry Reality
MZANSI INSIDER Bonngoe Productions Prod: Pepsi Pokane Magazine
ROOTS Ukhamba Communications Prod: Alfred Mpofu Music
NEILL ANTHONY – THE PRIVATE CHEF Okuhle Media Prod: Grant Flynn Cooking Show
SAINT AND FREEDOM FIGHTER Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Documentary
NET1 – SASSA Betta Beta Communications Prod: Tommy Doig Corporate
SA Top Model for a Day Michics Global Communications Exec Prod: Mishack Motshweni TV Series
NEWS NIGHT eNews Prod: Nikiwe Bikitsha Current Affairs
SAKEGESPREK MET THEO VORSTER SEASON 5 Dirk Mostert Camera Production Prod/ Dir: Dirk Mostert Series
Oscar Pistorius Documentary Inserts TIA Productions Dir/ Prod: Tarryn Crossman
SAUBA IMAGOFILM Prod: Tam de Vries Reality TV Series
Documentary
Shreds and Dreams Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant TV Series
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
U PDAT ES
Cnr. Frost avenue & owl street | Milpark | Jo’burg t +27 [11] 482 7111
www.atlasstudios.co.za
Est. 1989
SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM Rapid Blue Prod: Kee-Leen Irvine Global TV Commercial SA’S GOT TALENT Rapid Blue Prod/Dir: Kee-Leen Irvine Talent show SCANDAL Ochre Moving Pictures Prod: Romano Gorlei Soapie SCHOEMAN BOERDERY – MOOSRIVIER Khaki Productions Prod/Dir: Christelle Parrott / Wynand Dreyer Documentary
DJ’s agency: has been supplying performers for television commercials, corporate videos, dramas and movies for over 25 yrs – if you want quality not quantity give us a buzz – have a look at our Facebook page DJ’s Model Agency to see daily updates – we have offices in Rosebank and Fourways and get new talent weekly – if you have an audition or would like to see z cards or Curriculum Vitaes give us a buzz –
011 704 1572 Contact dom@djssa.com or m@djssa.com Tel. 011 704 1572 – 011 704 4293
Custom Music, Licensing & Sound Design for Film • TV • Documentary • Online • Gaming
STUDIOS
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF AWARD WINNING MUSIC & SOUND DESIGN
SOUTH AFRICA’S PREMIER DOLBY DIGITAL CERTIFIED AUDIO POST PRODUCTION & SOUND DESIGN STUDIO
www.cutandpastemusic.com
www.kwazimojo.com
+27 (0) 11 361 3020
July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 77
PR ODU CT IO N
UPDATES SELIMATHUNZI Sikhoyana Productions Prod: Baby Joe Correira Variety SHIZ NIZ Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Allen Makhubele Variety
Unit C5 RobeRtville Mini FaCtoRies 255 nadine stReet RobeRtville RoodepooRt 1709
THE REAL GOBOZA 7 Urban Brew Entertainment The Revolution Betrayed Shadow Films Prod/Dir: David Forbes Documentary
SHIFT Urban Brew Talk show
THE RUDIMENTALS Periphery Films Prod: Simon Taylor Feature
SISTERHOOD Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Andy Leze Variety
THE TECH REPORT Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Technology Magazine
SIYAKHOLWA – WE BELIEVE X CON Films Dir: Munier Parker Edutainment
TOP BILLING Tswelopele Productions Prod: Patience Stevens Magazine
Slender Wonder Doctors Conference Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Prod: Slender Wonder Corporate Video
TOP TRAVEL (Season 3) Cardova Prod: Bradley van den Berg Series
Slender Wonder Patient Testimonial Videos Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Corporate Videos SOCCER ZONE SABC Sports Head: Sizwe Nzimande Magazine
Transnet Financial Results Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Brad Montgomery Corporate Troopship Tragedy (working title) Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Marion Edmunds Documentary
SODA AND Mayoral Awards Global Access Creative Agency Guy Sclanders Corporate
TSHIPE BORWA MANGANESE MINE Betta Beta Communications Prod / Dir: Tommy Doig Documentary
SPRINGBOK STORIES Angel Music Studio Productions Dir: Chrissie Rossouw TV Series
Vaseline Experience Xcut Studios Dir: Lee Anne Theron 4D AV production
STUDY MATE Educational Improvement and Study Help (EISH) Exec Prod: Lisa Blakeway Educational
VELDKINDERS Kilroy Was Here! Productions Prod: Gideon Breytenbach Documentary Series
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
VILLA ROSA Spectro Productions Dir: Luhann Jansen / Andries van der Merwe/ Leroux Botha/ Isabel Smit Series Volkspele South Africa Grey Cloud Productions Dir:Jacques Brand Prod: Bertie Brink Documentary WARD 22 TIA Productions Prod/Dir: Tarryn Crossman Documentary WEEKEND AM LIVE SABC News Current Affairs
WIZARD OF ZIM Away From Keyboard Dir: Samora Sekhukhune Documentary YILENGELO LAKHO Prod: Nndanganeni Mudau Current Affairs ZOOM IN Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Talk show
IN POST-PRODUCTION A BUSHMAN ODYSSEY Onetime Films Prod: Richard Wicksteed Documentary A DIFFERENT COUNTRY Sabido Productions Dir: Lisa Henry Documentary series A Love Letter to Luxor Shadow Films Prod/Dir: David Forbes Short Film A MOTHER’S MADNESS Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Ayesha Ismail Documentary AFROX CO2 PLANT FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video AFROX FINANCIAL RESULTS FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video AFROX RAU INSIGHT FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video AFROX SHEQ INDUCTION FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Commercial BEAUTY CONTEST Phoenix TV Productions Prod/Dir: Koketso Sefanyetso Short Film CAESAREAN COMPLICATIONS SummerTime Productions Exec Prod: Professor Eckhart Buchmann Documentary Challenge SOS 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myers Reality Collide Media Village Productions Prod: Ardeen Munnik TV Series CROSSBOW KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Barbara Friedman Documentary DEBRA DEEL Khaki Productions Prod: Christelle Parrott TV Series
general post editors, animators compositors, digitisers researchers, storyboard supplying the finest artists & illustrators freelance post-production writers, directors & creative crew to the post production film and television industry supervisors, workflow consultants, broadcast designers’ producers location producers cameramen office: 0860 111 553 technical directors after hrs: 076 225 9173 content directors & bookings@generalpost.co.za production managers
www.generalpost.co.za 78 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
DIE WASGOEDLYN Kilroy Was Here! Productions Prod: Gideon Breytenbach 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 HAD BETTER DAYS Uniquely Novel Productions Prod/Dir: Deon VD Merwe Feature Film THE HOCKEY STICK KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Melanie Rice Documentary
PRODUCTION HOPE NHU Africa Prod: Vyv Simson / Donfrey Meyer Documentary
SAMURAI KILLER Sabido Productions Dir: Catherine Rice Corporate
HOUSE OF ENCOURAGEMENT Panache Video Productions Dir/Prod: Liesel Eiselen Corporate
SHALLOW GRAVE Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Meggan Raubenheimer Documentary
I AM…CRAIG Away From Keyboard Dir: Samora Sekhukhune Documentary
SLENDER WONDER FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video
IQILI Impucuzeko Prod: Sharon Kakora Feature
SLENDER WONDER MJ LABS FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video
Joyous 18 RM Recording Prod: Lindelani Mkhize Other
SWARTWATER Quizzical Pictures Prod: Bianca Isaac Dir: John Trengove/ Jozua Malherbe/ Denny Y Miller Series
JULIUS HAS A DREAM Creative South Africa, Nkanyethi Productions,Jam TV Prod: Bathelemy Ngwessam 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 THE MIME ARTIST Phoenix TV Productions Prod: Koketso Sefanyetso Short Film MURDER ON MILLIONAIRE’S MILE Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Barbara Friedman Documentary MY SIGHT FOR SORE EYES Enigma Ace Films Prod/Dir: Ryan Kruger Feature Film NIGHT OF THE MASSACRE Tshepo Lesedi Projects, Mathope & Izibuko Films Dir: Charles Khuele Documentary NEW LAND Plexus Films/ Four Corners Media Dir: Kyle O’ Donoghue TV Series
SUPERDAD Two Oceans Productions Prod: Giselher Venzke & Bertha Spieker TV Feature SURVIVOR Endemol South Africa Prod: Anton Burggraaf, Josh Feldman Reality TELKOM: BUSINESS INSIGHTS WEBSERIES UZI Films Prod/Dir: Steven Hall Corporate The calling LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature
THE TRANSPORTERS Sukuma Media/ Reality Motion Pictures Dir: Bonginhlanhla Ncube Documentary
U PDAT ES
UPCOMING EVENTS
|
JULY
TROOPSHIP TRAGEDY Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Marion Edmunds Documentary
15 – 17 MEDIATECH AFRICA
Durban www.durbanfilmfest.co.za
Traffic Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant TV Series
18 – 26
ZANZIBAR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
UNDER THE MOUNTAIN Plexus Films Prod: Miki Redelinghuys,/ Lauren Groenewald Short film
UNSOLVED – THE STORY OF THE CAPE RIPPER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Johann Abrahams Documentary
Johannesburg www.mediatech.co.za
16 – 20 DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Tanzania www.ziff.or.tz
30 – 16 AUG MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Australia www.miff.com.au
AUGUST 5 – 15 LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL
Switzerland www.pardolive.ch
10 – 11
BROADCAST, FILM & MUSIC AFRICA 2015
Kenya www.aitecafrica.com
27 – 7 SEP WORLD FILM FESTIVAL MONTREAL
Montreal www.ffm-montreal.org
VKB LANDBOU BEPERK FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video When I Was Water Shadow Films Dir: David Forbes Documentary XJ-1 Eternal Film Productions Prod: Marius Swanepoel/ Dana Pretorius Feature You Deserve It Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant TV Game Show
THE CODE BREAKER NHU Africa Prod: Vyv Simson / Donfrey Meyer Documentary THE FAMILY PUZZLE Site et Sons media productions Prod/Dir : Zamo Missie Feature THE LAST GREAT TUSKERS NHU Africa Prod: Vyv Simson / Donfrey Meyer Documentary The Message Reel Edge Studios Dir: David Golden TV Drama Series THE STORY OF LITTLE FOOT Paul Myburgh Film Prod: Paul Myburgh Documentary
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
NIGHTCLUB KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Nobathembu Stefane Documentary Nyaope Gangsters LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature PERFECT SHISHEBO Quizzical Pictures Prod: Nthabiseng Mokoena Series PLAY MORE GOLF FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Commercials
www.protectorcases.co.za
Equipment Protection
Manufacturer of • Flight Cases • Aluminium, Wooden & Tubes • Polyethylene Fabricated Flight Cases
Pushi- Passion LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Series ROSA 3 Two Oceans Productions Prod: Giselher Venzke & Bertha Spieker TV Feature SAFE BET Sukuma Media Producer: Nokuthula Sakhile Mguni / Bonginhlanhla Ncube Feature Film
Donald +27 (0)11 071 2169 +27 (0)82 648 7633 xtpcases@gmail.com
Address: 5 Daisy Street, Florida Ext 2, Florida, Johannesburg, 1709
July 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 79
Social
|
Jameson First Shot, Los Angeles
Adrien Brody and Kevin Spacey
Travis Calvert, Mark Middlewick, Stephan Tempier, Adrien Brody, Kevin Spacey, Dana Brunetti and Carter Swan
Mark Middlewick, Kevin Spacey and Screen Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Carly Barnes
SA winner Mark Middlewick and Tarryn Hatchett
Sibusiso Shangase and Seth Pereira, brand managers for Jameson South Africa
US winner Travis Calvert; SA winner Mark Middlewick and CA winner Stephan Tempier
Jameson First Shot Weekender 80 | SCREENAFRICA | July 2015
Producer and actor Kevin Spacey and President of Trigger Street Productions Dana Brunetti
VP of Trigger Street Productions Carter Swan and partner
Adrien Brody and Carly Barnes (Screen Africa)
Versatility meets performance Rohde & Schwarz SA (Pty) Ltd Building no 1 Clearwater Office Park Strubens Valley Tel: (011) 671 8800 (Contact Albie)