Screen Africa March 2016

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

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| IN THIS ISSUE

13 Seriously surreal

18

20 Social revolution through comedy

Elements of Cinema: No sweat, no glory

22

34

Tales of a San superhero

NABShow 2016

SPECIAL FEATURE EQUIPMENT RENTALS

Software vendors raise

ADCETERA

ANIMATION

concerns around licensing....................... 7

The future of storytelling....................... 12

Tales of a San superhero........................ 22

Equipment Rentals....................... 30 – 32

SAFTAs 2016 nominees............................ 8

Hunting the Killer Idea........................... 13

The vsmPanel now supports

Seriously surreal....................................... 13

HTML5 in the web

Challenger brands.................................... 14

browser page............................................ 10

Slim condenses 17-year love story

Cooke 35-140mm

into 1Life ad for House of Brave......... 14

News Small SA crew produce virtual reality short.................................... 4 ATFT launch Export Accelerator programme........................... 4 SA documentary premieres in New York................................................. 6 Oscar Pistorius film in the pipeline....... 6

Happiness is a Four-Letter Word a box office success................................... 6

Hear Me Move director makes waves in the Australian film scene......... 6

Vir Altyd breaks local records................ 6 Nigeria to produce local version of The Price is Right................................. 6

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anamorphic lens....................................... 10

FILM

cinema camcorder................................... 10

Culture clash............................................. 15

Litepanels Astra Soft

An SA classic comes to the screen..... 16

Bi-Color LED panel................................. 10

Director Speak: Philippe Lacôte........... 17

SmallHD 701 and 702

Elements of Cinema:

Filmstro Pro music

Mogale: A city at war............................... 24 Profile: Shileola Ibironke......................... 25

Industry Report Grassroots and shoots with

Panasonic VariCam LT

Lite monitors............................................ 11

TELEVISION

No sweat, no glory.................................. 18 Social revolution through comedy....... 20

Phyllis Dannhauser................................... 26 From Seoul with love.............................. 28

NAB PREVIEW NABShow 2016............................ 34 – 36

Regulars

composition software............................. 11

Production Updates.................... 37 – 39

Lawo Virtual

Events.................................................. 39

Studio Manager 16.1............................... 11

Social........................................................... 40

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@screenafrica

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From the editor

The Team

West Africa features quite strongly in this issue, with a Ghanaian short film, two Nigerian trailblazers and an Ivorian auteur making up some of our lead features. The steady growth and improving output of this region is an inspiration to those of us working elsewhere on the continent. Across the countries on the northwest Atlantic coast – among these three nations in particular – we see an ever-expanding distribution network on several platforms, including television, cinema, home video and mobile, as well as an industry that is fairly consistently lucrative and boasts a growing crop of talent. All of this takes place in an environment with little or no government intervention. While one must acknowledge the influence of foreign investment (particularly from France) in the growth of the Ivorian industry, Ghana and especially Nigeria have built their movie businesses from nothing and (mostly) without state or external support.

Looking farther afield, we examine the domestic success of the South Korean film industry, where locally-made films routinely trounce Hollywood blockbusters at the box office.

Seeing these success stories, even fully aware that South Africa, Kenya and other territories in Africa are producing a lot of great work, I am left thinking that most of Africa’s filmmakers must be missing something. In South Africa we are still too reliant on state funding and at the mercy of a handful of major television broadcasters and still habitually producing films that play to empty houses and make no money. We are all looking for answers and yet possibly asking the wrong questions.

We need only look at the astonishing success (by South African box office standards) of Happiness is a Four Letter Word to show that perhaps our assumptions regarding cinema audiences have been off target. This was foreshadowed last year with the success of Tell Me Sweet Something. Long-held beliefs about unreachable demographics making cinematic success all but impossible for local productions are blown out of the water by these two films. Perhaps the tide is turning for South Africa’s filmmakers.

On the technological front, NABShow 2016 is almost upon us and this year’s trends in broadcast technology will soon be revealed. 4K remains on the agenda, with HDR undergoing further refinements but it seems that the flavour of the year, starting with NABShow and continuing through the remainder of the upcoming technology shows, is likely to be virtual reality. The creation of interactive, immersive entertainment, while it has been on the horizon for several years, appears set to top the agenda for the foreseeable future.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the issue and, as always, please do send any comments, queries or suggestions to me at editor@screenafrica.com.

Bye for now.

– Warren Holden

Editor

CONTRIBUTORS

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.

Ifeoma ‘Oma Areh runs WildFlower PR and Company, a Nigerian based entertainment and digital PR company.

She has worked on some of the biggest campaigns in Africa. She is also the convener of Africa’s first ever ‘Digital Entertainment Conference’ #DECAFRICA. She lives in Lagos with her husband and children.

SCREENAFRICA

Sub-Editor: Tina Heron

Publisher & Managing Editor: Simon Robinson: publisher@screenafrica.com

Design: Trevor Ou Tim: design@sun-circle.co.za

Editor: Warren Holden: editor@screenafrica.com

Website & Production Updates: Carina Vermooten: web@sun-circle.co.za

DEputy Editor: Carly Barnes: carly@screenafrica.com

Subscriptions: Tina Tserere: tina@sun-circle.co.za Delight Ngwenya: admin@sun-circle.co.za

Journalist: Chanelle Ellaya: news@screenafrica.com Contributors: Oma Areh, Ian Dormer Louise Marsland, Andy Stead Christopher J Wheeler

Accounts: Helen Loots: accounts@sun-circle.co.za Advertisement Sales: Marianne Schafer: marianne@screenafrica.com Graham Grier: graham@sun-circle.co.za

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.

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 MadikizelaMandela 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.

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

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 magazine, as well as Bizcommunity.com. She is currently publishing editor of TRENDAFRiCA.co.za.

Andy Stead is a broadcast industry professional with over 40 years’ experience in both South Africa and the UK, having worked at a number of leading industry organisations including the BBC and Chroma Television. Now retired, he is based in Cape Town.

Christopher J. Wheeler is a writer and educator, who is currently working towards a Ph.D. in film and philosophy. In 2014, he graduated with an MA in Media Theory & Practice from the University of Cape Town and has since been lecturing media students while continuing his research.

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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.

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South Africa

| News

Where to now CFC? Following the recent announcement by the Cape Film Commission (CFC) that it will cease business as from 12 February this year, WESGRO, the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, confirmed that they intend fulfilling their commitments to the media sector in the province.

“We remain focused on our mandate to promote film and media in the province and with the support of the Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the City of Cape Town we will continue to collaborate in a strategic and sustainable manner to further this important sector of the economy,” says WESGRO CEO Tim Harris.

The team will be headed by Monica Rorvik and the focus will be on promoting WESGRO key services to the industry.

These include assisting local and international companies looking to either produce or find distribution and co-production parties in the Western Cape, assisting business-to-business interactions, inbound mission hosting, project mentoring and more.

How did it come about that South Africa’s only film commission accredited by the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) is no longer operational?

Appointed in 2010, Denis Lillie, who holds a master’s degree in Film and Television, took over the reins from previous incumbent Laurence Mitchell.

Funded by both the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Provincial Government and using the AFCI in Los Angeles as its model, the CFC operated successfully and achieved its mandate of

POST PRODUCTION

attracting and facilitating business to the province. This is borne out by observations from the industry.

ZenHQ Films producer Chris Roland observes: “We used the CFC regularly to address questions specific to a variety of issues, such as locations, permits and visas and facilitating critical introductions.

The CFC also provided guidance and direction to other agencies for queries which it did not handle. We relied on the CFC’s newsletters for staying informed on industry matters, such as changes in regulations, indabas, road closures, etc.

We were part of CFC outgoing missions to international markets and events such as Sundance and the International Emmys, which led to introductions that closed deals with international distributors and brought business back into the country.”

Says Lillie: “The structure was fine but following a suggestion from the MEC for Economic Development that an agency be created which would include ‘special purpose’ vehicles such as the CFC, things did not go as planned. I was tasked to ready the CFC to merge into this entity and we had to disband the board of directors. In the end the organisation consisted of me, the chairman and representatives from the city and province.

“The merge however was cancelled and we were asked to continue just as we were. Rather than rebuild the board we decided to create an advisory board involving institutions related to our industry. Although before I arrived there was a communication from provincial government saying that they would continue supporting the CFC until 2015.

In late March 2012 we were advised that this funding had been switched to WESGRO. “We had made commitments which we were unable to keep, but fortunately we have formed relationships with both MICT SETA and the National Lottery Commission (NLC), both of which gave us project funding which allowed us to cover our overheads between that point and today.”

The funding from both MICT SETA and the NLC could have continued for the next three years but because Lillie had entered into litigation with both the city and provincial government for failure to honour their commitments, he felt he could no longer continue to accept further funding from these organisations.

According to Lillie due to poor communications with all parties including WESGRO, the NFVF and the dti as well as a ‘slow wheels turning’ syndrome, nothing has been resolved and as a result the final cut-off date for the CFC came and went with no resolution. The CFC proposed arbitration between the City and the Province in an effort to resolve the outstanding matters which has, to dare, been declined by both.

“I am still busy, however, as I need to go through files and archives to determine what needs to be retained for the next five years for legal reasons and required by SARS.” adds Lillie. “It is tragic

that an organisation which is 15 years old and is respected internationally for its efforts, has archives of information and is a well-known brand has to cease to function.

“I just wish that the industry in the Western Cape would pull together and work cohesively. There are a lot of factions and politics and I believe if we all worked together we would be a top international film country and reap the benefits thereof.”

Brigid Olen of DO productions observes: “First prize is a neutral and apolitical body that networks and stimulates opportunities, creates workshops, industry gettogethers, smooth visas – permits and licenses. One which could seek out sales and distribution opportunities and coerce regional and government agencies to support all individuals and projects in the related industries. The process should be smooth – a formality not a strangulation.

“I am inclined towards the business concept of eliminating the red tape and fast forwarding to the red carpet. This should be the basic step that offers a benefit to all media related industries whether facilitating or growing our own content.”

The last word from ZenHQ Films’ Roland: “Perception is everything, and the combination of closing the CFC’s doors and not having a film commission for international companies to reach out to tarnishes the industry. The Cape is currently not represented internationally by an informed authority that understands the intricacies of our industry. There is a need for another film commission. The question is, why start a new one when one was already operational?” – Andy Stead

ANIMATION / DESIGN / VFX

WWW.BLADEWORKS.CO.ZA March 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 3

News

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Small SA crew produce virtual reality short Atmos is a two and a half minute virtual reality (VR) film which tells the story of humanity’s flight from earth. The film was directed by Matthew Nefdt and produced by Rose Lovell, with audio by Andrew Sutherland.

Nefdt’s curiosity about 360-degree video and virtual reality began when he purchased an Oculus Rift Developer Kit and it is currently his main creative focus.

He previously studied Video Technology at Durban University of Technology and has directed numerous short films, music videos and commercials as well as designed mobile games.

Atmos was originally developed as an entry into Samsung’s 60 second VR film competition, ‘There in 60 Seconds’, which ran at the end of 2015. But after reading the fine print and realising international entries were accepted but not eligible to win the competition, Nefdt withdrew from the competition but continued with production. “In hindsight we realised this

FLIGHT FROM EARTH: Still from Atmos

enabled us to make a better product as we could make the film with a long enough duration to actually tell a story rather than show just an immersive experience,” he remarked.

Atmos was shot over a few days in November 2015 in Port St Johns, a town on the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape which offered suitable landscapes to match the film’s sci-fi based narrative. “I have always been intrigued about the dramatic rock formations on the beach there; they always felt alien-like to me,” says Nefdt.

A small team worked on the production, partly due to necessity as Atmos was a self-funded project, but also

due to the nature of virtual reality production. “Making a VR film is completely different to traditional filmmaking. Because you are shooting full 360 degrees, everything is visible and recorded in the shot. All crew, lighting and equipment on set must be removed in post. That is why we chose to shoot under natural lighting with minimal crew,” explains Nefdt.

The film was shot with six 4K cameras mounted to a Freedom360 rig. Audio was recorded with a Mitra binaural microphone and the footage was stitched together and processed into a 4K panoramic image. From there the team was able to edit and composite CGI with

some additional VR plugins with the post workflow. Much of the CGI was rendered out of game engine Unity 3D. Nefdt was also responsible for stitching, editing, compositing and grading on the project.

“I started the post while we were still in the Wild Coast. Our edit suite was my MacBook Pro in a round mud hut in a rural village,” he said.

Atmos is available as a free download on www.africard.tv and is best viewed using a VR device.

The film is compatible with Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive and Google Cardboard. It can be streamed online via YouTube and Facebook, which now support 360 video. – Carly Barnes

ATFT launch Export Accelerator programme On 11 February the Association for Transformation in Film and Television (ATFT) in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) launched its Export Accelerator programme aimed at assisting emerging producers in attracting foreign investment and exploiting their content to its full potential.

Project manager Neiloe Whitehead and international speaker, business developer and founder of nextMEDIA Mark Greenspan, met with local producers which had previously attended international markets to get feedback and outline some of the programme objectives: to understand their businesses better and to create and design specific strategies to help grow and create real revenue.

Greenspan explains that the accelerator business model comes from the venture capitalist world and is an intense approach to business creation.

“We are going to look at developing a business and not just a project. How can we help build your business as well as make it sustainable and appealing to the international market?”

The programme will consist of a number of elements, beginning with initial research data gathered from producers on their experience at 4 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

ATTRACTNG FOREIGN INVESTMENT: Export Accelerator launch

international markets as well as the nature of their business and content offering, allowing for a more intensive, intimate and specifically tailored process. The programme will also offer guidance and mentorship around attending international markets which will encompass assistance in adequate preparation, matching funds for project development support and post-market consulting.

In addition the programme will include a Pitch Camp, which allows selected participants to interact with international

and local mentors, buyers and agents who will critique and offer advice on between five and 10 potential market projects. “This is not necessarily a workshop on how to pitch, but a real look at the guts of a project to get it ready for international markets,” explains Greenspan. The programme will also include a series of workshops covering a range of topics from audience development, alternative distribution methods and entertainment law to branded and virtual reality content.

Whitehead went on to explain that the

programme would seek other funding opportunities for local producers through small business development government incentives. “The goal is to create relationships and access to those incentives,” she explains.

Greenspan adds: “It seems there is a disconnect where the funding available is aimed at projects which serve the local market. We want to look at how we can meet the needs of the international market as well.”

– Carly Barnes

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News

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SA documentary premieres in New York The South African documentary Lost Tongue is set to premiere at the Socially Relevant Film Festival in New York as a ‘surprise’ film. The festival will take place between 14 and 21 March.

Only ten documentaries from around the world are playing at the festival and Lost Tongue is one of two selected from Africa. Announcing the selection of the film to its producers this week, the festival committee said the film would be the ‘surprise’ for audiences.

A debut feature presented by South African-based Mvura Ya Afrika (MYA) Productions, Lost Tongue explores a story of hope and revival of the ancient and endangered Nluu language of the marginalised indigenous Khomani San people in the Kalahari. The film captures the journey of Helena Steenkamp, a Khomani San woman embarking on a

Davison Mudzingwa

mission to restore her people’s language and identity.

Funded by MYA Productions and non-profit outfit Entrepreneurship Africa (EA), Lost Tongue is the collaborative vision of coming of age director Davison Mudzingwa and cinematographer Themba Vilakazi. Lost Tongue is produced by Francis Yannicq of South Africa and U.S. based MeSun Barnett.

Oscar Pistorius film in the pipeline

Reeva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius Western Edge Pictures, an independent London based production company, will produce a documentary on the Oscar Pistorius story, due for release in 2017.

CEO, writer and producer Vaughan Sivell will direct the movie titled: Oscar Pistorius: Killing a Dream. Production on

the film begins in March 2015.

Pistorius is a South African Paralympic sprint runner who shot and killed his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013 and was later convicted of her murder. The film will explore these events and in addition feature aspects of South Africa’s history.

According to a report by Screen Daily, Sivell commented, “For us it’s the story of South Africa alongside the story of Oscar, it’s so cinematic; it’s a real once in a lifetime project in terms of scale.”

The film will reportedly be made in collaboration with Gareth Davies, a Telegraph sports journalist who has known Pistorius personally and followed his career for over 13 years.

Happiness is a Four-Letter Word a box office success In its opening three days Happiness is a Four-Letter Word received 45 000 attendances and gross box office receipts of R2 371 782.

Mario Dos Santos, CEO of Ster Kinekor Entertainment said: “The opening weekend’s results for the film are simply overwhelming not only from a local content perspective but also in comparison to Hollywood content.

Rewarding for the whole Happiness is a Four-Letter Word team that great films get a positive response from audiences.”

Based on Nozizwe Cynthia Jele’s award winning novel of the same name, 6 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

Hear Me Move director makes waves in the Australian film scene On 4 December 2015, director Simon Trevorrow’s There’s a Bluebird in my Heart won the Best Production and Best Producer awards at the 47th annual Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) screenings at the ACMI Centre in Melbourne, Australia. South African Scottness L. Smith, who directed Hear Me Move won Producer of the Year for his work on the film.

Shot on the gritty backstreets of Melbourne, There’s a Bluebird in my Heart explores the challenges of mental

illness and breaks down barriers regarding men expressing their emotions.

On receiving the award Smith said, “It’s such an honour to produce a film as powerful as Bluebird and to have the work recognised. Many men suffer – in silence – with some form of mental illness or depression. Hopefully this film goes a small way towards bringing about change, and starting the conversation that men should not be ashamed or feel judged for expressing their emotions.”

Vir Altyd breaks local records New Afrikaans romantic adventure film Vir Altyd broke local records in its opening weekend at the box office by earning R4 727 479, and was seen by 89 731 people. This officially puts it in the top spot for best earnings by an Afrikaans movie in its first weekend.

Danie Bester, co-producer of the film comments: “The biggest compliment and also honour for a filmmaker is when an audience comes to watch your work and identifies with the story and you have the privilege to work with people who inspire you.”

Starring Ivan Botha and Donnalee Roberts, who also wrote and

co-produced the film, Vir Altyd tells the story of Hugo (Botha) and Nina (Roberts) who grow up as best friends, but lose contact because of a tragic accident that changes both of their lives forever. After ten years, Hugo and Nina see each other again on the eve of her wedding to Retief, but when her fairy tale comes to a sudden end, she and Hugo go to Mauritius; she a reluctant ‘bride’ and he a ‘bridegroom’ who is confronted with painful memories and strong feelings for Nina.

Vir Altyd was produced by 17FilmStreetMedia and The Film Factory.

Nigeria to produce local version of The Price is Right

Happiness is a Four-Letter Word tells the story of three close friends, perfectionist lawyer Nandi, glamorous housewife Zaza and trendy art gallery owner Princess, who all seem to be living the new South African dream but still searching for that elusive happiness they so desperately desire in their lives.

At the helm of the production team are Hard to Get producers Helena Spring and Junaid Ahmed, partnering with Bongiwe Selane. The film is directed by Thabang Moleya.

FremantleMedia International (FMI) and Genesis Studios have announced a partnership to bring a local version of the classic game show format The Price is Right to Nigeria. The deal will see Genesis Studios produce three series of the show, taking the total number of adaptations of the format to 41 versions worldwide.

Olatunbosun Olaegbe, managing director, Genesis Studios said, “We have been looking for a world class game show that would engage and entertain the entire family. The Price is Right is the perfect format for us and we know it will be a big success in Nigeria” The US version of The Price is Right is the most successful game show in television history. The format features

contestants as they are invited to take to the stage and use their shopping knowledge in a bid to guess the correct price of everyday objects.

Abraham Praise, The Price is Right project director, Genesis Studios said, “The Price is Right is a long running and successful format and we can’t wait to adapt it in Nigeria and see the latest territory contestants come on down to play.”

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Software vendors raise concerns around licensing A number of suppliers of production software for the film, television and animation industries have voiced their concerns recently about the high levels of licensing non-compliance among users of their various solutions in the South African industry.

One such vendor, who preferred to remain anonymous, contacted Screen Africa at the end of 2015, to draw attention to a problem that, while ongoing for some time, goes largely unnoticed. According to this source, post-production and animation companies that are not compliant are able to underquote on projects because they aren’t paying the necessary licence fees. “Around 25 to 30 per cent of these operators are compliant,” the source says. “They are able to come in at a fraction of the market price and compliant companies simply can’t compete because they have to cover those licensing fees.

The number of companies losing out across the board is actually phenomenal.”

Autodesk, the software developer

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behind Maya, one of the leading 3D animation suites in the industry, is among the intellectual property owners feeling the impact of non-compliance.

Autodesk’s licence compliance manager Susan Moremi says that non-compliance takes various forms. “These scenarios range from cracked copies of Autodesk software to over-deployment of one licence across more than the allowed number of PCs,” she explains. In some cases, she says, end users may not even know that they are not complying.

In an industry that is experiencing tightened budgets across the board, the use of cracked software or the overextension of licences can often be seen as a necessary evil, one of many cost-cutting measures employed by operators whose resources are already stretched thin. However, the long-term ill effects on the industry as a whole can far outweigh the short-term benefits to individual companies. Darren Olivier, a lawyer specialising in intellectual property and brand protection at Adams & Adams, has dealt with numerous licensing non-compliance cases (around 400 a year), explains: “Apart from the dangers of malware embedded in pirated code, the unlicensed use of software naturally means that the developers are not paid correctly, disincentivising them from investing in research and development and improving their services. Hence the

screen_africa

industry as a whole suffers. It’s like saying ‘don’t pay the engineers’ and then still expecting a world class road system.”

Moremi adds: “How would [noncompliant users] react if someone used their stove, utensils and house to run a catering business, without permission and without any form of compensation being offered? By knowingly using an unauthorised product, one is simply stealing from the software provider as well as the industry – since revenue is reinvested in improving the very same products that make them competitive in their particular industry. In the long run, should that product no longer be competitive, due to lack of resources, they too lose business.”

While infringements can often happen as a result of an honest mistake, this is certainly not always the case and deliberate non-compliance, while rather hard to prove, carries some weighty consequences. “Damages are calculated according to what the user would have paid had the licence been obtained in the first place,” Olivier says. “If prosecuted they may also face a jail sentence or a fine. There is also the risk of having the company deregistered for fraudulent trading (the use of unlicensed software robs the country of taxes ordinarily paid for licensed products).”

Autodesk and other software developers work with the BSA| The

| News Software Alliance, an international trade group representing the industry’s interests, particularly on questions of intellectual property. BSA members use several types of audits and reviews to ensure that end users are aware of their compliance positions. “This is to ensure that our end users minimise the financial and legal risk if there are unauthorized installations,” Moremi explains. “Users who gain access to unauthorised software often get copies from the internet and unauthorised dealers, and often aren’t even aware that they are running illegal copies.” Despite these safeguards, illegal software use continues.

Our anonymous source suggests that one way of ensuring compliance would be to throw the weight of the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) behind software vendors. Since the dti’s production rebate is one of the most important financial incentives in the industry, it may make sense for legal and fully compliant production software to become one of the pre-requisites needed to qualify for the rebate. No such requirement currently exists in the dti’s application process and it might go some way toward remedying the problem.

Moremi also stresses the value of education programmes to ensure that transgressors understand the implications of piracy – for the supplier, the user and the industry at large. – Warren Holden

March 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 7

NEWS

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SAFTAs 2016 nominees

The full list of nominees for the 2016 South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTA), which will be presented on 18 and 20 March, is as follows:

Best Game Show • Noot Vir Noot: Series 40 • Op Die Spel • Down For The Guap

Best Achievement by a Lead Actress in a TV Comedy • Robyn Scott (Those Who Can’t ) • Chantal Herman (Those Who Can’t ) • Vatiswa Ndara (Kota Life Crisis 2)

Best Magazine Show • Girl Eat World • Top Billing • The Man Cave: Season 2 Episode 2 Best Music Show • Sessions of 76 • Unbanned • Afri-Visie 2015

Best Reality Show • Ultimate Braai Master: Season 3 • Date My Family: Season 1 • Global Wheeling: Season 1

Best Talk Show • Republiek Van Zoid Afrika • Jou Show • I Am – Drug Abuse

Best Youth Programme (Age 16-25) • #YOT Life in a Day • 100% Youth • My World

Best Variety Show • Galaxy Of Stars 2014 • Sleeptv • Just Cooking

Best Achievement by a Lead Actor in a Feature Film • Mduduzi Mabaso (For Love and Broken Bones) • Emanuel Gweva (Thina Sobabili) • Lionel Newton (While You Weren’t Looking)

Best TV Presenter Non-Fiction • Game: Johan Stemmet for Noot Vir Noot: Series 40 • Magazine: Danine Naidoo for Edge • Music: Serai Tshepo Seate for Afro Café • Talk: Pabi Moloi for Eksê Zwakala • Variety: Katlego Maboe for Expresso Morning Show • Current Affairs Actuality: Riaan Cruywagen for KN Verslag • Factual Education: Dingaan Mokebe Ka Khumalo for Speak Out: Season 8 • Children’s Programme: Vele Manenje for Siyakholwa We Believe • International Format Show: Katlego Maboe for Strictly Come Dancing: Season 8 • Reality Show: Boitumelo Osei Tutu for Our Perfect Wedding • Youth Programme: Chanley Wong for Craze – Sistahood 1019 Best Short Film • Nommer 37 • Vuil Wasgoed • Lungelwa Best Student Film • Jabu • Jas Boude • Him and I Best Current Affairs Actuality Programme • It’s a Zama Zama • Dying for Water in Madibeng • Insurance Taken for a Ride Best Factual Education Programme • Each One Teach One – Dancer • Groen Namibia • Durban Beach Rescue • Siyaya – Come Wild with Us: Season 2 Best Children’s Programme • Challenge SOS • Elections • YoTV Live – Yo Party Best International Format Programme • X Factor South Africa: Season 1 • Strictly Come Dancing: Season 8 • Celebrity Masterchef South Africa

8 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

Best Achievement by a Lead Actor in a Made for TV Movie • Aubrey Poo (Ingoma) • Shona Ferguson (The Gift) • Kudeni Masala (Nyaope Indaba) Best Achievement by a Lead Actress in a Feature Film • Fulu Mughovani (Ayanda ) • Jana Strydom (Treurgrond) • Thishiwe Ziqubu (While You Weren’t Looking) Best Achievement by a Lead Actress in a Made for TV Movie • Xolile Tshabalala (Rise) • Zola Nombona (Ingoma) • Thembi Seete (The Gift) Best Achievement by a Supporting Actor in a Feature Film • Marius Weyers (Dis Ek, Anna) • Kenneth Nkosi (Ayanda ) • Thomas Gumede (Ayanda) Best Achievement by a Supporting Actress in a Feature Film • Tina Jaxa (While You Weren’t Looking) • Nthati Moshesh (Ayanda) • Shaleen Surtie-Richards (Treurgrond) Best Achievement by a Lead Actor in a TV Comedy • Aggrey Loake (ZANews: Puppet Nation) • Mandla Gaduka (Gauteng Maboneng) • Nik Rabinowitz (ZANews: Puppet Nation) Best Achievement by a Lead Actor in a TV Drama • Bekisisa Mkhwene (Uzalo) • Siyabonga Radebe (Saints and Sinners: Season 1) • S’dumo Mtshali (Saints and Sinners: Season 1) Best Achievement by a Lead Actor in a TV Soap • Vusi Kunene (Isibaya) • Motlatsi Mafatse (Isidingo) • Siyabonga Thwala (Isibaya)

Best Achievement by a Lead Actress in a TV Drama • Ntathi Moshesh (Saints and Sinners: Season 1) • Linda Sokhulu (Shreds and Dreams: Season 2) • Gugu Masondo ( Shreds and Dreams: Season 2) Best Achievement by a Lead Actress in a TV Soap • Leeanda Reddy (Isidingo) • Brumilda van Rensburg (Binnelanders) • Tema Sebobedi (Isidingo) Best Achievement by a Supporting Actor in a TV Comedy • Bongani Madondo (Kota Life Crisis: Season 2) • Thembile Botman (Abo Mzala: Season 2) • ZANews Puppeteers (ZANews: Puppet Nation) Best Achievement by a Supporting Actor in a TV Drama • Terrance Bridgett (90 Plein Street) • Deon Lotz (When We Were Black: Season 2) • Wayne van Rooyen (Shreds and Dreams: Season 2) Best Achievement by a Supporting Actor in a TV Soap • Kitenge (Richard) Lukunku (Ashes to Ashes) • Samson Kumalo (Isibaya: Season 3) • Siyabonga Shibe (Ashes to Ashes) Best Achievement by a Supporting Actress in a TV Comedy • Jennifer Steyn (Abo Mzala) • Linda Sebezo (Gauteng Maboneng) • Tumi Morake (Kota Life Crisis: Season 2) Best Achievement by a Supporting Actress in a TV Drama • Brenda Ngxoli (Rockville: Season 3) • Motshabi Tyelele (Matatiele) • Charmaine Mtinta (Matatiele) Best Achievement by a Supporting Actress in a TV Soap • Linda Sokhulu (Isidingo) • Maggie Benedict (Ashes to Ashes) • Elize Cawood (Binnelanders) Best Achievement in Art / Production Design in a Feature Film • Christian Joubert (Dis Ek, Anna) • Warren Gray (While You Weren’t Looking) • Willem Botha (Kite) Best Achievement in Art / Production Design in a Made for TV Movie • Charlette Coetzee (Ingoma) • Marna Heunis (Rise) • Francois Coetzee (Die Staat Se Bul) Best Achievement in Costume Design in a Feature Film • Rae Donnelly (While You Weren’t Looking) • Nerine Pienaar (Dis Ek, Anna • Ruy Filipe (Kite)

Best Achievement in Costume Design in a Made for TV Movie • Pippa Heimann (Ingoma) • Lehasa Molloyi (Rise) Best Achievement in Make-up and Hairstyling in a Feature Film • Julia Rubinstein (Dis Ek, Anna) • Megan Tanner (Kite) • Babalwa Carol Djieutcheu (While You Weren’t Looking) Best Achievement in Make-up and Hairstyling in a Made for TV Movie • Islyn Goliath (Ingoma) • Ngah Nyembe (The Gift) • Smartie Oliphant (Rise) Best Achievement in Art / Production Design in a TV Comedy • Amanda Scholtz (Those Who Can’t) • Franci van den Heever, Roxann Hand, Matthew Sanna (ZANews: Puppet Nation) • Esme Viviers (Gauteng Maboneng) Best Achievement in Art/ Production Design in a TV Drama • Vallery Groenewald (Umlilo) • Marna Heunis (Swartwater) • Tanya van Tonder (90 Plein Street) Best Achievement in Art/ Production in a TV Soap • Dylan Lloyd, Carlu Portwig (Isibaya: Season 3) • Willie Coetzee (Isidingo) • Inamarie Swanepoel (Generations the Legacy) Best Achievement Costume Design in a TV Comedy • San-Mari Compton (ZANews: Puppet Nation) • Zandi Mokwena (Ga Re Dumele: Season 4) • Zandi Mokwena (My Perfect Family: Season 3) Best Achievement in Costume Design in a TV Drama • Mercedes de Bruyn (Terug Na Egipte) • Lehasa Molloyi (Umlilo) • Elka Beukes (Vlug Na Egipte) Best Achievement in Costume Design in a TV Soap • Rochelle Selling (Isibaya) • Sune’Jansen (Binnerlanders) • Natalie Lundon (Generations the Legacy) Best Achievement in Hair and Make-up in a TV Comedy • Maureen Wells (Ga Re Dumele: Season 4) • Silindile Dladla (Gauteng Maboneng) • Sonto Nhlapo (My Perfect Family: Season 3) Best Achievement in Hairstyling and Make-up in a TV Drama • Rosina Olifant (Matatiele) • Smartie Olifant (Umlilo) • Angie Boshoff (Vlugg Na Egipte) Best Achievement in Make-up and Hairstyling in a TV Soap • Bongi Mlotshwa (Generations the Legacy) • Sheila Petlele (Isibaya) • Morne Marx, Theola Booyens (7de Laan)

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Best Achievement in Cinematography in a Documentary Full Length • Richard Gregory (The Boers at The End of The World/Boere op Die Aardsdrempel) • David Forbes (The Cradock Four) • Francois Verster (The Dream of Shahrazad)

Best Achievement in Cinematography in a TV Comedy • Brendan Barnes (Those Who Can’t) • Tonga Isango (ZANews: Puppet Nation) • Sello Molote, Atang Molobi, Hector Dludla, Siyabonga Thwala (Kota Life Crisis: Season 2)

Best Achievement in Cinematography in a Documentary Short • Garth Kingwill (Cape Town Carnival 2015: Elemental) • Charl Senekal (T-bone: King of The Spotted Cats) • Dean Shamley (When We Were Kids)

Best Achievement in Cinematography in a TV Drama • Jonathan De La Querra (Umlilo) • Jonathan De La Querra (Saints and Sinners: Season 1) • Marc Degenaar (Vallei van Sluiers)

Best Achievement in Cinematography in a Feature Film • Charles Johannes Jacobus Blofield (Necktie Youth) • Zeno Petersen (For Love and Broken Bones) • Lance Gewer (Kite) Best Achievement in Editing in a Documentary Full Length • Richard Gregory, Ronelle Loots (The Boers at The End of The World/Boere op Die Aardsdrempel) • Annamarie James (Troopship Tragedy) • Francois Verster (The Dream of Shahrazad) Best Achievement in Editing in a Documentary Short • Garth Kingwill (Cape Town Carnival 2015: Elemental) • Liesl Dana Tsafantakis (Joburg Rising) • Nicola Comninos (Indians Can’t Fly) Best Achievement in Editing in a Feature Film • Matthew Swanepoel & Team (Necktie Youth) • Andrew Traill (For Love and Broken Bones) • CA van Aswegen (Hear Me Move) Best Achievement in Sound Design in a Documentary Full Length • John Orecchia (Prisoner 467/64: The Untold Legacy of Andrew Mlangeni) • Daniel Eppel (The Boers at The End of The World/Boere op Die Aardsdrempel) • Stef Albertyn (Troopship Tragedy) Best Achievement in Sound Design in a Documentary Short • Chris Bornman (Cape Town Carnival 2015: Elemental) • Thapelo Danster, Janno Muller (Rhino Brief Series) • David Houston (When We Were Kids) Best Achievement in Sound Design in a Feature Film • Basiami Bibi Segola (Hear Me Move) • Jim Petrak (Thina Sobabili) • Philip Miller, Mark Phillips (For Love and Broken Bones) Best Achievement in Cinematography in a Made for TV Movie • Greg Heimann (Ingoma) • Leon Kriel (The Gift) • Adam Bentel (Rise)

Best Achievement in Cinematography in a TV Soap • Patrick Doddemeade (7de Laan) • Kobus van Niekerk, Charl Odendaal, Francois Grobler (Binnelanders) • Hein van Zyl (Rhythm City) Best Achievement in Editing in a Made for TV Movie • Kholofelo Malatshi (Rise) • Maryke Kruger (Ingoma) • Ula Oelson (The Gift) Best Achievement in Editing in a TV Comedy • Aurora Drummer, Alex Fynn, Nicolai Groudev (ZANews: Puppet Nation) • Jessica Clare, Melissa Parry, Tim Greene, Edgar Sibaya (Those Who Can’t) • Mandiva Syananzu, Bertus Kirsten (Kota Life Crisis: Season 2) Best Achievement in Editing in a TV Drama • Eugene Lombaard, Bjorn Johansen, Ambonga Mfundisi (Saints and Sinners I) • Aluta Mlisana, Edgar Sibaya (Umlilo) • Eugene Lombaard, Bjorn Johansen, Ambonga Mfundisi, Sidwell Koyo (Z’bondiwe) Best Achievement in Editing in a TV Soap • Louise Hornsby (Ashes to Ashes) • Babalo Mpoyiya (Generations the Legacy) • Ravi Desai (Rhythm City) Best Achievement in Sound Design in a Made for TV Movie • Janno Muller (Rise) • Ben Oelson (The Gift) Best Achievement in Sound Design in a TV Comedy • Lyle Bennet (ZANews: Puppet Nation) • Janno Muller (Those Who Can’t) • Jonty Everton (Kota Life Crisis: Season 2) Best Achievement in Sound Design in a TV Drama • Janno Muller (Swartwater) • Stef Albertyn (Vallei van Sluiers) • Stash Couvaris (Z’bondiwe) Best Achievement in Sound Design in a TV Soap • Ben Oelsen (Villa Rosa) • Eric McKechnie, Barry Gillot (Binnelanders) • Arnold Khunyeli (Generations the Legacy)

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Best Achievement in Scriptwriting in a TV Comedy • Karen Jeynes, Thierry Cassuto, Nkuli Sibeko-Botman (ZANews: Puppet Nation) • Louw Venter, Thomas Hall, Gilli Apter, Zandile Tisani, Zoe Arthur (Those Who Can’t) • Tumi Osei-Tutu, Mpho Osei-Tutu, Salah Sabiti, Tiffany Barbuzano, Nkuli Sibeko, Lwazi Mvuzi, Monique Nortje, Chisanga Kabinga, Meren Reddy (Kota Life Crisis) Best Achievement in Scriptwriting in a TV Drama • Zandile Tisani, Nonhlanhla Simelane, Napo Masheane, Arthur Zita, Tim Greene (Umlilo) • Johan van Jaarsveld, Louis Pretorius (Vallei van Sluiers) • Henrietta Plattner and the Writing Team (High Rollers: Season 2) Best Achievement in Scriptwriting in a TV Soap • Neil McCarthy, Thishiwe Ziqubu, Byron Abrahams, Craig Freimond (Rhythym City) • Rohan Dickson (Isidingo) • Collin Oliphant (Generations the Legacy) Best Achievement in Scriptwriting in a Feature Film • Tertius Kapp (Dis Ek, Anna) • Ernest Nkosi (Thina Sobabili) • Trish Malone (Ayanda) Best Achievement in Scriptwriting in a Made for TV Movie • Kobus Geldenhuys (Fluit-Fluit) • Gillian Breslin, Tim Greene (Rise) • Amanda Jeanne Lane, Kaye Ann Williams (Ingoma) Best Achievement in Directing in a TV Comedy • Alex Fynn (ZANews: Puppet Nation) • Zee Ntuli, Daniel Zimbler (Those Who Can’t) • Krijay Govender , Joshua Rous, Segomotso Keorapetse (Ga Re Dumele: Season 4) Best Achievement in Directing in a TV Drama • Khalo Matabane (When We Were Black: Season 2) • Mandilakhe Yengo, Denny Miller (Saints and Sinners) • Rolisizwe Nikiwe, Zuko Nodada (Matatiele) Best Achievement in Directing in a Made for TV Movie • Rolie Nikiwe (Rise) • Johnny Barbuzano (The Gift) • Amanda Jeanne Lane (Ingoma) Best Achievement in Directing in a TV Soap • Eric Mogale, Siyabonga Mkhize, Heather Cooke (Rhythm City) • Gert Van Niekerk (Ashes to Ashes) • Neo Matsunyane (Skeem Saam)

Best Achievement in Directing in a Feature Film • Sara Blecher (Dis Ek, Anna) • Tebogo Malope (For Love and Broken Bones) • Ernest Nkosi (Thina Sobabili) Best Animation Short • Mathew Brown (There is No Place like Home) • Mathew Brown (Crush) • M W Guldenpfennig (Burgeon) Best Achievement in Directing in a Documentary Feature • Francois Verster (The Dream of Shahrazad) • Warren Batchelor (204: Getting Away with Murder) • Ryley Grunenwald (The Shore Break) Best Achievement in Directing in a Documentary Short • Enver Samuel (Indians Can’t Fly) • Hajra Cassim, Garth Kingwill (Cape Town Carnival 2015: Elemental) • Sylvia Vollenhoven (Emo Adams: Tall, Dark & Afrikaans) Best Documentary Full Length • The Shore Break (Shore Break Movie (Pty) Ltd) • The Dream of Shahrazad (Undercurrent Film & Television) • 204: Getting Away with Murder (WB Productions) Best Documentary Short • Cape Town Carnival 2015: Elemental (Film Industry Learner Mentorship Programme (F.I.L.M)) • Indians Can’t Fly (EMS Productions) • Emo Adams – Tall, Dark & Afrikaans (VIA – Vision In Africa) Best TV Soap • Isibaya (The Bomb Shelter Film Company) • Ashes to Ashes (Clive Morris Productions) • Rhythm City (Quizzical Pictures) Best TV Drama • Matatiele (Branded Soul Productions) • Saints and Sinners (Penguin Films) • Umlilo (Quizzical Pictures) Best TV Comedy • Ga Ra Dumele (Rous House Productions) • Kota Life Crisis (What Not Entertainment & Burnt Onion) • Those Who Can’t (Quizzical Pictures) • ZANews: Puppet Nation (Both Worlds) Best Feature Film • Ayanda (Leading Lady Productions & Real Eyes Films) • Dis Ek, Anna (Palama Productions) • For Love and Broken Bones (The Bomb Shelter Film Company) Best Made for TV Movie • Ingoma (Penguin Films) • The Gift (Ferguson Films) • Rise (Quizzical Pictures)

March 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 9

News

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Technology

The vsmPanel now supports HTML5 in the web browser page

SAM Kula multiformat production switcher Based on SAM’s well established Kahuna switcher, the Kula provides the capacity to create content in numerous various formats from SD to 4K, all in one box, eliminating the need for external converters.

• Designed to be used in a range of environments from live production and sport broadcasting to houses of worship • Can handle 4K/1080p/HD and SD in both 1M/E and 2M/E. The 2M/E HD/SD version can be switched to 1M/E 4K mode, allowing users to benefit from higher production values.

• Choice of three control panels which are expandable with control modules for the Kahuna range.

• Five key layers for M/E • 20 channels of DVE • Floating / auxiliary keying resources • 36 inputs and 18 assignable outputs

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Litepanels Astra Soft Bi-Color LED panel Litepanels’ new 1 squarefoot LED panel includes the following: • Diffused lens • Very high output for a soft LED panel, illuminating the widest possible area • High CRI for accurate colour reproduction and colour temperature • Adjusts between daylight and tungsten colour temperatures • Dual cooling modes – active and passive – for heat management

Panasonic VariCam LT cinema camcorder

Cooke 35-140mm anamorphic lens

The new Cooke 35-140mm anamorphic/i zoom is a front anamorphic with oval bokeh throughout zoom and focus. The patented optical design brings together a combination of attributes that allow shooting from a very wide angle to telephoto with a 4x zoom ratio. The colour and depth of field characteristics are matched to the anamorphic/i primes and the lens includes /i Technology for metadata capture. A second Front Anamorphic zoom is also to be announced.

Cooke will also present the 300mm anamorphic/i lens at the NAB show which takes place from 16 to 21 April 2016, marking the completion of the original 10 lens prime anamorphic/i set with focal lengths from 25mm to 300mm following the launch of the 65mm Macro lens and the 180mm in January.

10 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

The VariCam LT contains the 35mm sensor and imaging capabilities found in the VariCam 35 in a smaller, more lightweight and affordable body. The 4K camcorder boasts the following features: • 14+ stops of dynamic range • Dual native ISOs of 800/5000 • Image handling in multiple formats from SD to 4K • Apple ProRes 4444 (up to 30p) and ProRes 422 HQ (up to 60p) support for HD recording • New codecs: AVC-Intra LT and AVC-Intra 2K-LT, both designed to offer capture rates up to 240fps in imager crop mode, ideal for fast motion footage • A new colour processing feature: V-Look, which acts as a blend of V-Log and video, and allows filmic documentary acquisition without the same need for intense colour grading • One expressP2 card slot and an SD card slot • EF lens mount • ND filters, optional OLED viewfinder, 24-bit LPCM audio recording in-camera, focus assist, anamorphic lens de-squeeze, built in GPS and capability for IP control

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Technology

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Lawo Virtual Studio Manager 16.1

SmallHD 701 and 702 Lite monitors

The latest update to Lawo’s broadcast control and monitoring system includes a number of new features and bug fixes: • Gadget Server 5, used to indicate the status of all devices operating in the given system, now offers full support for the Dante (Digital Audio Network Through Ethernet) protocol. Additionally, support for the Master Card status swap (active, passive) for Lawo DMS is now included.

• In vsmStudio, double-clicking on GPIOs navigates through the GPIO configuration.

The user-assignable button attachment is a new function that allows users to change a button’s attachment. Unlike the mimic button, which replicates the entire functionality of another button, this new function solely copies the attachment of the original button (if compatible). This allows operators to configure a panel during runtime.

SmallHD’s new compact monitors offer: • 450nit 720p displays • Built-in professional software tools: Focus Assist, Exposure Assist, Waveform, RGB Parade, Audio Metres • Shock resistant aluminium chassis • HDMI in and outputs • Can operate with either Canon LP-E6 or Sony NPF-970

Filmstro Pro music composition software For those filmmakers who can’t afford to recruit a composer or to license library tracks, Filmstro provides a means to create soundtracks from scratch at a fraction of the cost and without any previous music composing experience. The app provides the user with an existing, growing library of sounds, which can then be sculpted and shaped to fit the images and the edit. The library offers a selection of musical styles suited to specific scenes and moods. Sliders on the bottom left of the interface enable the user to manipulate the speed, depth and volume of the piece to suit their specific content. Easy and fun to use, Filmstro is an extremely, useful tool for independent filmmakers.

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March 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 11

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The future of storytelling

Alex McDowell

Two key themes emerged from this year’s edition of the annual inspiration station, Design Indaba: empathic design and storytelling.

D

esign Indaba 2016 was back at the home where it started – the Artscape theatre complex in Cape Town, bringing a more festive and inclusive atmosphere to this dynamic event on the creative industries’ calendar.

It was fitting that on its 21st ‘birthday’, it reinvented itself once again: bringing music, theatre and performance art onto the stage and outside the venue, where everyone congregated around Cape Town’s famous food trucks; becoming more ‘street’ and more unified.

Design Indaba founder and CEO, Ravi Naidoo, has big plans for the future, to make Design Indaba – which has always attracted speakers from the best creative agencies, design shops, brands, arts and global influencers in various crafts – more experiential and more of a festival than a conference.

The expo is no longer in a hall. Instead delegates are encouraged to take to the streets on specific evenings to experience ‘open’ Cape Town at various galleries and art installations; through music, film and theatre; and various other events in the city linked to the future of design across many spheres.

12 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

Design Indaba has always been at the cutting edge of new design thinking, best of breed, standing head and shoulders above anything else in the world in this category of event (probably only the mega-SXSW technology and art festival in Austin, Texas, USA, comes close to the level of innovation and thought leadership).

I’ve been attending Design Indaba for a decade and there is always one speaker who changes your life with their work and their philosophy on changing the world – because that is what modern design thinking is all about, how to make the world a better place through developing global solutions to the world’s problems through creativity and empathic design.

Immersive storytelling This year didn’t disappoint and for me, that speaker was Alex McDowell, an award-winning designer and immersive storyteller, who builds future worlds and global solutions. As founder and creative director of 5D Global Studio, he works at the intersection of emergent technologies and experiential media, building film sets for futuristic movies like Minority Report, Fight Club, and Man of Steel.

He is also a Professor of Practice at USC School of Cinematic Arts where he is the director of the USC World Building Media Lab at the California school, also leading the USC World Building Institute [http://worldbuilding. institute/], a renowned multidisciplinary knowledge space.

McDowell uses disruptive narratives to imagine – and build – tomorrow’s world today. Storytelling is a way to make sense of the world around us – it has been that

way since the first humans used stories to aggregate experiences for future generations.

The problem with current storytelling, is that through books and movies, we have become used to the narrative coming from a single individual at a time, who steers us in a directed way, says McDowell, rather than from our collective ‘tribe’.

He is enthralled with this new ‘post-cinematic’ era we are going into, where virtual reality tools will transform our narrative through immersive storytelling.

“Virtual, mixed reality tools do something more than provide a new gimmick to sell hardware, they fundamentally change the narrative space. We need to pay attention to the entire world space for the sphere of opportunities around us. This is as big a disruption as the beginning of cinema.

And it will fundamentally change how we feel about storytelling.

“The tribal stories that were told to help us survive are back in our hands. We probably need these kinds of stories to help us survive the current craziness.

(Immersive storytelling) is specifically to do with how the narrative is embedded in the world around us,” McDowell recounts.

“The origin of storytelling is now at the centre, it is no longer linear narrative. The world space is constantly informed by the human story at its centre. We all inform each other and the world evolves and becomes more and more informed.”

A brave new world When he conceptualised the world for the movie Minority Report, starring Tom

Cruise, there was no script. The story evolved from the world that McDowell imagined – as did several dozen inventions that we are exposed to today, like driverless cars, drones, gesture-led communications devices. All imagined for the movie, and now part of our real world.

“The design of the (Minority Report) world preceded the telling of the story.

The world became a container for the telling of hundreds of stories, if we had wanted. World building stimulates complex systems. We looked at mobility, time and space, the individual and his or her environment, large scale wearables, transportation and how it would change through a new language for vehicles…

We could have looked into the future of urban planning, the effects of the environment on the consumer, how it changes the future of shopping, for example…” he explains.

And herein lies McDowell’s contribution to society – using his creative skills and knowledge to help imagine real-world solutions to society’s ills through the same techniques he uses to for these Hollywood blockbusters.

“Poverty is a social construct, a design flaw. We can undo it. To extrapolate and imagine (a new world)… We use storytelling to create the disruption we need… to powerfully change the world. It is something in our hands today,” says McDowell.

It is a special blend of traditional practice and new technologies to apply his craft to design a new world for the human race. His presentation was mind-blowing, but his impact on our human narrative will most certainly leave a superior legacy for future generations. – Louise Marsland

Opinion

Hunting the Killer Idea

By Nick McFarlane Over the past year I’ve been hunting the killer idea. It was originally meant to be a simple journey, but soon mutated into an epic adventure taking me to a mountain of books and deep into the minds behind them, as I tried myself to capture the essence of creativity.

Every time I thought I’d grasped its elusive qualities the killer idea slipped my hand, disappearing into the bush only to reappear in a different form.

But on I hiked, interviewing, asking questions and stealing quotations from artists, designers, advertisers and many more. Each had tales to tell about their encounter with the beasts which roam the darker corners of the mind.

Liam Howlett of The Prodigy told me “the creative mind, you have to feed it” and how he always keeps his ear to the ground, should inspiration try to sneak by. Ad guru Dave Trott reckons life is a zero sum game and the only way to survive is to out-think the opposition by going upstream of the problem.

Anarchist, Noam Chomsky noted how creativity flourishes under conditions of

Nick McFarlane

restraint, saying: “…freedom is not a necessary prerequisite for creativity; for example, some of the most creative musical genres like blues and jazz were created by slaves and their bitterly repressed descendants.”

Some hunt intuitively like artists absorbed in the process of expressing the inner world. While others develop systems to maximise their chances. Edward de Bono’s Lateral Thinking encourages us to use logic and reason in a manner which isn’t immediately obvious.

I was six months deep when my publisher asked how I was progressing?

“Great” I said. “I’ve finished the first chapter.” “One chapter!?” he replied, shocked.

Suddenly the enormity of the task dawned on me. I could feel panic surging up from my heart and tightening its grasp

around my throat.

I should have been well into the book by this stage. Worse still, I realised I had nothing original to show. I’d collected a healthy swag of facts, quotes and stories but what did it all mean? Where was I going with all this? I was lost and alone in the jungle, my head felt heavy from the amount of half thoughts and partial insights flittering around like bats haunting my cranium.

By the light of a fire I laid out everything I’d done so far and tried to revise my steps. Nothing made sense.

The simple task of writing a light read about the warm, fuzzy subject of creativity no longer looked appetising.

The idea I wanted to capture now was something altogether different.

The dark beasts of doubt circled as I questioned my abilities and in the distance I could hear the roar of the

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deadline as it approached closer by the day.

The flames lapped up the pages as I threw them into the fire. Giving up, I put my head in my hands and fell into a deep, deep sleep.

In my dream I could see a figure in the distance. As I approached I realised it was Charles Darwin and he was holding a cat. He said “watch this” and threw it among a group of pigeons.

“It is not the strongest of the species which survive, nor the most intelligent.

But the ones most responsive to change,” he said.

The ones which don’t survive are the ones which make predictable decisions in the fight or flight to escape. To survive requires creative thinking.

I woke and knew where I had to take this book. I had been chasing the surface apparition of creativity. The colour of a brush stroke, the sound of an album, the success of an ad campaign.

But creativity is a deeper thing.

Creativity mainlines directly into who we are as humans.

Creativity has arisen out of our evolutionary need to adapt quickly in a changing environment. It is what helped mankind out of the jungle and into the modern world. And so to, ideas which are predictable die. Ideas which do the unexpected take flight.

I’m one week away from deadline and there’s still plenty of ground to cover. But I think I’ve found my killer idea. That the purpose of creativity is intrinsic to fulfilling our potential as human beings. I may be wrong and the killer idea may slip my grasp once again but I can honestly say, the hunt has been worth it.

Seriously surreal South African Breweries’ #BeTheMentor campaign, conceptualised by creative agency Joe Public, went live in November 2015. The ad encourages people to serve as mentors to South African youths and features a man in his 20’s reflecting on some of the less than wholesome decisions he made in his younger days. It drives home a powerful and necessary message about underage drinking while at the same time effectively captivates its young target audience by using abstract visuals and surreal imagery.

Bomb Commercials director Teboho Mahlatsi was a natural fit for the advert, drawing on his background working on educational TV drama Yizo Yizo to deliver the concept successfully. Visually, Mahlatsi decided to explore a very new space where the story was not told in such a literal way. “I divided the narrative in two halves with the memory scenes shot and represented in studio. In the studio space I wanted to create this highly art directed and abstract conceptual imagery,” Mahlatsi explains. “All the realistic stuff where he is walking around

was shot outside in a literal space, an actual street outside.” The commercial was shot at the end of October and first week November 2015 in and around Johannesburg.

The agency had presented what would become the ad’s voiceover but gave Mahlatsi creative freedom on the visuals and delivery of the concept. Mahlatsi gave the beautifully written voiceover added impact by having it performed in a rap style with a stop and start rhythm to give young people an easier way to identify with the older mentor. “The primary thing is to not to come across as preachy, and that was also a big thing for the agency – that the older guy is kind of cool and he’s not a parent. He’s not being judgemental – he identifies with his younger self. He’s more of a brotherly figure.”

The ad was shot using an Arri Alexa and for Mahlatsi the most important thing was using a prime master lens to produce a crisper, more cinematic image. “I come from that school of thought of creating more cinematic images with an epic feel.

Still from #BeTheMentor ad

It needed to really be epic in this ad and I think the lenses were able to do that,” he comments.

Key crew members who worked on the production include executive producer Gavin Joubert, producer Marc Harrison, line producer Maurice Dingli, DP Jamie

Ramsey, production designer Dimitri Repanis, and stylist Trudi Barklem.

The offline edit was carried out by Andrew Trail at The House PostProduction while the online edit was handled by Ministry of Illusion.

– Carly Barnes March 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 13

ADCETERA | OPINION

Challenger brands If you could measure beige, you will find it is still beige.

We are obsessed about measuring everything in our industry. Measurements and data inform almost everything we do.

We are so obsessed about data that we are more interested in the measurement results, than we are in how effectively we are talking to our customers. We know everything there is to know about everything, and when we aren’t satisfied, we test and research more. Because we believe he who knows more is better. But Albert Einstein once said: “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”

For years I have believed that our industry is losing its way. We focus on everything except what is important.

Agencies and marketers have learned new tools, new jargon and new methodologies that make us all sound so much smarter, but do not improve what we do. What’s more, we have forgotten the principles and practices that make us indispensable. Creativity and imagination.

I am delighted to announce that Lowe, our agency group, recently merged with an American agency, Mullen, who have

By Kirk Gainsford, chief creative officer, MullenLowe South Africa

Kirk Gainsford

long shared this view with us. We are not interested in sounding smart in meetings.

We are only interested in creating

communication that touches the hearts of people.

MullenLowe is determined to

understand technology, not because it is cool, but because when used properly, it is powerful. We believe in creativity, not charts and numbers. We collaborate.

There are no silos, no corporate structures. We are not precious. We are entrepreneurial. We challenge our clients, we challenge ourselves and each other.

We believe that brands should behave like challenger brands whether they are the market leaders or not, because if you’re number one, and you aren’t behaving like a challenger, you only have one place to go, and that’s to number two.

We believe in asking questions, in tackling the task and not just the brief.

We listen. We fight harder for what is right. We study the data; yes we do. We study the data to understand it the way a photographer understands his camera.

Not to explain how his camera works, but to make better pictures.

The data would suggest this is still the right way to do what we do. The numbers speak for themselves. We are the most effective agency network per client dollars spent for the past five years. (As per Effies results).

Slim condenses 17-year love story into 1Life ad for House of Brave 2016 is off to a great start for Egg Films’ director Slim, who won ididtht’s SA Film Reel in February for ‘The Man Who Couldn’t Stop Moving Forward’, his Standard Bank spot for TBWA/ Hunt/Lascaris.

Slim’s now impressing again with ‘One’, a moving, 17-year love story condensed into a new ad for 1Life, South Africa’s number one Direct Life Insurer.

Conceptualised by House of Brave’s creative team of Vanessa Pearson, Gareth O’Callaghan and Conan Green, the ad is based on the truth that one simple thing can change your life. This could be one look at a bonfire on a beach that starts a 17-year relationship, or it could be one SMS, one phone call, and one life insurance policy.

The narration-driven script starts with one look and progresses to two cups of coffee, three smiley faces, four hours of silence, five tickles, and six days apart, all the way up to 17 years and counting.

“A lot of the narration was quite specific,” says Slim, “but we didn’t want the visuals to be that literal. We tried to avoid obvious, clichéd moments, like the 14 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

couple getting married, and resisted trying to be comedic. We wanted to observe real moments and keep everything as emotional and human as possible.”

Edited by Left’s Saki Bergh, the longest sequence is five shots and many of the scenes are captured in a single shot.

Given this limited screen time, Slim praises his cast of largely first-time actors for making each scene its own entity while nailing the tone and emotion.

Kiroshin Naidoo and Nolan Africa played the lead actor in his 20s and 40s respectively; Megan Playton and Nuraan Manuel were the younger and older female lead; and Logan Piedt, Sarrinah Schippers, Halima Mouttaqui, Zoe Manoek, and Nichola Meadows played the daughter at different ages.

“They made things a lot easier on me,” says Slim. “Except for the edit, where it was really hard to pick the right performance, because all of the takes were so good.”

Slim also praised House of Brave, not just for the strong idea the ad is based on but also for the creative leeway he was

Still from the new 1Life ad

given. “This is one of those ads where there was the version we were briefed, then another version I imagined, then another version we shot, and then it was different in the edit again. There was a lot of magic that happened that wasn’t planned; often the moment we had in our head didn’t work but the moment before or after created the reality we were looking for. The client and the agency were open to going with whatever felt right; everything was always a discussion for the benefit of the idea.”

This included leaving out the 60-yearold version of the couple they’d originally

shot. “It felt like there wasn’t enough screen time to get to know them enough,” says Slim.

Lensed by DOP Rory O’Grady, the ad was filmed in and around Muizenberg over five days, ending on an eventful note. “We shot the first scene at the beach last, but within 15 minutes the tide rose and started hitting all the cables and lighting, so we had a mad panic to get the performances and get out of there before we were washed away and electrocuted,” laughs Slim.

– Kevin Kriedemann

Culture clash

GHANA

London Film School student Koby Adom travelled back to his motherland Ghana after 18 years to shoot his graduation short film House Girl. The film explores the ill-treatment of domestic workers in West Africa.

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ased on a true account, House Girl is a coming-of-age story which follows Jennifer (Emma Naomi), a young British girl of Ghanaian descent, who goes on holiday to Ghana for the first time. While staying with her wealthy aunt Barbara (Edinam Atatsi) in Accra, Jennifer meets Efua (Gloria Amanu), her aunt’s very young domestic worker who is being physically and emotionally abused by Aunty Barbara.

A witness to the violent abuse of Efua, Jennifer struggles to suppress her feelings of anger and frustration toward her aunt and the young domestic’s treatment. Eventually, feeling compelled to put an end to Efua’s maltreatment, Jennifer makes a valiant attempt to rescue her from her abusive situation but in an unlikely twist, she is quickly brought crashing back down to reality.

Written and directed by Adom, the inspiration for the film came from his mother’s personal experiences which she shared with him. “She told me about a

time when she witnessed the maltreatment of housemaids in Ghana and the story stuck with me so I wrote a story similar to it exploring the issue while trying not to pass any judgment,” Adom explains.

“I did a lot of research on the matter and found many publications on the matter which caught my eye, all of which indicated that the maltreatment of domestic workers is still an issue in Africa.

That gave me the green light to proceed with making this film.”

Shot over four days in mid-February this year, House Girl showcases the exquisite, almost unrealistically picturesque landscape of Accra, Ghana.

Told from Jennifer’s point of view, which Adom says was done to allow the audience to learn about Ghanaian and West African culture as Jennifer does, the film acts as a powerful vehicle for social commentary on cultural restrictions in the African diaspora, modern day slavery and child abuse. “The style of this film is very

point of view driven,” Adom comments, “The story is told through the eyes of Jennifer, a girl who has never been to Ghana before, and the camera follows her journey. She is learning new things about Ghana and her aunt’s house at the same time as the audience which is an extremely powerful thing.”

DOP Mark Kuczewski along with Adom opted for very high contrast but soft lighting, utilising the luxury of the constant natural lighting from the sun in Ghana. “The high contrast is to dramatise the film more because of the nature of the story,” explains Adom. “Also Marco Turcich, the production designer, joined the conversation when we discussed colour schemes. During day scenes we have a very warm feel with colours like orange, brown, cream featuring but at night time it is very cool with blues and blacks starting to appear.”

Kuczewski used the new Arri Alexa Mini to shoot the film, which Adom says was selected because the output it provides is the closest to 35mm film: “The texture of 35mm would suit the kind of film we are making. Furthermore, we chose the Alexa Mini because it is more practical… we are shooting in a country that the majority of the crew had never visited before so we needed a camera compact enough to give us plenty of options while shooting.”

Adom and Kuczewski matched the Arri Alexa Mini with Cooke lenses because they complimented the soft lighting

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approach chosen for the film. “The other lenses we considered were the Karl Zeiss super speeds however those lenses would have been too defined for the look and feel of the film we were going for,” Adom comments.

House Girl is a London Film School (LFS) graduation project, produced by Joy Gharoro Akpojotor. Adom explains that LFS kick-started the funding of the project with just over £4 000. To raise enough funds to achieve the production value for the film that Adom and Akpojotor had envisioned, they ran a Kickstarter campaign. “We had a successful crowd funding campaign on Kickstarter which gave us just over £9 000 after all the Kickstarter charges and private investment from the executive producers as well as myself to top up the funding,” says Adom.

House Girl aims to shed light on the many cultural and social issues inherent in west Africa, but Adom says the message that he hopes audiences will take away from the film is to never ignorantly attempt to impose one’s way of life elsewhere. “Secondly,” he says, “abuse is wrong full stop, let alone when young domestic workers are the victims. I want this film to shine some light on the matter so the people of Africa can sit up and take action on such occurrences.”

– Chanelle Ellaya

POINT OF VIEW DRIVEN: Ghanaian landscapes shine in House Girl

March 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 15

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South Africa

SA classic comes to the screen An

Renowned short story, The Suit, by Drum magazine writer and anti-Apartheid rebel Daniel Canodoce ‘Can’ Themba is finally being adapted for the screen.

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et against the backdrop of the 1950s forced removals in Johannesburg’s Sophiatown under the Group Areas Act, the short story – previously banned by the Apartheid government – went on to become a high school set work in South Africa and was adapted several times into a theatre production, most notably by Barney Simon at the Market Theatre in the 1980s, and more recently by British playwright Peter Brook, whose adaptation has had successful runs around the world including in the West End and on Broadway.

Mandela Films’ Jarryd Coetsee, writer and director of the screen adaptation of The Suit, first read Themba’s short story as a prescribed reading when he was a student at Pretoria Boys’ High School.

Despite growing up under the diminishing influence of the Apartheid regime, Coetsee says that he did not fully grasp the immensity of its psychological and emotional impact on an extensive part of the South African population.

This all changed the day he read The Suit, which enabled him to “understand this dysfunction on a more profound level,” he says.

Coetsee, who resided in London and Los Angeles over the past few years, experienced certain ‘travesties of justice’ in his time there, such as the eviction of the Travellers at Dale Farm and the shooting of Trayvon Martin, which deeply perturbed him. “The heart-wrenching images of their suffering families and friends left an indelible print in my mind.

It occurred to me how little consideration is given to the tremendous personal consequences of such insidiously oppressive and clinical decisions taken at a political level,” he explains. It was these injustices that led Coetsee to turn his attention back to his adaptation of The

16 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

UNBANNED STORY: Atandwa Kani and Phuthi Nakene in The Suit Suit, which he had been working on for several years already: “I’d been developing a screenplay adaptation of The Suit for several years and realised that now would be a good time to produce the film given its relevance to the current crises.”

The film tells the story of Philemon (Atandwa Kani) who, after hearing of his wife Matilda’s (Phuthi Nakene) infidelity, rushes home to discover her in bed with her lover. Fearful, the lover flees, leaving behind his suit. Philemon uses the forgotten suit to torment Matilda by making her treat it as a guest who must eat with them, go on walks with them and accompany them to church. Philemon’s harsh punishment has tragic consequences as Matilda, unable to live with the humiliation, takes her own life.

The story is a powerful metaphor for how oppression has inescapably devastating effects on one’s personal relationships, while also highlighting how not being able to forgive, intolerance and revenge are paradoxically self-destructive.

“Here is a story ostensibly dramatising the disintegration of a marriage in the context of the Apartheid regime’s forced removals in 1950s Sophiatown. However,

the author cleverly uses the universal theme of infidelity as a pretext for exploring another universal and perhaps more pressing theme, that oppression has catastrophic consequences for personal relationships,” explains Coetsee.

Produced by Mandela Films’ Luke Sharland, the film was financed by a grant from the National Film and Video Foundation and was shot over just one week in February this year, with almost the entirety of it filmed in original buildings in Sophiatown. Following the forced removals, most of the existing buildings in Sophiatown were demolished, but a few survived, including the Anglican Church of Christ the King in Ray Street, and two buildings on the property of the St Joseph’s Diocesan Centre. “The Anglican Archbishop of Southern Africa and the Bishop of Johannesburg granted the producers permission to shoot at the St Joseph’s Diocesan Centre and the Church of Christ the King,” Coetsee comments. “In period films, one strives for a surface verisimilitude, and the opportunity to shoot in the original buildings offered an unparalleled sense of authenticity, and to some extent, an homage to the

original residents.”

Shot by cinematographer Briony Sam Macloed on the Arri Alexa to ensure high visual quality, the film features a stark, controlled look “…with low-key lighting to affect a high contrast,” says Coetsee. To produce a convincing depiction of the 1950s Sophiatown, several filmic techniques were used including the use of a 4:3 aspect ratio, which, according to Coetsee: “Was common in the period, with deliberate symmetry/asymmetry of framing and meticulous mise-en-scène for aesthetic and narrative purposes.”

“We used tobacco and soft FX filters to date the visuals. The costumes, which were supplied by Pierre Vienings are either originals or handmade which greatly heightened the sense of verisimilitude,” he adds.

Coetsee says that he and his team intend to take The Suit to the local and international film festival circuit in March this year. “Though it would be a welcome testament to the talent and skills of the cast and crew if we were to win an award, the primary objective is to share the film with as many people as possible across the world,” he concludes.

– Chanelle Ellaya

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Director Speak Last year Philippe Lacôte’s debut feature film Run was selected to represent the Ivory Coast as a contender in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 88th Academy Awards. Lacôte is a filmmaker from Ivory Coast, who has produced various short films and documentaries.

How would you describe yourself as a director?

As a director, my stories are strongly rooted in reality. I like to set scenes in places without stopping the life that’s going on, and let the real life support the fiction. In the end, we don’t know which character comes from fiction or which comes from real life.

Do you have any mentors in the industry?

I was living in the south of France when I made my first short film, Sleepwalker, which was shot on 16mm black and white film. The sound engineer Fabrice Gares and I decided to go to Clermont-Ferrand and show the film during the festival. We managed to rent a theatre outside the official screenings and tried to invite some professionals… the day of the screening, there was only one spectator in the theatre, a man who sternly watched the film until the end. When the screening was over he came to me and encouraged me to continue. So this man was my first ‘mentor’ and my first spectator at the same time. Then there were others, people who passed on the craft of filmmaking to me.

What is your favourite African and international film, why?

It’s difficult to make such a difference between films.

Obviously there’s a political one, but not an artistic one.

When I look at a film, I never look at it according to its nationality or to the continent where it comes from (unless the nationality is essential to catch the film), but according to the poetic world the director proposes me to enter into. There’s a film called The Lost Necklace of the Dove by director Nacer Khémir. I like it a lot, because everything in this film becomes possible, in terms of imagination as well as for the story. It’s a philosophical tale about all the meaning of love in Arabic language, and the director isn’t afraid of opening all kinds of ‘narrative doors’. And I also like all of Ozu’s films. And the films by Andreï Tarkovski, whose work and reflections on film have accompanied me during years, to the extent that I put on stage his diary, read by French actor Denis Lavant (Mauvais Sang, Holy Motors).

connected to Hollywood blockbusters’ pipelines. Will films telling something about this continent’s imaginary have access to these new screens? Will the states organise a repartition of the revenues from the screening of Hollywood films allowing other films, I mean allowing African directors to shoot their films? And how, as a director, can I be not disconnected from my audience if these new screens don’t show African films? This is, I think, the next challenge.

What projects are you working on now?

I’m currently working on my next feature called Zama, a street gang drama inspired by a true story. The project is part of the Torino Film Lab, which is a very challenging place for scriptwriting. Zama is the story of a post-war gang leader, whose members where aged eight to 20, and who was lynched in the streets of Abidjan last year.

The scene was filmed and posted on Facebook. Zama will tell his story: how he lived, how he died, how he fought against a giant Scorpio… My intention is to continue to tell the history of violence in Ivory Coast.

Shooting will take place in August 2017.

What is your favourite oneliner from a film?

“I always tell the truth. Even when I lie.”

What songs make up your most recent music playlist?

The music I listen to is often linked to my work, and to atmospheres I’m searching for a film. These days it’s Saeta by Miles Davis, a sort of military march with trumpet that could accompany a battle quite particular, where enemies confront through mystical powers.

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

Scarface by Howard Hawks. Or one of Fritz Lang’s Hollywood films, Moonfleet.

Compiled by Carly Barnes

If you could shoot a film anywhere in the world, where would it be?

In Ivory Coast, in the MACA: the jail of Abidjan, surrounded by deep forest in the outskirts of the city.

What do you do when you aren’t making movies?

When I’m not making movies, I’m searching for a way to make movies. This is because I’m also part of my film’s production process. I don’t make a separation between making films and creating the conditions that will make the film exist.

What has been your proudest moment as a director?

It will be the next scene that I will shoot, which is the opening scene from Zama: a fire burning on a wasteland; a herd of cows passes, led by a child, to drink in the lagoon. A young man with his body tattooed all over walks out of the water, surrounded by three policemen…

Where do you get your story ideas from?

From everywhere… They can come from quite insignificant details. And then they sort of crystallise, become persistent… I’m a big press reader. Most of the time I stop on still images, rarely moving images, which I wish to extend narratively.

Which five film characters would you invite to a dinner party?

The couple in Touki Bouki by Djibril Diop Mambety. The young man as interpreted by Mangaye Niang, who came back 30 years later to recognise himself on screen in A Thousand Suns by Mati Diop. Jack Torrance, the character played by Jack Nicholson in The Shining; Harry Powell, played by Robert Mitchum in The Night of the Hunter, and Mickey and Minnie Mouse, which actually makes six. Guess it would be quite a crazy dinner party…

What does the future of film in Africa look like to you?

The future of film in Africa is new screens opening in countries where there are none, and many countries are in this situation. The problem is these screens are March 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 17

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Elements of Cinema: No sweat, no glory Sports scenes are a tough balance between hard hitting action and revealing moments of character development, both of which drive the narrative. In this scene from Modder en Bloed, a film set in 1901 South Africa, a game of rugby played out in a prison camp, symbolises tension between the Boers and the English in the Anglo-Boer war.

Sean Else on directing: Sport in films has to be quite dynamic and well covered because audiences are so used to watching sports on television, which is covered from all angles and with many playback options. With Modder en Bloed we made sure that we covered the angles, but there is a lot going on within the characters and the games to drive the narrative. Planning and rehearsing the choreography was especially important in keeping the scene natural and realistic.

The game and movements were all written into the script and extremely important for the film. The rugby games are the chess game between the two ‘enemies’ and actually were our set battle pieces as the game of rugby becomes the metaphor for the continuation of the war between these two enemies within the prisoner of war camp. For crowd and character reactions from the side, we had stand-ins just run an eye line on the field after explaining the full choreography.

18 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

Adam Bentel on cinematography: I hadn’t had much experience in shooting a sport film, so I had to do my homework extensively beforehand. I watched quite a few rugby games and did a lot of research into how filmmakers use the camera in relation to the action happening on the field. Rugby is an incredibly fast game with abrupt stops in the action. We chose to shoot the speed with a combination of hand held and dolly movements and then again to use hand held when the scene gets more intimate within the action. The first AC, Khyle Smith, wirelessly controlled the focus which further allowed me to get right into the action as it happened. Key grip, Alpheus Manaka had to lay six to

eight straight tracks along the side of the field in a downhill fashion which made use of gravity to get the speed necessary to capture the fast paced running.

The entire film was shot using an ARRI Amira. It has an identical sensor to the ARRI Alexa family of cameras but it is considerably more lightweight and ergonomically designed for handheld shooting. I generally use wider focal lengths and watch the shoulders of the actors as they move. This allows me to predict most of their movements and keep them inside the 2.39:1 frame while still maintaining a frenetic feeling throughout.

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Quinn Lubbe on editing:

Adam Bentel on lighting: We chose to build the rudimentary rugby field in a north/south line to enable us to keep the sun on either side of the field which allows for a certain amount of contrast with hardly any front lighting. I also relied heavily on the yellow/white beach sand that they games were played in to bounce the sun back into the players’ faces. Gaffer Manny Chonco was constantly at my side advising me on the sun direction and cloud movements and his team had an array of 12x12 unbleached muslin bounces for closer work.

In this film we had to focus on highlighting the action but also each character’s arc and progression. I think it’s important to cut the scene as the director and actors played it while shooting and then cut down from there. Very often if you cut something out of a scene before watching it in its entirety you may cut out a moment that, in the context of the scene, works very well. Obviously, pace is critical in a sports scene, so we had to trim down to heighten the action. What was particularly challenging with this scene was that there weren’t any commentators, as you might have in a modern sport’s film to drive the tension, so we had to make use of spectator reactions to build tension and drive the game forward.

Stian Bam on performance (Willem Morkel): I was never a good rugby player and that worked well for my character. The rugby they played back then also differed quite a lot from the rugby we know today, therefore not using a modern background was a challenge. We were also lucky in that the game itself was treated more as a battle and therefore the preparation was more towards getting the stakes high enough. Physically we aimed to be fit enough to run and play a full day of shooting. The great thing about acting is that the situation dictates the scene. If your homework is done, and you play the scene and what is needed in the scene, the character will be there.

Francois Coertze on performance (Os le Grange): For my character it was all about the showing of his strength combined with a softer, gentle side. Being an active sportsman, I’ve been exposed to various sporting codes in my life. It’s all about digging into the old archives and taking out some unforgettable moments and feelings I had at that specific moment.

The biggest challenge was fighting the sand element and keeping it out of my eyes so I could focus on where I was going. Timing was another challenge – when to rush in, when to hold back.

Being an important scene in the movie, timing of this specific movement made it tricky to be on queue every time.

Compiled by Carly Barnes March 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 19

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Nigeria

Social revolution through comedy

REACHING OUT WITH STORIES OF CHANGE: Mildred Okwo onset

“I wanted a revolution, but I realised that Africans don’t react to that.” When Mildred Okwo returned from the US as a lawyer turned filmmaker, her goal was to make activist movies that challenged the status quo. Her first movie was the politically charged 30 Days. However, the response she got was not as positive as she expected. The film had not sparked the debate she had been hoping for. Life in Nigeria was going on as usual. A different strategy was needed.

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Nigeria

Mildred with her business partner, Rita Dominic

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ildred came to the following conclusion: “I feel like we have to deal with so much already living in this society. Most of the time, people are looking for ways to get away from their problems. So I took that into consideration and I decided, if I’m going to reach people with stories that talk of change, I have to find a better way. That’s why I started looking for stories that match what it is I want to say about the society.” She went on to start a production company, The Audrey Silva Company, in partnership with Nigerian superstar actress Rita Dominic.

A more accessible way for telling her stories was found by reaching a compromise and integrating comedy into her hard-biting storylines. Enter The Meeting, a movie that blended romance with political satire. Starring Femi Jacobs, as Mr Makinde, the movie centred around a contractor’s visit to a minister unmasking the deeply rooted corruption and rot pervading the Nigerian public service system. The movie ended up winning a slew of awards and turned its starring character played by Jacobs into a household name.

A few years later, after several months of publicity, The Audrey Silva Company released Surulere, whose title references a popular Yoruba phrase meaning Patience Pays. A movie that centres around the stark reality of a young man’s (Seun Ajayi) struggle to survive and keep to the right path in Nigeria’s harsh economy. Already in the second week after its release, the movie played to sold out audiences across cinemas in Lagos.

Mildred Okwo is not sure she has found a formula for making movies that both send a message and achieve commercial success. “I don’t know that we have a formula for promoting movies yet but I must agree that we are riding on the wave of The Meeting quite a bit,” she clarifies.

Okwo explains that it is easier because even before pre-production, they decide on exactly how they want the publicity and promotions to go. For Surulere, the phrase was already a popular social

media/pop-culture slogan and they rode on it. “The good thing is that the phrase ‘Surulere’ is quite catchy and people have gone to see the film because of that. We made this film for a target audience and they are loving it, so it is fantastic. In that sense, I guess you could say we have a viable formula, we just need more funds to take our movies as wide as they ºshould go.”

She credits the writers she has worked with for bringing her scripts that speak to her. “Writers are very important to the process. If I read a script and I don’t like it, I won’t do it. It’s like the writers are

talking to me and I am able to project what it is they’ve written and take it that much higher.

That works.”

Okwo assembled her cast both through auditions and by hand picking them. “When I direct actors, I like to do most of the work before I get on set. I like to understand them perfectly before we start working to get the best out of them.” she says.

“For Surulere, I cast a few of them years ago; like Arinze, (Seun Ajayi) when I met him I wanted to work with him. I had him in mind since 2010. Same thing goes for‘Lala (Kemi Akindoju). I felt that a lot of directors didn’t understand Lala and when the opportunity came, I took it.”

The filmmaker has nothing but commendation for the cast of Surulere.

“During the editing process, Carol Gikandi (the editor) spent quite a bit of time marvelling at their delivery and trying to make sure that we got all the nuances. I am a performance person; a good actor will take the story to the people. I will do shots when needed but I prefer the stories unfolding so it’s important that I have fantastic actors and I am able to mould them to reach where they want in terms of delivering their characters.”

On social media, especially Twitter, the filmmaker is very vocal. Taking on everything from politics and government to ‘the wrong red carpet questions’ to

| Film

photoshoot actresses with no resumés and more, she is not shy about voicing her opinions. As a filmmaker, she tends to toe the same line; she still keeps to the strongest reason that took her into film making; exposing the corruption and wrong in her immediate society.

She made her first film after returning to live in Nigeria from a lengthy stay in the US. “I was living in the states for so long and didn’t come back for about 13 years at a stretch. When I came back, it was frustrating to say the least. I recall in 2003 seeing a lot of money thrown about by rich people and everybody else was just so poor. I saw a lot of state officials doing incredibly stupid stuff, incredibly, most of them have started preaching and acting like they’re saints now many years later.”

With 30 Days, Mildred wanted to bring Nigeria’s looters to the public eye, and to justice. “The first thing I did was to write a story… I wanted a revolution, I had to understand that here, we do not react to that. That’s not what moves them.”

She learnt to turn the exposés into societally introspective works. These days, Okwo is more concerned about telling a story contextually than sticking to a formula of storytelling. “Production wise I don’t know if I’m being formulaic or if it’s just a happy coincidence. The thing is that I just want to tell the stories about where I live. I don’t want to clean it up or lie about it. I just want to put most of the things in the context which I see them and the three stories I’ve told so far have come from my perspective of what I see in society,” she says.

She highlights the key role comedy plays in her work: “What I do is wrap the story up so that you’re laughing just because you really can’t cry. A lot of the things we are saying are really poignant.”

Take for instance in Surulere we focus on people who don’t pay their workers.

There’s lots of employers who will employ you for months and not pay. A lot of them sit on Twitter and go ‘blah’ but they owe workers who can’t do anything about it. I actually set out to put these things in there for us to learn and while you are learning you can laugh a little bit. When you make it too serious audiences are a little bit put off by it.”

A recurring theme in her movies is the idea that anyone can be beaten down by the system. She also pushes the themes of resilience and personal redemption.

She explains: “In The Meeting, you have Mr Makinde who refuses to give a bribe just so that he can see the minister. You have Arinze in Surulere, his personal journey looks like a funny journey but in fact it is approaching several serious issues in our society.”

She references Toni Kan’s review of her movie and how he touched on the kind of revolution she preaches today: “Yes, it is about a revolution, a personal revolution.

It’s not just about calling our leaders to change. It’s about making some of the changes ourselves.” For Mildred Okwo, that will do, for now… – Oma Areh March 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 21

ANIMATION

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NAMIBIA | South Africa

PROTECT WHAT YOU LOVE: Still from /Gasa

22 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

NAMIBIA | South Africa

| ANIMATION

San superhero Tales of a

Namibian-born independent television producer and director Linda de Jager has been privileged to experience the natural beauty of Africa for a great majority of her life. Seeing more of the world only enhanced her appreciation for wide open spaces and wildlife in abundance. Now living in Johannesburg and having recently participated in an undercover investigation into the inner workings of rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park drawing on a recruitment pool in Mozambique, de Jager used her experiences in Namibia as inspiration to develop the first two 26-minute episodes of animated series /Gasa, which aims to create conservation awareness and spread the message: ‘protect what you love’.

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he /Gasa character is a San superhero who travels to remote communities in Namibia telling traditional stories about animals with his imaginary lizard companion, ‘Mr Gecko’. “My point of departure remains that if you can merely rekindle the love of nature and animals already manifested in traditional stories – you can start a conversation about why it is important to ‘protect what you love,’” explains de Jager.

Connecting through comics While on her travels to remote areas investigating the illegal wildlife trade, de Jager realised she wanted to be part of a constructive conversation with the youth of these communities. She remembers: “I asked myself: how do you reach the hearts and minds of children who have nothing and need to poach to feed themselves? The answer was comics and animation.”

The show is a stepping stone on the way to developing the story into a series of comics, as de Jager believes the medium is an effective one for reaching her desired audience and affecting real change. De Jager has seen this first hand through the experience of Pascal ‘Freehand’ Ricky Nzoni and Pitshou Mampa, two close friends from the Congo whose lives were changed through exposure to comics at a young

age. The duo went on to become key illustrators for a comic book about Nelson Mandela and were therefore a good fit to come on board in the creation of /Gasa.

“I knew from the outset that I wanted to work with them to give the series an authentic African feel,” says de Jager.

Nzoni would take on the role as key animator and illustrator and Mampa as supporting illustrator. /Gasa is aimed at African children of all ages, but has garnered a broader appeal than initially anticipated. “I wanted the project to be raw, childlike, naïve – and unpretentious – to speak directly to remote communities who may not be exposed to complicated visuals like children in the city. But now it just generally seems to appeal to a cross section of children,” de Jager remarks.

A truly African feel Portraying a genuine and relatable Africa in the series involved a lot of research.

The traditional stories which feature in the series were passed on to de Jager from Christiaan Fourie, an acquaintance who had grown up on a farm and had heard many of the stories first hand. Once a script was developed Tienie and Daniël du Plessis sourced a visual library of photos and created an initial storyboard which correlated to the script and was developed into a focused storyboard for the project. “Photo references were

important because I wanted the relevant trees and animals to look like the real thing – as this is essentially edutainment,” says de Jager.

De Jager also relied on her relationship with self-taught animator Nzoni, who was able to uniquely contribute subtle African touches, like the position of the hands during cultural greetings, to the narrative.

Together they were able to bring the story to life on screen. “I think the biggest challenge was understanding the environment in which the story takes place. The /Gasa character lives in the real environment and meets people from existing tribes or villages, so we had to do a lot of research to make sure the audience could relate to the visuals,” comments Nzoni. “An animator needs to live inside his own animation before even starting, allowing himself to feel the story before bringing it to life.”

Moving imagery /Gasa was created using two animation techniques; frame by frame animation and cut-out animation. These were executed by Nzoni using different Adobe software for specific processes: Adobe Flash for the main animation and illustration; Adobe Photoshop for background painting; and Adobe Premiere and Adobe After Effects for post and editing. Paul Riekert of One FMusic created the underscore and

sound effects for the production.

Self-funded by de Jager in its early stages, /Gasa soon thereafter garnered support from various sources including The Pupkewitz Foundation and the FNB trust in Namibia, which supplied some development funding; The Namibian Film Commission which funded the translations into five Namibian languages; the Legal Assistance Centre’s LEAD wildlife crime Advocacy Project in Namibia which screened the project in remote communities; the Legal Assistance Centre in Namibia; Namibian cultural experts Richard Shitwa and Samuel Bibombe; and Spoor and Fischer Trademark Patents and Copyright Specialists. The two-part series is currently being aired on Air Namibia international flights and will appear on Namibian commercial free-to-air television station One Africa Namibia in 2016. De Jager plans to create further episodes of /Gasa which feature other African countries, and to engage with more grassroots organisations with direct access and existing relationships in remote communities in Africa.

De Jager concludes: “Perhaps we are so disconnected from nature that we cannot see what we stand to lose on the African continent if we do not fight for our wildlife and our last wildernesses, but /Gasa does.”

– Carly Barnes March 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 23

Documentary

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Mogale: A city at war

First screened in February on [ED] (DStv channel 190 and GOtv channel 65), the local hard-hitting documentary Mogale uncovers the horror that is Mogale City, formerly known as Krugersdorp. An Urban Brew Studios production, the made-for-TV documentary draws much needed awareness to the widespread drug abuse, prostitution, building hijacking, trafficking and general corruption that takes place on a daily basis in Mogale City.

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he film’s director and editor Dean Thompson says that the idea for the film came to him from a colleague who was extremely troubled by the current state of Mogale City and appealed to him to shed some light on the situation for the public: “One of the channel managers had been speaking about what’s happening in Krugersdorp for quite a while. I initially wasn’t sure whether it would make a good story. I think we are all living in denial concerning what’s going on around us, and when we actually visited Mogale City, it was shocking and eye-opening and I knew that this is a story that needs to be told.

Many of us turn a blind eye to what’s

24 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

going on right on our doorstep but I realised that this story couldn’t go untold.”

The 48-minute documentary sees Thompson and his crew – shepherded by a Mogale City local – driving through the streets of the severely rundown city, intrepidly uncovering how pimps are enslaving young girls, how the youth are suffering from drug addiction, and how drug lords are hijacking buildings and have residents living in fear for their lives.

Ex drug dealers, former prostitutes and drug users, as well as members of the local police department share their experiences about living and working in Mogale City. The film also investigates

the strategic role Mogale City plays in human trafficking and drug pedalling in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as how police corruption plays a huge part in the wretched current state of affairs.

Thompson believes that Mogale City is a glimpse into what is occurring in many small cities around South Africa, where drug syndicates are running communities and in many cases members of the police force are underpinning this.

Shot predominantly in Krugersdorp, Mogale takes the viewer on a fearless journey right into the homes of drug dealers, prostitutes and pimps: “…We filmed at one of the prostitutes’ working areas (homes) while her pimp was in the other room,” Thompson explains.

“Although he told us he didn’t mind our contact and her taking part in the interview whenever he heard a question answered which he didn’t like he would bang kitchen doors and throw dishes into the sink, as a subtle way of interrupting the flow of our interview, maybe even warning her. I don’t know. It was a really interesting experience.”

The documentary showcases a gritty, almost raw look and feel, reflecting the hard-hitting and disturbing subject matter of the film. Thompson says that because Mogale tells the story of a harsh and cruel reality, he chose to imitate that in the way in which the film was shot: “I decided that due to the content of the film and nature of the shoot (pretty much on-the-go), crash zooms and handheld footage would help tell the story best.

We decided against stabilising the majority of the footage because it took away that raw element. The shaky camera in a few instances helped create a feeling of dread and helplessness in certain instances, which I thought was refreshing and different to what many documentaries are doing nowadays.”

DOP Greg Govan, as well as production manager and second camera operator Frankie Opperman, shot the documentary using the Canon 5D and Sony PMW300’s. “The 5D helped a lot during our evening shoots and also because it was light and easily manoeuverable, which was essential on the shoot, since it was shot primarily on-the-go,” comments Thompson.

Thompson hopes that Mogale will first and foremost create awareness regarding the devastation that is Mogale City – a microcosm reflecting the disaster that drugs, prostitution and corruption are fostering in cities across South Africa. “It was shocking for us to discover what’s going on in our smaller cities and towns.

Some of the stories we were told were spine-tingling,” says Thompson.

“To think you have kids nowadays aged 10 being targeted by drug dealers and pimps. Some of these undesirables are targeting kids at churches and youth groups, posing as church leaders. It is frightening,” he concludes.

Mogale will be airing again on [ED] (DStv channel 190 and GOtv channel 65) on 28 March 2016 at58.55pm.

– Chanelle Ellaya

Profile: Shileola Ibironke NIGERIA

| Television

Shileola Ibironke began her career at media production company CMA Africa as a sales executive. Ten years later she went on to found one of Nigeria’s foremost content acquisition and distribution companies, Micromedia Marketing Limited…

What did you go on to study after school?

I attained a professional Certification in Marketing from the National Institute of Marketing in Nigeria in 2006. I also studied at the School of Management at Lagos Business School in 2010. In addition I studied Strategic Marketing Management at Harvard Business School in 2013.

Did you always know what career path you wanted to follow?

No, originally I wanted to be a stock broker while my parents believed I would work in investment banking, but I was very fortunate to have started out modelling and acting while in university.

Once I graduated in 2012 I refused to stay back at home doing nothing while waiting to attend the mandatory National Youth Service, so I applied for a sales executive position with one of the production companies that offered me an acting role while at university. Unknown to me, I was thrown into the world of content production, acquisition and distribution.

You began your career at CMA Africa in Nigeria as a sales executive and later rose to the position of brand marketing manager, how did that experience prepare you for a future in content acquisition and distribution?

Working at CMA was the ultimate experience as I climbed the ladder from a sales executive to the head of Brand Marketing. I was the first brand manager for Soundcity Music Channel. We were very young individuals who started with a vision of a music channel. We lived out of our suitcases as we travelled across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria organising outdoor music concerts in the various university campuses and promoting the Soundcity brand name.

We also had corporate sponsors who had come on board with specific marketing goals and objectives which we had to adhere to. We were always in strategic meetings preceding the execution of each concert, rigorously highlighting

SWOT analyses, running through a risk management plan and deploying all of these objectives to the delight of the corporate client, my organisation and ultimately the youth in each university campus. That strategic knowledge prepared me for content acquisition and distribution (each target audience has diverse entertainment needs, the landscape in each region is very different, entertainment is transient; you must constantly re-invent new modes of connecting with your target audience).

How did you start Micromedia Marketing Limited?

Micromedia stems from my educational background because I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, thus the term ‘micro’ originates from microeconomics meaning a perfect market which promotes competition, production, innovation, sales and distribution among multiple players.

The economics of winning amidst a competitive market is the ethos of Micromedia. The ideal of creating, acquiring and distributing lifestyle entertainment to a generic audience is our on-going mission at Micromedia.

Apart from acquisitions and distribution does the company produce its own shows?

Yes, we produce our own drama series and Nigeria’s first telenovela Taste of Love, as well as the action drama series Casino. Each of the productions has a running time of 200 and 150 episodes respectively.

Since starting the company, which production that you have worked on are you most proud of and why?

I am proud of both productions – Taste of Love and Casino.

Taste of Love is an adapted format from Eastern Europe, hence we couldn’t alter the story plot, but Casino was my creative idea from story development, character casting and production design through to filming and post-production.

We built all our production sets from scratch. I was constantly on the

AFRICANS LOVE AFRICAN CONTENT: Shileola Ibironke production location set which is in Ibadan about 140km from our corporate office in Lagos. We are currently working on two new drama series (100 episodes each) and venturing into big cinema screens with 4(Four) Movie Production (there is a constant demand from the cast members who worked on both productions).

In your opinion, what are some of the defining characteristics of the African television landscape at the moment?

Content is king – I am proud to say Africans love African content, there is usually a huge reception to content produced by Africans, acted by Africans with a story plot that is relative to Africa.

Regarding story plot, I found out while in Abidjan that there is huge relativity between my social environment in Nigeria and the other African countries, our cultural beliefs and societal values share many similarities. This is a welcome relief to any investor in the content production business because when you develop a production business model, your target audience is any individual of African descent which spans as far as the Caribbean countries in North America.

Geography – Locality is another characteristic of the African television landscape, there’s a growing demand for ethnic content across the African continent. For example, the Igbo/Hausa tribes in Nigeria are demanding content dubbed and spoken in their local dialects.

That means the days of general use of English as a communication tool are soon be streamlined with digitisation. Multiple streams of channels with niche content serve various localities across the African continent.

What has been your career highlight/s so far?

Biggest career highlight was starting out Micromedia on my HP laptop in 2010 and grooming it to become a group of companies with over 150 hours of original produced content, acquiring the exclusive distribution license to content like CBeebies’ Mister Maker, M-Net’s Tinsel and most recently ZEE World Drama’s The Promise which have become highly successful in Nigeria. We have also launched a content distribution division which oversees the distribution of our indigenous productions across Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and North America. Taste of Love and Casino have been launched in Uganda, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, South Africa, Lesotho, UK, and the USA, and also will commence French dubbed broadcast on CANAL+ Afrique bouquet in September 2016.

Considering the current broadband explosion we are experiencing and the way in which it is changing the way people consume media, what are your thoughts on how pay-TV networks can remain relevant?

I believe pay-TV networks will remain relevant by deploying their popular shows on second screens (broadband access – mobile, web) either as a simulcast or catch up service. For example East Enders on BBC 1 and BBC iPlayer.

Compiled by Chanelle Ellaya March 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 25

Industry Report

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OPINION

Grassroots and shoots with

Phyllis Dannhauser Phyllis Dannhauser is a lecturer at the University of Johannesburg who has nearly 30 years of experience in South Africa’s film and television industry. She has been an active academic for over a decade, and her latest research explores community filmmaking and identity, towards promoting and developing authentic South African stories.

What’s the biggest challenge facing South Africa’s film industry today?

Phyllis Dannhauser:I don’t want to say funding, because there are structures in place that have given the industry an enormous boost in recent years. The biggest challenge, I believe, is that filmmakers in South Africa chase the ‘great South African film’ and international recognition, instead of concentrating on telling our own stories in our own unique way, and developing a South African aesthetic.

AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC: Phyllis Dannhauser 26 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

According to the National Film and Video Foundation’s (NFVF) box office report for 2014, South African films made up less than 7% of the earnings, with Afrikaans films earning around a two-thirds majority (foreign flicks, of course, dominated). Research published by the NFVF also reveals that audiences would like to see more content in indigenous languages, particularly isiZulu. How can we respond to these facts moving forward?

PD: Although the NFVF has done much to encourage film production across all the languages in South Africa, my belief is that truly indigenous production starts on grassroots level. Let’s move the conversation away from budgets and international recognition and build the industry at grassroots level, telling the stories that people are interested in, in the language that they use every day.

Also, distributing in the communities where the stories originated first of all.

These films may not be technically as proficient as productions funded by the existing agencies (and there is room for those as well), and the themes will definitely be more in the line of Nollywood, for example, than potential Oscar winning material. We need to build the base of the pyramid, with people telling their own stories, in their own languages, and showing them to the people who identify with those stories.

In terms of Afrikaans film, this is in fact what Afrikaans producers have been doing – it started with young producers, fresh from film school, making films like Bakgat, targeted at a very narrow band of high school pupils, and aggressively marketing to that demographic. Now, we have the phenomenon of romantic comedies and popular musicals, which do not deviate from the Hollywood recipe and will not win the big awards at international film festivals, but which draw the crowds.

OPINION

The filmthinker Béla Balázs wrote after WWII that: “We must be better connoisseurs of film if we are not to be as much at the mercy of perhaps the greatest intellectual and spiritual influence of our age as to some blind and irresistible elemental force.” Are South Africans getting exposed to all sorts of cinema to sharpen our visual culture?

PD: The lack of serious engagement with global film culture has been lamented by film scholars and critics in the past few years – amongst them Professor Martin Botha of UCT. As long as distributors do not give South Africans access to so-called ‘arthouse’ films beyond a very limited selection, the visual culture and development of these connoisseurs will suffer.

The American analytical philosopher Carl Plantinga notes that, “Documentary films have the potential to significantly alter public perceptions and to seriously affect the lives of those

whose images appear on film.” How have documentaries featured in telling African stories and what role are they currently playing towards developing authentic African narratives?

PD: Documentary production has flourished in South Africa since 1994, and in the first few years after democracy the national broadcaster supported the drive towards building a culture of documentary production. However, this initiative has dissipated.

Documentaries are the perfect way to reflect current social issues and to ‘bear witness’ for future generations, as Michael Rabiger states in his landmark book Directing the Documentary.

Rabiger also notes that the production of documentaries is a

stepping stone to fiction production. As such, documentary producers in South Africa are playing a crucial role in highlighting South African and African stories which can lead to a vibrant industry based on authentic narratives.

How can South Africa’s film industry encourage community storytelling?

PD: Many people in South Africa are still marginalised to the extent that they feel that their stories do not matter. In my PhD research, I look at how storytelling in a structured environment can help these stories to emerge. By telling their stories, marginalised South Africans can become part of the grand narrative of postapartheid South Africa and filmmakers can tap into this rich vein of previouslyunheard narratives. In encouraging storytelling and filmmaking in grassroots communities, we can also build a film culture and the kind of community filmmaking that I mentioned before, not to mention building audiences for South African stories. So it’s a win-win.

Your research is ‘autoethnographic,’ can you explain this approach and how it relates to participatory storytelling and community filmmaking?

PD: I believe that knowledge is built in interaction with other people. In examining the stories that emerge in communities, I cannot avoid becoming part of the story myself. I therefore opted for this methodology in writing my thesis, where my story of coming to filmmaking, storytelling and participatory community work is interwoven with the stories that emerge during workshops. In this way, the central themes of marginalisation and the use of narrative to reflect on community and identity, can be explored more effectively. I am also writing the thesis as a form of Creative Arts Practice (CAP) as identified by Caroline Ellis

| INDUSTRY REPORT

and Laurel Richardson; so the thesis itself is a montage of a film script, theoretical conversations and reflections.

In your experience, in the industry and academia, what can South Africa’s film and television industry do to help the next generation of storytellers flourish?

PD: The industry is sometimes critical of training institutions, especially universities. There is a perception that a few years’ work in the industry can replace a degree. I believe that in practice, anyone who does well in a particular area of production, for example in graphics, will get ahead, but only in that area. It just doesn’t make sense for a small company (or even a large one) to move young people around so that they can learn. I can only speak for UJ, but what we aim at is giving students a broad introduction to several areas of production, but focusing on conceptualisation and storytelling. We want to produce thinking artists, who can find creative solutions to problems, and who will work hard at getting ahead.

What films have had the biggest impact on you personally and what African films would you recommend?

PD: In terms of documentary, Guzman’s Nostalgia for the Light enchants me whenever I watch it, for its conceptual density and visual richness.

Locally, the most important, goosebump inducing documentary of the last year has been Rehad Desai’s Miners Shot Down, which unfortunately has yet to be broadcast on the SABC (perhaps unsurprisingly). My favourite short film from Africa has always been The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun (Djibril Diop Mambéty, Senegal, 1999). What attracts me to this film is that it is a small, local, story with universal significance. Where recent feature films are concerned, I really like the visual richness and social significance of Man on Ground, directed by Akin Omotoso.

– Christopher Wheeler

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INDUSTRY REPORT

From with

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Seoul love

The cultural and historical differences between South Africa and South Korea are vast but, for Christopher Wheeler, there are many instructive parallels to be drawn between the two countries’ film industries.

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he latest Star Wars never really took off in South Korea.

Worldwide, The Force Awakens has grossed over US$1.7 billion and continues to shatter records, but in The universally acclaimed drama, Spring, The Land of the Morning Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring stunned Calm, it never met the international critics with its vivid depiction hype. Instead, it was of spiritual enlightenment attained through thumped by Lee Seoklife’s trials hoon’s The Himalayas: a moving melodrama based on real-world events about thrillers to its blockbusting period the search for a missing dramas, romantic comedies, and mountaineer. gangster flicks, South Korea’s images are I spent nearly five years as diverse as South Africa is in reality. living and working in and Perhaps the most important aspect around Seoul, and during that struck me was the relationship my time there I explored between national identity and cinema: to the country’s industry by have any hopes of moving from a striving familiarising myself with its to a thriving industry, South Africa needs fantastic features, exciting more than a few hits and heroes, it needs SOUTH KOREA ON THE RISE: Lee Seok-hoon’s The Himalayas, which beat Star Wars: The Force Awakens at festivals and world-class a stabilising sense of self. But in South the South Korean box office filmmakers. Just as I Africa there is no galvanising ‘ghost’ in thought I knew what a our ‘empathy machine’ (as the legendary twenty-first century city film critic Rodger Ebert described it), only could smell and feel like before Seoul, my discovering a common core around which individual rays fluctuating in and out of filmic education was jolted when I those cinematic blisses are spun. existence. National cinemas are not just experienced South Korea’s thriving Cinephiles with a global eye would reflections of well-oiled machines going industry first-hand; what a dream have heard of Park Chan-wook’s through the motions – evolving – on machine. devastating Cannes-winner Old Boy (a well-funded foundations, they are After being swept away by Korea’s film that American director, Spike Lee, haunted, two-way mirrors dead reckoning cinematic carnival of ideas, coming back remade a few years ago – why you would cultural identity; its hopes, fears to South Africa and our stammering remake a Grand Prix winner is beyond and fantasies. image industry was tough and telling; the me); Kim Ki-duk’s bizarre and brilliant If you want to learn about South difference between the two countries’ 3-Iron, or the stunning spiritual quest that Korean culture and its people, watch their industries was as vast as the cultures is Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and films; if you want to learn about South themselves. South Korea, for example, Spring; Lee Chang-dong’s sublime Africa, watch the news. has a homogenous population, whereas Poetry; or perhaps marvelled at Bong Korea is a small – divided – country South Africa is one of most genetically Joon-ho’s monster movie, The Host. surrounded by superpowers (China, diverse countries on Earth. There is also South Korean directors have also Russia, Japan), and like South Africa, the economic health of each country to pushed past their language in recent South Korea is still reeling from living compare, education, access to years with English-language films like memory hijacked by power-hungry technology, socio-political histories, Snowpiercer (an awesome adaptation of players on the move. South Korea’s cultural preferences… but beyond these the French graphic novel, Le homogeneity and other differences and other obvious truisms, there is a lot Transperceneige); The Last Stand (which cannot help South Africa, but the Korean South Africa can learn about cultivating brought Arnold Schwarzenegger out of core concept of ‘han’ is instantly cinematic dreams moving forward; retirement), and Stoker (based on recognisable. When I asked Koreans what particularly in terms of spreading, not just Wentworth Miller’s Black Listed they understood han to mean, what I a love for our own dreams, but screenplay). From its infamous revenge found was a term that encompassed the

28 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

The Host, a monster movie to rival anything from Hollywood

suffering and struggles of Korea’s past that impacts all levels of Korean identity “from the highest historical-national level to the innermost-psychic feelings of the person,” as Jon Huer, a Korea Times columnist, wrote: “Virtually all of Korea’s institutions and persons are under the powerful influence of han. Virtually all of Koreans have a deep-seated sense of grief and grievance that they have been wronged by some very powerful agents of injustice.”

Han is an incredibly complex and nuanced term, and if South Korea has a soul, han would be close to It; its cinema is han incarnate. And like its cinema, the term captures the full spectrum of human experience and emotions, often swinging from boundless compassion to cruel condemnation as Korea wrestles with what South Africans know as ubuntu.

Some Korean citizens believe this overzealous zeitgeist ought to ultimately be exorcised, if possible; perhaps, but at present it fills a void, fuels creative expression and dialogue, and acts as the vanishing point of cultural address.

There are many things big and small South Africa could learn from modern Korean cinema – ensure there are up-to-date statistics and regular reports to create public awareness and transparency; experiment with genres and styles and promote cinematic expression; encourage criticism, commentary and reflection; support student films and showcase formats of all sorts and sizes; offer older films (even festival screenings) online, for free; foster film studies and engage academics to deepen our conversations around cinema; creatively explore the past with brave new perspectives; it’s okay to put expression and/or style over content; get the public interested with podcasts, infographics, videos and other new forms of media to excite; and honour the archive and promote it alongside the new. It is our han, our struggle, and the images it spawns, that animate.

– Christopher J. Wheeler

Handy Recorder Series

Zoom produces a wide array of recording devices, including a line of portable “handy” recorders.

Over the past thirty years, the company has established a solid reputation as a manufacturer of innovative yet affordable products which are based on original microchip designs.

The company’s staff represents a fusion of engineering expertise and artistic sensibilities; they know it’s not just a matter of having advanced technological skills but also the sense and desire to employ them creatively and imaginatively.

H1

H2n

H5

H6

This ultra-compact device brings new meaning to the term “portability”. Small enough to slip into your pocket, it offers professional-quality studio recording at an incredibly affordable price.

Take it with you wherever you go, or use it to capture your musical ideas whenever inspiration strikes.

The only portable recording device to come with 5 built-in microphones and 4 different recording modes: X/Y, MidSide, 2-channel surround and 4-channel surround.

Other features include automatic gain control and onboard MS decoding, plus effects like compression, limiting and lowcut filtering.

The H5 provides four tracks of simultaneous recording and it can use all Zoom interchangeable input capsules.

The H5 provides everything you need to create multitrack recordings, audio for video, and state-of-the-art podcasting, broadcasting and electronic newsgathering.

The H6 is the most versatile portable recorder ever... which means it can handle virtually any kind of recording job, whatever the environment, whatever the application.

Distributed exclusively by MIDI Music. Contact us at 011 403 0199.

Available at leading video and photographic outlets nationwide.

EQUIPMENT RENTALS Cam-A-lot Contact: Glen Theron, Garry Strachan Tel: 011 787 6234/ 082 440 0859 Email: info@camalot.co.za Physical Address: 18 Grove Street (Cnr Oak Avenue), Ferndale, Randburg Website: www.camalot.co.za

Sony’s very latest A7S ii with internal 4K recording. Sony’s recently launched FS5 35mm with internal 4K recording. Full Rokinon Prime E-mount Lens kit (no more adaptors for Sony cams). Sony X160 Video Camera with 25x Zoom shooting up to 11mbs. Panther twisted Professional Dolly – used with or without tracks. Atomos 4K recorder/monitor. New HD fly-away OB kits. Good selection of LED and other lighting. New EZ Slider Pro with wide track & 100m bowl. Audio recorders mics & more.

Digital Film Service Contact: Devin Zivkovic Tel: 011 258 5050 Email: devinz@digitalfilmservice.co.za Physical Address: Tripark, Block B, 17 Eastern Service Road, Eastgate Ext.8, Sandton Website: www.digitalfilmservice.co.za

Your cost effective, solution driven “one stop shop” for a variety of your Camera, Grips, Lighting, Broadcast and consumables requirements. We also do transfers of footage over a wide range of formats. RED RAVEN CAMERA COMING SOON! Top camera choices in our Sony range include: A7S, A7S MKII, A7R MKII, 4K FS7, FS700, PWX-300, PWX-180, PWX-160, Z5, Z7.

Our Canon Range: 5D MK III, 7D, 70D. Latest camera addition is the DJI OSMO camera. We have GO PRO HERO 3 and HERO 4 – both in black edition. We have a wide range of camera accessories which includes lenses, monitors, 3_axis Gimbals, Filters and Recorders. Not to forget about our sound gear which includes Mics, 2-way radios etc.

Lighting solutions: 1x1 Astra’s Kinoflows, Dedo’s , Blondes, Redheads and easy access to Media gear to compliment small gensets, distribution and so much more.

Glow Film & Photo Hire Contact: Chantelle Fegen Tel: 011 880 8124 Email: rentals@glowhire.co.za Physical Address: Unit 007 Oxford Manor, Cnr Oxford & Chaplin road. Illovo, Jhb. Website: www.glowhire.co.za

Glow film & Photo Hire centrally located in both Johannesburg and Cape Town is a premium Gear rental Company supplying to the Photographic and Motion Industry. As one of the eminent rental companies, Glow finds itself at the intersection of arts of Photography and Motion. We firmly believe a rental company has a responsibility to help develop and grow the industry. Having assembled a new team of industry experts, we are focused on growing and improving our service. It’s all very exciting as we push to find new and innovative methodology to change the conventional manner of how business is done. We provide value, service and convenience to all our clients and stock an excellent collection and the latest gear for the Video and Photographic market. Glow works hard to provide the solutions, it’s a partnership, and together we both Glow.

Media Fim Service CAPE TOWN: Tel: +27 21 511 3300 Email: info@mediafilmservice.com Physical Address: 52 Paarden Eiland Road Paarden Eiland, Cape Town Website: www.mediafilmservice.com

JOHANNESBURG: 011 258 5000 info@mediafilmservice.com 17 Eastern Service Road, Old Pretoria Road, Eastgate, Ext 8

All your Camera, Grips, Lighting gear and consumables under one roof.

Cameras include: Alexa Minis, Arri Amiras, Alexa XTs, Alexa Classics. RED Dragon Cameras. Phantom 4K, Phantom 2K Flex, Phantom Miro. Sony F55s. Prestons & WCU4’s, filters & hundreds of accessories.

Grip Gear: Technocrane ST 50, 30 & 15. Chapman Hustler, Hybrid, Peewee 3 and 4 dollies. Fischer 10, 11 and Fisher Speed Wheels. O’ Connor 2575 C&D, 1030 Heads. Cartoni Lambda and Ronford F7s. Giraffe crane, Jib arms, Mo-Kits and Ladder Pods. Aurora Heads.

Lighting Gear: 18kW Arrimax, M90, M40, M18, M8 Celebs. High Speed Ballasts, Generators, John Long Silver Stands, 1x1 Astra’s and DEDOs. We also offer a plethora of gels and Accessories at our Consumables store.

30 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

EQUIPMENT RENTALS MGG Productions Contact: Denzil Smith Tel: 011 608 4094 Email: denzil@mgg.co.za Physical Address: Unit A Linbro Crossing, 12, 3rd Road, Linbro Park.

Website: www.mgg.co.za

MGG Productions is a leading supplier of technical services & equipment to the South African live event, corporate production, television and film industries. Providing external support and a wide range of equipment for hire in the fields of lighting, sound, rigging and video production. With our extensive and ever growing inventory of exclusive high-end equipment, and our team of trained technical professionals, MGG Productions has the capabilities to deliver a tailored full-scale technical solution for every production and event.

Panavision & Panalux JOHANNESBURG: Contact: James Barth Tel: 011 314 1748 Email: James.barth@panavision.za.com Physical Address: Reedbuck Crescent, Corporate Park, Midrand. Johannesburg.

Website: www.panavision.com

CAPE TOWN: Michele St Arnaud 021 529 4200 Michele.starnaud@panalux.co.za Unit D2 Sanlam Business Park Koeberg Road, Milnerton, Cape Town.

Dedicated to growing and supporting the future of cinematography through new products and innovations, Panavision are a leading designer and manufacturer of high-precision camera systems, including film and digital cameras, lenses and accessories for motion picture and television industries. Panavision are renowned for their world-wide service and support, renting systems through domestic and internationally-owned and operated facilities and distributor network.

Part of the Panavision Group, Panalux offers the world of film, television and media production the very best in lighting rental equipment and associated studio facilities. Panalux are unrivalled in service, innovation and their inventory of modern equipment, which enable the company to deliver practical, effective lighting systems to productions in South Africa and throughout the world. Panalux supply creative lighting solutions to the full spectrum.

Photo Hire and Sales Contact: Calvin Morrison or Pieter Badenhorst Tel: 021 462 6933 Email: info@photohire.co.za Physical Address: 47 De Villiers street, Zonnebloem, Cape Town Website: www.photohire.co.za

Photo Hire & Sales is a leading equipment rental/ sales house in South Africa. We provide the best and most advanced gear for the photographic, video, broadcast and film industries. We supply the most current equipment and accessories to suite the style and scale of any production. From heavyweight brands to unique accessories, lenses, lighting and so much more – Photo Hire has it all. Our gear has been seen on the set of indie videos as well as major international blockbusters and television series. Photo Hire is also a favourite choice for many top local and international photographers, production houses and agencies. Our dynamic team work like a family, with all members committed to fantastic service and client care. This impeccable work ethic and professional, friendly approach has garnered us a flawless reputation as one of the most advanced support houses around.

Photo Hire also boasts two large studios, a Digital Cinema support centre, and a dedicated sales department. We are also an official RED Digital Cinema Agent in South Africa, offering RED products for both hire and purchase.

Puma Video Contact: Henk, Mpumi or Marcel Tel: 011 886 1122/ 083 601 1150 Email: bookings@pumavideo.co.za marcel@pumavideo.co.za Physical Address: 401 Jan Smuts Ave Blairgowrie, Randburg Website: www.pumavideo.co.za

Full Frame Cameras: Sony A7sII, Canon 5DIII, S-35 Cameras (4K): Sony F55, FS7, FS5. S-35 HD: Canon C300, XDCam EX Cameras: Sony PMW 400, PMW 300, PXW 160, PMW 150.

Full Frame Prime lenses: Zeiss ZF(Nikon), Rokinon Cine EF(Canon), Canon EF, all lens adapters: PL, EF, ZF, B4, E and FZ. S-35 Prime Lenses: Zeiss T2.1 PL Primes ENG Lenses: Canon HD lenses. Grips: O’Connor, Sachtler tripods, Dollies, tracks, gimbals, mini jibs. Lighting: HMI’s, Kino Flo, LED’s, Tungsten fresnels, textiles, frames, etc. Audio: Mixers, wireless hand & lapel mics, rifle mics, recorders. SS Recorders 4K: Odyssey 7Q, Atomos Shogun HD: Pix 240 & Panasonic RT Motion Wireless Follow Focus, HME wireless comms, 2-way radios P2.

March 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 31

EQUIPMENT RENTALS The Magic Light Box Contact: Frank / Kevin / Bernard Tel: 011 463 7584 Email: frank@magiclightbox.co.uk magiclightboxkevin@gmail.com magiclightboxbernard@gmail.com Physical Address: 2A Old Kilcullen Road, Bryanston.

Website: www.magiclightbox.co.uk Camera Rigs: Sony PXWFS7, PXW-FS5, Sony A7S MK II, Sony A7R MK II. Sony RX10 MK II, Sony D6300, Canon 5D MK II. Lenses: Zeiss Super Speed PL, Canon Zoom, Nikon Prime and Zoom. Grips: Various Tripods, Jibs, Tracks, Dollys (do not confuse with Barbie). Audio: Zoom F8 Recorders, Sennheiser/Rode Radio Mics.

Lighting: Various Powerful LED and Fresnal Lighting. Bespoke Made to Measure Digital Tailoring. Atomos Shogun/Sound devices PIX-5E 4K Recorders. Various Accessories to complete any shooting package. Film Museum, Ceiling Fan, QuadPly Toilet Paper and Therapy Chair.

Visual Impact JOHANNESBURG: Contact: Goran Music Tel: 011 788 9879/ 082 855 0359 Email: goran@visuals.tv Physical Address: 32 Bompas Road, Dunkeld, Johannesburg Website: www.visuals.tv

CAPE TOWN: Marius van Straaten, Stefan Nell 021 468 6000 marius@visuals.tv Media Hive Building, 1 Glynnville Terrace, Gardens, Cape Town

Visual Impact South Africa is the foremost broadcast services provider in South Africa. We offer broadcast sales, rentals training and development. We have serviced some of the biggest names in Reality Television genre from I am a Celebrity, Fear Factor, Big Brother, The Bachelor, You deserve it and Idols to name a few.

With the most experienced engineering workshop in South Africa we offer unparalleled support in broadcast repairs, expertise and maintenance.

Our fly away, install anywhere multi camera systems have become the backbone to productions requiring mobility and flexible solutions. In addition to our equipment we offer support through qualified engineers and crew.

Zootee Studios Contact: Stacey Keppler Tel: 021 510 1928 Email: Stacey@zooteestudios.com Physical Address: Unit 10B Gold Str. Northgate Estate, Brooklyn, Cape Town 7405 Website: www.zooteestudios.com

Zootee Studios is a Digital Cinema equipment rental company with a wide variety of cameras from RED Dragons to Sony FS7s and A7R IIs. We are young, female-run, soar powered, quirky and stay on top of trends. Our inventory consists of kits we have used ourselves so they consist of all the bits and bobs that just make shooting easier and safer. We have become quite Sony-centric as Son sensors are quite frankly kicking-ass. So whether you want a Ronin-m with an A7R II to run around with, a lavalier mic for your Youtube show, or an FS7 with PL mount and Cine Primes to shoot your short film on, give us a holler. We’re good at this game and smell nice.

VIDEQUIP (PTY) LTD BROADCAST • AV • CCTV

Videquip (Pty) Ltd Contact: Ian Thornhill Tel: 031 940 1577 Email: Ian@videquip.co.za Physical Address: Unit 36, The Power Centre, 21 Lanner Road, New Germany, Durban.

Website: www.videquip.co.za

Videquip is a supplier of Premium brands. Video & Audio Products to the South African Film & Television Industry. We have been operating since 1976, so if you need some sound advice before your next purchase, give us a call.

32 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

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NAB | PREVIEW

NABShow 2016 NAB is upon us again and as expected 2016 promises to be another fantastic show with more great reveals of what is coming our way from the technology front in the next year or two. The organisers expect another record attendance with some 104 000 visitors from 160 countries expected to descend on Las Vegas in April.

34 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

T

he NAB Show Conference Programme is the industry’s gold standard, providing visitors with a year’s worth of intelligencegathering in all areas of expertise, as well as the ultimate learning and networking environment, over the course of a few days.

Apart from the exhibition the conference programme is an important and popular meeting point for many. The Broadcast Engineering Conference covers numerous topics and a few of the more interesting conference sessions include cyber security for broadcast operations in an IP environment and the big debate on UHD and the next generation of video formats.

Of interest to many will be the ‘Future of Cinema’ conference. Today’s cinema creatives face an ever-changing environment of enhanced formats, evolving platforms and brave new experiential technologies. The conference is hosted by numerous industry experts and creatives who will discuss the next 100 years of motion pictures and how content makers work with technology to thrive today – and well into the next century.

Something not to miss is the Virtual Reality Production Summit, billed as ‘Emerging Immersive Worlds’. Virtual Reality is currently climbing the hype cycle. Augmented Reality is almost in a

position to begin its own ascent. There are daily stories about hardware advancements, new products from the latest VR startup, or the VR development plans of a gaming house or production studio. Through a mix of keynotes, panel discussions, and audience Q&A sessions, the summit strives to separate what is real from what is vapourware covering the technology and business aspects of this emerging marketplace, which some consider to be a new media type and art form.

Last year, NAB’s floor space expanded to cover some 1 013 544 square feet, accommodating the 1 800 exhibitors for the four-day event. A highlight for many attendees was the Aerial Robotics and Drone Pavilion. When it comes to creating killer content, the sky is the limit – literally!

Back again in 2016, the Aerial Robotics and Drone Pavilion includes a fully enclosed ‘flying cage’ that gives you an up-close and personal look at this technology in action. This is no mere fly-by. A panel of industry experts – inclusive of broadcasters and exhibitors – will take you through all aspects of employing aerial technology.

An area of interest for most broadcasters is the Connected Media Pavilion. Situated in the South Hall, this is the solutions destination that explores the underlying technologies enabling audiences to receive, discover and

interact with content across any device, anywhere. It’s all about IP-focused technology including IPTV, OTT, mobile, social and cloud. And it’s all about consumer engagement and the rising importance of brand casting – bringing audiences closer to the action and today’s leading brands. Through exhibits and a full seminar programme, the Connected Media Pavilion will provide you with the tools and knowledge to deliver the ultimate multiscreen audience experience.

Something new this year is the Virtual & Augmented Reality (VR/AR) Pavilion – it will be the place to get your hands on the latest augmented and virtual reality equipment and software. The world, as we know it, is changing. Virtual and augmented reality is impacting all aspects of filmmaking, storytelling, cameras, lighting, sound, production, special effects (VFX), editing, distribution, coding and consumption. The VR/AR Pavilion features the leading content producers and tech companies building the future and changing the way we consume information.

Post|Production World (P|PW) is the world’s leading training event for content creators and designers including TV, film and video editors, producers, directors, graphic artists, motion graphics designers and new media specialists. Produced in partnership with Future Media Concepts,

PREVIEW

| NAB

the five-day programme features a robust multi-track schedule focused on production and post-production technologies, trends and workflows. In addition to the general sessions, P|PW offers multi-day, certification-prep and hands-on training that allows attendees to dive deep into platforms such as Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro and Apple Final Cut Pro X. New this year, P|PW offers a track dedicated to graduating students to provide them a leg-up in navigating the industry. Also back are five unique field workshops showcasing the latest tools and techniques impacting the industry.

What can we expect to see from suppliers this year? As always there’s a healthy amount of competition trying to get it right for the consumers on the camera front. It’s exciting to see how quickly these companies are turning around new cameras with the improvements that DOPs and camera operators are asking for. We have heard several times in the past year that Canon is planning to release an 8K camcorder, now it seems that is true. The latest rumors suggest that Canon will announce the new EOS C500 Mark II camcorder at NAB as well as the much anticipated Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. Canon is a bit late for the 4K market, so they don’t want

March 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 35

NAB | PREVIEW

Broadcast Services • Video & IP Connectivity • Studios • SNG • Fibre Services • Data Centres

WITH THREE DECADES OF EXPERIENCE PROVIDING SOLUTIONS FOR THE RADIO AND TELEVISION BROADCAST INDUSTRY

PO Box 1853, Rivonia, 2128, South Africa Tel: +27 (0)11 803-3353/4 | Fax: +27 (0)11 803-2534 E-mail: sales@telemedia.co.za | www.telemedia.co.za

36 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2016

to miss out again in the 6K or 8K market.

RED is gearing up to release their all new RED Raven. This camera packs quite a punch with 240 fps at 2K and 120 fps at 4K raw, this camera is said to provide just as clean of an image as its predecessors, but with a lighter weight body and fully compatible with the RED Weapon.

RED will be offering three different packages: the brain only, the jetpack package and base i/o package.

No newcomer to surprise, rumour has it that Sony is working on an 8K Cine Alta camera which will replace the current top of the line Sony F65 camera. According to some insiders, the sensor will be based on A7r2 backlit CMOS technology and will include a global shutter mode (either mechanical or electronic). It will record 60FPS in 8K resolution, 240FPS in 4K resolution and will feature a16-bit RAW uncompressed and compressed onboard recorder offering ProRes, DNxHD, DNxHR, AVCHD, XAVC, SR, MPEG-2 and H264 formats. Go Sony!

Blackmagic Design are busy testing the URSA Mini 4.6K and it is already being dubbed by some as possibly the hottest camera of NAB 2016. Late last year GoPro announced the imminent release of the Hero 5 and that it had entered the aerial camera market with the Karma drone. While it’s GoPros first venture outside of straight action cameras, it will come of no surprise to many.

Drone operators and enthusiasts alike have been flying GoPros for years; a DJI Phantom and GoPro combo quickly became the go-to package for entry level

aerial filmmakers.

DJI has since started the production of its own cameras, which in-turn has taken over what a GoPro package can currently offer; the DJI X5R can record raw video utilising a micro four thirds sensor. Because of DJIs latest offering, a GoPro Hero 4 simply bolted to a same branded drone will not suffice as a market leader. It will be interesting to see where the Karma sits within the industry, my guess is GoPro will target the entry-level market and challenge the Phantom 3 in spec and price, offering a Hero 5 on an affordable gimballed drone; this would fit their mass consumer profile.

There is further speculation that if the GoPro Hero 5 would indeed be designed to be small, portable, and fit into the Karma drone, then this would make it “the most versatile camera to be built.”

Rumours about the Karma drone also indicate it to have a waterproof housing, which would allow users to take pictures underwater of up to 60 to 100 metres below water surface level. Therefor, the Hero 5, through the Karma drone, would be able to take pictures on land, in the air, or underwater.

There are some companies we haven’t heard from yet concerning upcoming releases for 2016 – such as Panasonic, Arri and AJA. Does this mean that they are secretly concocting a new camera model to blow your mind? Or have they run short of R&D funds? Whatever the reason, there’s still plenty of time for new and exciting products to emerge at NAB and beyond so keep a look out! – Ian Dormer

PROD U CTION

UPDATES

FOR FURTHER DETAILS VISIT www.screenafrica.com

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

IN PRODUCTION 20 and Free X CON Films Dir: Munier Parker Documentary 50/50 Clive Morris Productions Current Affairs 53 EXTRA M-Net Inhouse Productions Dir: Navan Chetty Magazine A BROTHER’S LOVE 1300 Pictures (Pty) Ltd Dir: Elvis Nkosi Feature A CALENDAR OF EVENTS – MEDUPI & KUSILE Betta Beta Communications Prod: Tommy Doig Documentary

CLAASENS DESIGNS MARKETING VIDEOS Panache Video Productions Prod/Dir: Liesel Eiselen Marketing videos CLASH OF THE CHOIRS Endemol South Africa Prod: Josh Feldman Talent / Reality 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 DIAMOND BROKER OF CONGO Bendimir Productions PTY LTD Prod: Dede Tshibangu Documentary

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

A MAN OF HIS OWN PRINCIPALS Sekgopha Productions Prod: Buhle Mofulatsi / Thapelo Hlagala TV movie

DIMENSION DATA Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Natalie Varoy Corporate

AQUELLE’ MIDMAR MILE 2015 Media Ventures Prod/Dir: Chris Moolman Documentary

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

AFRICA 360 eNews News Head: Patrick Conroy Current affairs

DISHONEST Inhlakanipho Films Dir: Vusi Nhlapo Feature Film

AFRO CAFÉ SEASON 7 Bonngoe Productions Prod: Pepsi Pokane Music

Ditokelo tsa Medupi LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature

ArtsCulturex Talent 1000 Championships Michics Global Communications Exec Prod: Mishack Motshweni Series

DIY MET RIAAN Prod: Riaan Venter-Garforth Magazine

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

EARTH BEAT Tekweni TV Productions Prod: Sandra Herrington Series

IMIZWILILI Ukhamba Productions Prod: Alfred Mpofu Music

EASTERN MOSAIC Red Carpet Productions Prod: Saira Essa / Mark Corlett Magazine

INKABA Urban Brew Studios Prod: John Kani Telenovela

BIG BROTHER MZANSI Endemol South Africa Prod: Terja Beney, Liza Kleitman Reality

END GAME Fireworx Media/ Tunc Productions Prod: Bridget Pickering Dir: Akin Omotoso/ Thandie Brewer/ Thabang Moleya Feature

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

BINNELAND Stark Films Prod/Dir: Friedrich / Elsje Stark Series

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

BRAVO! Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Magazine

FACE OF GEMINI Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Series

BONISANANI Grounded Media Talk Show

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

Auditor General Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Brad Montgomery/Natalie Varoy Corporate BACKBONE PROJECT Global Access Creative Agency Prod: GA Creative Agency Documentary

Bugatti Together Lucky Fish Productions Dir: Raphaël Crombez Commercial CAINE’S LEGACY Media Navigation Prod/Dir: Dan Akinlolu Short Film CARTE BLANCHE (inserts) Modern Times Prod: Sophia Phirippides News Carte Blanche shorts TIA productions Prod / Dir: Tarryn Lee Crossman News

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

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

ISIDINGO Endemol South Africa Prod: Pumla Hoppa, Leo Phiri Soap JOBURG TAXI Xcut Studios Prod: Dave Kaminer Documentary JOU SHOW Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Talkshow comedy KHUMBUL’EKHAYA Urban Brew Studios Prod: Khulile Nxumalo Factual Entertainment KOKKEDOOR 2 Homebrew films Prod: Jaco Loubser and Paul Venter Cooking reality series

LATE NITE NEWS ON E.TV Diprente Productions Prod: Tamsin Andersson Series

LIVE AMP Urban Brew Studios Prod: Sjula Dlamini Music Show

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

Light Girls South African Unit White Heron Pictures Prod: Themba Sibeko Documentary

LIVE LOTTO SHOW Urban Brew Game Show

KOOLCON CORPORATE VIDEO FiX Post Production/ Marketing AV Marketing Video

LIVE Urban Brew Music

KOLLIG Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Magazine

MAHADI SEASON 2 Urban Brew Studios Prod: Khulile Nxumalo Reality Show

PRO DU C T I O N

U PD ATES Mandela’s Gun DV8 films Dir: John Irvin Feature

RHYTHM CITY Quizzical Pictures Prod: Yula Quinn Soapie

THE CHAT ROOM Eclipse Prod: Thokozani Nkosi Talk Show

Marang Estate: Mixed Used Development Nov/ Dec Our Time Productions Dir: Jaun de Meillon Documentary

RIVONINGO Asi-B Films Prod: Asivhanzi ‘Asi’ Mathaba Children’s Show

THE COMMUNIST REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA Jam TV, Creative South Africa, Nkhanyeti Production Prod: Barthelemy Ngwessam Documentary

MASHELENG1 LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature MASHELENG 2 LMOL Production Dir: Jonny Muteba Feature MassTalk Global Access Creative Agency Prod: Brad Montgomery Corporate MATRICS UPLOADED Educational Improvement and Study Help (EISH) Prod: Lisa Blakeway Educational MOTSWAKO Carol Bouwer Productions Prod: Grant Paul Roy Talk Show MCA Training Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate M-NET SHORT FILMS Current Affairs Films Prod/ Dir: Jane Thandi Lipman Film MURDER OF A FORMER FIRST LADY Sabido Productions Dir/Prod: Catherine Rice Documentary

SAUBA IMAGOFILM Prod: Tam de Vries Reality TV Series Shreds and Dreams Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant TV Series SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM Rapid Blue Prod: Kee-Leen Irvine Global TV Commercial SCANDAL Ochre Moving Pictures Prod: Romano Gorlei Soapie

SELIMATHUNZI Sikhoyana Productions Prod: Baby Joe Correira Variety

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

SHIZ NIZ Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Allen Makhubele Variety

MZANSI INSIDER Bonngoe Productions Prod: Pepsi Pokane Magazine

SHIFT Urban Brew Studios Prod: Bongani Maphumulo Talk show

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

SISTERHOOD Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Andy Leze Variety

PASELLA Tswelopele Productions Dir: Liani Maasdorp / Werner Hefer Magazine PAWN STARS SOUTH AFRICA Rapid Blue Prod: Kee-Leen Irvine, Ed Worster, Johan Naude and Kat Weatherall Reality PHUNDEKA READING PROGRAMME SummerTime Productions Exec Prod: Phundeka (NGO) Documentary POWER COMBAT ZONE Mixed Motion Entertainment Dir: Dieter Gottert Sport PROJECT MV Zen Crew Prod: Laura Tarling Music

Visit avisvanrental.co.za or call 011 312 6206 / 021 927 3456

SAKEGESPREK MET THEO VORSTER SEASON 5 Dirk Mostert Camera Production Prod/ Dir: Dirk Mostert Series

MY GENERATION Current Affairs Films Dir: Jane Lipman TV Series

Oscar Pistorius Documentary Inserts TIA Productions Dir/ Prod: Tarryn Crossman Documentary

Van Rental fleet offers a total transport solution to the film industry.

SAINT AND FREEDOM FIGHTER Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Documentary

MUVHANGO Word of Mouth Prod: Pieter Grobbelaar Feature

NEWS NIGHT eNews Prod: Nikiwe Bikitsha Current Affairs

With dedicated film offices in both Cape Town and Joburg, the Avis

ROOTS Ukhamba Communications Prod: Alfred Mpofu Music

SCHOEMAN BOERDERY – MOOSRIVIER Khaki Productions Prod/Dir: Christelle Parrott / Wynand Dreyer Documentary

NET1 – SASSA Betta Beta Communications Prod: Tommy Doig Corporate

Lights; ignition; action.

ROLLING WITH KELLY KHUMALO Red Pepper Prod: Cecil Barry Reality

Rands with Sense 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myersin Education

SIYAKHOLWA – WE BELIEVE X CON Films Dir: Munier Parker Edutainment Slender Wonder Doctors Conference Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Prod: Slender Wonder Corporate Video Slender Wonder Patient Testimonial Videos Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Corporate Videos SOCCER ZONE SABC Sports Head: Sizwe Nzimande Magazine SODA AND Mayoral Awards Global Access Creative Agency Guy Sclanders Corporate SPRINGBOK STORIES Angel Music Studio Productions Dir: Chrissie Rossouw TV Series STUDY MATE Educational Improvement and Study Help (EISH) Exec Prod: Lisa Blakeway Educational SUIDOOSTER Suidooster Films Prod: Colin Howard Soap SUPERSWIMMER Media Ventures Prod/Dir: Chris Moolman TV Series

THE JUSTICE FACTOR eNews Prod: Debbie Meyer Current Affairs THE REAL GOBOZA 10 Urban Brew Studios Prod: Sydney Mekgwe Magazine show The Revolution Betrayed Shadow Films Prod/Dir: David Forbes Documentary THE RUDIMENTALS Periphery Films Prod: Simon Taylor Feature THE TECH REPORT Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Technology Magazine TOP BILLING Tswelopele Productions Prod: Patience Stevens Magazine TOP TRAVEL (Season 3) Cardova Prod: Bradley van den Berg Series Troopship Tragedy (working title) Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Marion Edmunds Documentary TSHIPE BORWA MANGANESE MINE Betta Beta Communications Prod / Dir: Tommy Doig Documentary Vaseline Experience Xcut Studios Dir: Lee Anne Theron 4D AV production VELDKINDERS Kilroy Was Here! Productions Prod: Gideon Breytenbach Documentary Series 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 YOTV Urban Brew Studios Prod: Adelaide Joshua Youth show 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 FATAL ENCOUNTER – THE MARLEEN KONINGS STORY Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Johann Abrahams Documentary

PROD U CTION

UPDATES

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UPCOMING EVENTS

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

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

PERFECT SHISHEBO Quizzical Pictures Prod: Nthabiseng Mokoena Series

A MOTHER’S MADNESS Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Ayesha Ismail Documentary

HOPE NHU Africa Prod: Vyv Simson / Donfrey Meyer Documentary

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

A STOLEN LIFE – THE SASHA LEIGH CROOK STORY Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Catherine Rice Documentary

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

Pushi- Passion LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Series

11 – 12 PAN-AFRICAN FILM CONSORTIUM:

WORLD CONFERENCE ON AFRICNA CINEMA

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

THE QUIET BOY Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Charlene Stanley Corporate

11 – 19 SXSW FILM FESTIVAL

IQILI Impucuzeko Prod: Sharon Kakora Feature

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

Joyous 18 RM Recording Prod: Lindelani Mkhize Other

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

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

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

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

Dubai www.cabsat.com

Kigali www.theafricanfilmconsortium.org

SAMURAI KILLER Sabido Productions Dir: Catherine Rice Corporate

Texas www.sxsw.com

12 – 19 RAPID LION FILM FESTIVAL

Johannesburg www.rapidlion.co.za

17 – 23 Luxor African Film Festival

Egypt www.luxorafricanfilmfestival.com

31 – 3 APR Eco Film Festival

Cape Town www.saecofilmfestival.com

APRIL 4 – 7 MIPTV

Cannes www.miptv.com

KADARA Media Navigation Prod: Dan Akinlolu/ Biola Karonwi TV Drama

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

13 – 24

Tribeca Film Festival

Kerels wat Kook Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant Reality TV Series

SHALLOW GRAVE Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Meggan Raubenheimer Documentary

New York www.tribecafilm.com

KNYSNA West Five Films Prod/ Dir: Maynard Kraak; Andre Velts Feature Film

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

LINCOLN CLAN Total Recall Media Ltd Dir: Adebanjo Oluseyi TV Series

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

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

SWARTWATER Quizzical Pictures Prod: Bianca Isaac Dir: John Trengove/ Jozua Malherbe/ Denny Y Miller Series

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

DIE WASGOEDLYN Kilroy Was Here! Productions Prod: Gideon Breytenbach TV Series

8 – 10 CABSAT

8 – 10 Vancouver South African Film Festival

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

DEBRA DEEL Khaki Productions Prod: Christelle Parrott TV Series

MARCH

NEW LAND Plexus Films/ Four Corners Media Dir: Kyle O’ Donoghue TV Series NIGHT OF THE MASSACRE Tshepo Lesedi Projects, Mathope & Izibuko Films Dir: Charles Khuele Documentary NIGHTCLUB KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Nobathembu Stefane Documentary NORTH WEST KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Ayesha Ismail Documentary Nyaope Gangsters LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature

Canada www.vsaff.org

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

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

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 THE TRANSPORTERS Sukuma Media/ Reality Motion Pictures Dir: Bonginhlanhla Ncube Documentary TOWNSHIP TERROR Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Melanie Rice Documentary TROOPSHIP TRAGEDY Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Marion Edmunds Documentary Traffic Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant TV Series

The calling LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature THE CODE BREAKER NHU Africa Prod: Vyv Simson / Donfrey Meyer Documentary

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 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

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

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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

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+27 (0) 11 361 3020

March 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 39

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Gogglebox SA launch at Montcasino

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G O L F

D A Y

2 0 1 6

The Annual Screen Africa Golf Day will take place on Thursday 12 May 2016 at CMR Golf Club in Maraisburg, Roodepoort.

A cocktail party and prize-giving is held at the CMR Clubhouse following the competition, which provides great networking opportunities.

Secure your sponsorship and 4-ball by 12 April 2016.

Date:

Thursday 12 May 2016

Venue:

CMR Golf Course

Sponsorship:

Hole 1 – R7 500.00 (ex vat)

Halfway House:

All other holes – R5 750.00 (ex vat) For your own account

Green Fees:

R300.00 per player (inc vat), cocktail snacks and prize giving

Start:

Shotgun Start @ 11:45am

Contact: Ellen Oosthuizen Cell: +27 (0)83 268 6868 Fax: +27 (0)86 670 6809 e-mail: ellen.oosthuizen@pixie.co.za