The Callsheet Issue 11

Issue 11 | 2013

Callsheet Africa’s Leading Film Industry Magazine

+ African Animation Soars The Latest Trends

+ DISCOP

Focuses on African Content

+ AfricaCom

Africa’s Digital Market Grows

14 www.filmmakerafrica.co.za Publisher: Lance Gibbons lance@filmeventmedia.co.za Executive Editor: Maya Kulycky maya@filmeventmedia.co.za Business Manager: Taryn Fowler taryn@filmeventmedia.co.za Advertising Sales: Jennifer Dianez jennifer@filmeventmedia.co.za Head of Design: Jess Novotna jess@filmeventmedia.co.za Editorial and Design Co-ordinator: Kim Muller kim@filmeventmedia.co.za Digital Co-ordinator: Tammi Klein tammi@filmeventmedia.co.za 57 2nd Avenue, Harfield Village, Claremont 7708, Cape Town, South Africa Telephone: +27 21 674 0646 www.filmeventmedia.co.za

DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in The Callsheet do not necessarily represent the official viewpoint of the editor or the publisher, while inclusion of adverts/advertising features does not imply endorsement of any business, product or service. Copyright of this material is reserved. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, The Callsheet and/or its employees may not be held liable or responsible for any act or ommission committed by any person, including a juristic person, referred to in this publication. It and they furthermore accept(s) no responsibility for any liability arising out of any reliance that a reader of this publication places on the contents of this publication.

Join us Facebook: www.facebook.com/thecallsheetsa Twitter: @FilmmakerAfrica Youtube: www.youtube.com/thecallsheet Linked In: Filmmaker Africa

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Contents Kunjanimation Preview DISCOP Preview MIPCOM Report Long Walk to Freedom AfricaCom Jameson First Shot CWIFF Postponed to 2014 Musiek vir die Agtergrond Photo & Film Expo Celebrates Five Years A Conversation with Sunrise Production’s Phil Cunningham SA’s First Venda Film African Animation Soars African Talent Northern Africa: Rich Offerings Above the Sahara In Production Industry Moves Opportunities Events Associations Directory www.f i l mma kera f r i ca .co.za T HE C A L L SHEET

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NEWS

Keeping up with

Kunjanimation

Kunjanimation 2012

Kunjanimation 2012

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Kunjanimation 2012

frican animation-lovers take note – changes are in store for Kunjanimation this year.

Kunjanimation, the annual event celebrating African animation takes place from 4-9 November in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. For the first time, it will be held in conjunction with digital content showcase DISCOP. Daniel Snaddon, of Animation SA says, “DISCOP is going to be hosting a day focused on African animation. That is going to be done with Animation SA. Stuart Forrest of Triggerfish and Richard MorganGrenville from Strika Entertainment will be speaking about different models of African animation production. DISCOP approached us saying they thought it would be good for African animation studios to expose themselves to buyers and to see what the landscape is and to

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see what would be mutually beneficial to Kunjanimation and DISCOP. We’re excited about it and hope that people in animation will be able to make some deals.”

This year Kunjanimation will be “much more focused on the animation business,” says Daniel. “I think that most of the activity will be geared towards people in the business. But there will be activities that are open to the public like a day’s work of talks at Wits University. There will be a presentation

by Triggerfish and Judd Simantov who is the Lead Character/Technical Director at Naughty Dog and whose latest work can be seen in ‘The Last of Us’ video game.” There will also be a movie screening. “Were also going to be doing screenings of a French film called ‘My Mother is an American and She Met Buffalo Bill’, says Daniel, “There’s going to be one screening done in conjunction with the Cape Town Winelands Film Festival

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and one in Joburg at the Cinema Nouveau in Rosebank.”

Organisers expect Kunjanimation to be slightly smaller than it was in 2012, due to efforts being focused on the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and Market in France. Animation SA took 39 people to Annecy this year.

However, the event will still have plenty to offer attendees. “Our partners, the French Institute of South Africa, have organized a delegation of nine French studios who come out in the first week of November to sort of meet animation studios in Cape town and Johannesburg,” says Daniel, “and we’re going to be talking to them about the possibility of co-prods and what the French have done to build their animation industry. In general, what they have done right. They are the third largest animation industry in the world.”

NEWS

DISCOP

Set to Showcase Africa

Sandton Convention Centre

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embers of the content development, production, and distribution industries are preparing to gather in Johannesburg, South Africa from the 6-8 November for DISCOP Africa. The sold-out three-day event will welcome more than 2000 delegates from 70-plus countries representing more than 800 new and established regional and global companies driving content business and digital changes with and across Africa.

The event will include a vibrant market showcasing top regional, multicultural, and global Film and TV brands and their latest content. It also features a conference program focusing on production fundraising and hands-on learning opportunities and the second annual Formats from Africa pitching competition promoting TV formats created in Africa that have local, regional and international appeal.

Nigeria will be in the spotlight this year

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at DISCOP Africa, as it has been selected as 2013’s “guest country”. “A guest country will be honored at each DISCOP Africa to offer attendees an in-depth look at Africa’s most vibrant marketplaces. To mark Nollywood’s 20 year anniversary, Nigeria will be our first guest country and its Film and TV industries will be honored during a special gala evening,” comments Patrick Jucaud-Zuchowicki, General Manager of The DISCOP Organisation. He added, “Africa is the fastest- growing advertising, Free-to-Air and Pay-TV marketplace in the world, our ambition is to run two events a year, in the not so distant future, one in South-Africa, and the other one in Nigeria.”

A range of dedicated events, screenings and conference tracks will take place to mark the 20th anniversary of Nollywood, highlighting the rapidly growing Nigerian movie industry. Richard Bell, CEO of Wanachi Group, East Africa’s leading home entertainment operator and the second

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largest Pay-TV operator in Africa, will be the keynote speaker at DISCOP Africa’s opening session, discussing the reasons why Africa is expected to be the world’s number one PayTV marketplace within the next ten years.

Organisers say DISCOP Africa has been tailored to showcase the continent’s rapidly growing offerings. “There’s never been a better time to approach the future of content business in Africa with confidence,” says Patrick. “Africa is empowered by young populations, rising advertising markets, rapid digital switchover processes, strong broadband and mobile penetration, and continued growth in multiscreen viewing and subscription revenues.”

The conference program will also address issues of concern and interest for emerging and established content creators, helping them to develop practical survival skills, build relations, access information and navigate the coproduction and funding terrain. Producers attending the event will be invited to take part in a pitching, matchmaking and training agenda, DISCOPRO, which will include three thematic pitching competitions rewarding TV shows created in Africa and dedicated meeting sessions between producers, commissioning editors and investors.

Thabiso Masudubele, Senior Manager: Industry Support and Development at the Gauteng Film Commission, South Africa, partner in the DISCOP Africa conference program, says, “One of the priorities of the GFC is to support the sustained growth and development of our region’s audiovisual sector. DISCOP Africa, as a market, provides a platform that is local in hosting and international in exposure, allowing local content creators to connect with international buyers and keep abreast of global trends. The hosting of such an important internationally orientated market in South Africa, and particularly in Gauteng, assists significantly in continuing to establish the region as the gateway to Africa, and we’re looking forward to a hugely successful event in 2013”.

NEWS

MIPCOM’s Africa Panel Discusses Trends

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n October, MIPCOM, the global market for entertainment content across all platforms, was held in Cannes, France. The event is a gathering place for key industry leaders and decision-makers from the TV, film, digital media and advertising industries.

The African continent was represented at the event by over 60 companies. A MIPCOM panel explored the continent’s latest programming and production trends, rapid growth, and innovation from producers and broadcasters.

The panel included Russell Southwood, CEO of UK consultancy Balancing Act, Emeka Mba, director general of the National Broadcasting Commission in Nigeria, Pascal Schmitz, director of iBiskop in South Africa, and Bernard Azria, CEO, Côte Ouest Audiovisuel in the Ivory Coast. It was moderated by Bridget Scarr, MD of Hummingbird Media Investments in South Africa.

Bernard noted that there is significant demand for locally-produced shows, as around 500 local African channels are seeking content.

“At a time when American writers seem to have exhausted their imagination, if I refer to the impressive number of remakes: Beverly Hills, Dallas, Melrose Place… at a time when Western production seems to be looking for new economic and creative models, I think we can truly realise that the new horizons Africa has to offer are more than promising… Africa can and must play a role, and it will.”

Russell discussed the proliferation of media in Africa as more countries move away from state-controlled TV, noting Kenya now has 18 TV stations, for example, while Tanzania has 20. But he pointed to the growth in mobile devices as the key trend for the coming years.

“I think that the continent will get mobile media and internet right in a way the rest of the world hasn’t quite managed to get its hands on, because mobile is the media

people use,” he said.

Russell also noted that the boundaries are blurring between smartphones and so-called “feature phones” is blurring, with a growing number of handsets coming with a colour screen and some form of internet connection.

Bridget discussed trends, including the convergence of mobile and digital, the move towards local niche content, the importance of young people, and the idea of television companies approaching Africa in clusters, rather than trying to target all 54 countries individually.

Emeka continued, “local is the future” while noting that quality is “secondary”. “What is more important to the average African consumer is proximity,” he said. “Maybe Nollywood started it, but now Kenya and South Africa are starting to make the same kind of movies. If you are doing stuff for the local audience, it will sell.”

Population Growth Creates New Benchmark for Media Consumption in SA

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he South African Audience Research Foundation (SAARF), the provider of research data used by media owners for strategic programme and editorial planning, has announced that a new

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benchmark for media consumption has been set.

For the past ten years, the annual population estimates applied to SAARF’s media audience surveys have been based on the population data from Census 2001.

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However, census data from 2011, which shows population growth of 2.279-million adults, was used to conduct the recently released All Media and Products Survey (AMPS).

Consequently, AMPS Jun 2013 sets a new benchmark for all media consumption data, since it is impossible to say with statistical certainty whether changes seen in this AMPS release over previous surveys are due to the large changes in population data, or to actual market forces.

This means that any changes in media consumption may or may not be an indication of shifting performance in the marketplace.

The AMPS includes extensive information on media as well as products, services, brands, attitudes, interests and activities and is South Africa’s only free source of data on nearly 120 product categories and over 1 500 brands.

NEWS

Film Set in SA’s Cape Ganglands Chosen as Oscar Contender Four Corners

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Four Corners’, the first film to blend multiple Cape dialects, has been selected as South Africa’s official 2014 foreignlanguage entry for the Academy Awards.

The film makes use of Sabela, a coded language of the Number gangs, as well as Tsotsi-taal, Cape Afrikaans and English.

Producers Cindy Gabriel and Genevieve Hofmeyr are excited to see the film reach an international audience. They say the film’s themes of fatherhood, family, and coming

of age are universal and are will appeal to a global audience. ‘Four Corners’, they say, will resonate with a savvy youth audience that loves the music, performances and storytelling.

‘Four Corners’ explores the life of the often forgotten and unknown world on the Cape Flats, following a young boy coming of age.

It is described as a redemptive moral tale, in which the boy faces the reality of the dangers experienced by children and teenagers in gangcontrolled areas in the Flats.

The committee’s unanimous decision in favour of the film lauded its great production values, making particular mention of its authenticity and believability. “The line between fiction and reality is often blurred,” the selection committee said, continuing that it was, “refreshing to see a film boldly tackling a

part of our life not usually explored”.

The Oscar selection panel said they were impressed with the extremely believable performances of the cast. According to ‘Four Corners’ director Ian Gabriel, this was a first for many of the actors. “By teaming established talent with ‘real people’ performers,” he said, “we enabled both to reach deep into shared and individual experiences. This resulted in performances that clearly access the passion, emotion and conviction required for the broad palette of the characters and their roles in the film.”

The film features Brendon Daniels, Lindiwe Matshikiza, Irshaad Ally, and newcomer Jezriel Skei who plays 13 year old Ricardo.

‘Four Corners’ is currently on limited release in Johannesburg and is scheduled for general release later this year.

Accolades for the

New Mandela Film

‘

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’ has won an Audience Favourite Feature Award.

The film, which premiered in Toronto last month, received the award at the Aspen Filmfest in Colorado.

It competed against movies boasting the star power of actresses Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep in a crowded field including ‘The Fight Estate’, ‘August’, ‘Osage Country’, ‘Nebraska’, and ‘One Chance’.

‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’ is based on Nelson Mandela’s autobiography and features Idris Elba as Mandela and Naomie Harris as Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, with South African actress Terry Pheto co-starring.

It is the only motion picture to be authorised and endorsed by the Mr. Mandela and the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Producer Anant Singh first began communication with Mr. Mandela while he was in prison, and acquired the rights to the autobiography in 1996.

Singh said, “Even though the Aspen Filmfest is a small festival, it is very prestigious.

It has the best of the line-up for Oscar

contenders for the year-end in the run up to the 2014 Academy Awards.”

The successful debut of the film at the Toronto Film Festival recently prompted a motion in the National Assembly of South Africa. Deputy Chief Whip of the majority party Dorris Dlakude expressed what the film means to South Africa. “The House believes that the production of this film will remind us, as we celebrate the life of our international icon, to also contribute towards social cohesion, reconciliation and nation building.” She urged South Africans to, “draw inspiration from uTata Madiba”, and called on South Africans to watch the film as soon as it is released in November.

Upon learning of the government’s acknowledgement, Singh said, “It is gratifying to note that we have made a film that will impact positively on all South Africans and we are pleased that a call has been made to the nation to watch the film as a tribute to Madiba.”

‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’ will be released in South Africa on 28 November.

www.f i l mma kera f r i ca .co.za T HE C A L L S HEET

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NEWS

New Programme for

AfricaCom

AfricaCom 2012

AfricaCast

AfricaCom 2012

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fricaCom, Africa’s largest annual communications congress and exhibition is set to return to Cape Town, South Africa from 12-14 November.

AfricaCom covers strategic issues affecting companies in Africa’s digital market including services, efficiency, profitability, customer experience, partnerships, and policy. It also features seven co-located events: Digital Music Africa, Mobile Money Africa, LTE Africa, AfricaCast, AfricApps, Cloud and Big Data. This year the exhibition has grown, featuring more than 350 exhibitors and 8,000 attendees.

The event is structured to be an

educational and networking space.

Attendees can expect to learn more about: • How all players in the digital ecosystem can re-think their business models to ensure profitability?

• How to be innovative and deliver the most attractive digital services?

• What can be done to ensure all Africans are connected to affordable and reliable broadband?

• How to capitalise on the most promising services for African consumers: mobile money, digital music, cloud, TV content.

• How to run operations cost-efficiently without compromising the customer experience?

This year AfricaCom will include a new Multi-platform focus day looking at how key OTT (Over-the-top content) players are beginning to create content for the Multi-screen ecosystem in Africa. There will also be an increase in local content case studies from across Africa, about the evolution of the content. Central to this will be discussions about the future of DTT in Africa.

NEW Cloud Africa Cloud Services have gone from burgeoning technology to major revenue generators in Africa. Cloud Africa is dedicated to ensuring success with new technologies and services for both telcos and enterprises.Expect to meet operators, ISPs, service providers, enterprise users, network infrastructure vendors, consultants and more experts from across Africa and beyond.

AfricaCom Awards The prestigious AfricaCom Awards return for another year to celebrate the best of Africa’s digital achievements. This year’s 14 categories cover the business from networks to services and marketing, including four new awards: Connectivity Solution, Mobile Marketing, Digital Music and Mobile Money.

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Choosing

Blackmagic Design Products

By AJ Parker

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hen selecting equipment for content acquisition, production or postproduction, there are many factors that influence a purchase decision.

Executives want a budget-friendly price, creatives want a hassle-free experience, post-production teams want a smooth workflow and operators want the latest features and highest resolutions.

Very often, the budget has the final say, which more than likely leads to compromises. Sometimes these compromises have long reaching effects that could end up costing more in the long run. Blackmagic Design manufactures some of the world’s most popular acquisition and post-production equipment and is increasingly being recognised as a

brand that offers the best balance between cost, build quality, features and ease of use – with no compromise.

Pinnacle AV, based in Cape Town, offers integrated, yet modular solutions using Blackmagic Design products including the Cinema Camera family, ATEM Production Switchers, Decklink Capture Cards, Hyperdeck Recorders, the DaVinci Resolve grading system and more.

As Value Added Resellers of Blackmagic Design products, Pinnacle AV offers high level integration of Blackmagic Design products for production companies, post-production houses, houses of worship, broadcast facilities and outside broadcast facilities.

Their recent appointment as Certified Resellers of Adobe products, combined with the detailed understanding of the Blackmagic Design product offering, allows Pinnacle AV to offer end to end solutions.

With an industry-wide move towards 4K, Blackmagic Design has continued to update their product line-up. The latest additions to the ever increasing 4K family include the ATEM 1M/E Production Studio 4K switchers, the eagerly anticipated Blackmagic Production Camera 4K,

Hyperdeck Studio Pro, SmartScope Duo 4K, and multiple converters and 4K friendly accessories.

A perfect match between passionate people, and industry leading brands like Blackmagic Design and Adobe, guarantees a solution from Pinnacle AV that meets your budget and exceeds your expectations.

Pinnacle AV will be running a unique demo programme on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera.

Email info@pinnacleav.co.za for more information.

Pinnacle AV is a leading provider of Audio Visual Solutions, Broadcast & Production Integration, Digital Signage, Conference Systems and Queue Management Systems in South Africa.

021 802 0709 info@pinnacleav.co.za www.pinnacleav.co.za

www.f i l mma kera f r i ca .co.za T HE C A L L S HEET

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NEWS

Uma Thurman to Star in Jameson First Shot Films

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ameson Irish Whisky has announced that Academy Award nominee Uma Thurman will star in three short films produced for the competition in 2014.

Jameson First Shot is an international short film competition which gives a big break to upand-coming aspiring filmmakers. The winners direct their short film in Hollywood with a star actor playing the lead role.

Hanneke Schutte, a writer/director from

Johannesburg was South Africa’s winner in 2013. She joined Anton Lanshakov from Russia and Shirlyn Wong from the U.S. as the year’s winners. The three faced competition from hundreds of other talented screenwriters and directors for the opportunity to direct twotime Academy Award nominee, Willem Dafoe in their short films, all with the backing of award-winning production company, Trigger Street Productions.

The 2014 competition aims to discover another three aspiring writer/directors from the same three countries: South Africa, Russia and the USA. The Jameson team says Thurman’s versatility and acting style are a natural fit for Jameson First Shot.

“What excites me about being involved with Jameson First Shot is that I love the idea of finding and discovering young talent – it’s what

makes the film business alive,” Thurman says.

“I’m honored to be a part of this extraordinary project and I can’t wait to read the screenplays that are entered, and ultimately be the vehicle to help three talented filmmakers tell their stories to the world.”

Kevin Spacey, Creative Director of Jameson First Shot said added, “She’s remarkable and I’m thrilled Uma has said yes. Her work has always been unafraid and brave, so it doesn’t surprise me that she’s jumped with such commitment and enthusiasm into our short film project. I think it gives our filmmakers a very exciting opportunity to write for an actress of such range and skill.”

The deadline for entering the competition is 2 January, 2014.

For more information visit: www.jamesonfirstshot.com

countries, shnit is one of the world’s highest profile short film festivals. The centrepiece is the shnit-OPEN international competition, in which 64 films compete in five categories and prize money totalling over R1million. Shnit’s only criteria are that a film is contemporary, cutting edge and stand-out in terms of quality.

In Cape Town, shnit 2013 had a record number of entries and a record number of screenings. Local filmmakers in attendance

each night were invited to provide insight into their work, allowing for engagement on a deeper level.

‘Armed Response’ was the winner of the “Made in SA” Award. Organisers say, “Overall the judges were impressed by the strong acting, great cinematography, and high production values with a range of interesting and unique stories that showcased the diversity and rising filmmaking talent of our country.”

Shnit

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he shnit International Short Film Festival, “200 films, 8 cities, 1 global weekend”, was held in South Africa in October.

Now in its eleventh global year, and fourth in South Africa, the festival was held simultaneously in eight cities including Kyoto, Bangkok, New York, Cape Town, Bern, Cairo, Buenos Aires and San Jose.

With a record 6700 entries from 141

NEWS

Cape Town TV Available Across South Africa

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n October, community television service Cape Town TV (known as CTV), became available to 20 million viewers on the DStv platform. DStv subscribers across South Africa and Lesotho are now able to watch the channel.

Cape Town TV Station Manager, Karen Thorne, says, “This represents a huge milestone in the development of Cape Town TV. The station has been broadcasting to local audiences from the Tygerburg transmitter site since

September 2008. Our funding as a nonprofit community broadcaster is limited, so joining the DStv family will enable us to access a larger audience and thus attract more advertising revenue. More funding means we will be able to increase local content reflecting the people, issues and events of the Mother City.”

Cape Town TV says is not neglecting local free-to-air viewers and the channel recently acquired a second transmission frequency for its Tygerberg transmitter.

The new frequency is low in the frequency spectrum and so provides viewers with a strong signal that gives good picture and sound quality.

CTWIFF

Postponed to 2014

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he Cape Town and Winelands International Film Festival (CTWIFF), a festival “celebrating the best in African and international film”, has been postponed until 6-16 March, 2014. Festival Director Leon van der Merwe says the postponement is, “because we are waiting for funds to be paid in.” He would not name the funders.

Leon says that this happened once before to the festival two years ago but that he moved forward regardless, something he, “just

couldn’t do it again this year.”

The festival will also mark the launch of the inaugural Cape Town Filmmart (CTFM) which will now be held on the 7-9 March, 2014.

Organisers say their vision for the CTFM is create a place where South Africa and its co-production treaty countries meet in order to accelerate film co-production on the continent. The mart is meant to be a platform for South Africans, its eight coproduction treaty country’s producers, and the film world to meet and foster projects

that become the economic drivers behind the development of new film and media, including feature film, documentary features as well as TV and TV series and TV formats.

The eight-coproduction treaty countries include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, and United Kingdom.

The CTWIFF will hold a preview festival from the 2-7 November that will showcase the films for which licensing fees have already been paid.

CTWIFF 2012 www.f i l mma kera f r i ca .co.za T HE C A L L S HEET

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CTICC Rated as a Level 2 BBBEE Contributor

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or the second consecutive year, the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) has been awarded a Level 2 BBBEE contributor rating, attesting to its status as an industry leader in terms of sustainability in the meetings and events industry.

“The accreditation represents the seriousness of CTICC’s intent in investing in and developing its people, embracing the broad-based approach to wealth creation and participation of previously disadvantaged individuals in the mainstream economy,” says CTICC Chief Executive Officer, Rashid Toefy.

Since inception, one of the core tenets of the centre has been to contribute to small business enterprise development in addition to promoting economic growth and job creation in the province. The centre has always recognised that small and medium

By Cape Town International Convention Centre

enterprises have a key role to play in the socio-economic development of the entire country. As such, the CTICC makes every effort to partner with local suppliers for the procurement of goods and services.

In the last financial year more than 73% of the CTICC’s total procurement spend was with BEE suppliers, and 37% of the total number of tenders awarded by the centre went to suppliers who could demonstrate a 50% or higher black ownership. More than 30% of these were also awarded to women owned businesses, demonstrating once again the centre’s commitment to the economic transformation of the South African business landscape.

“We are committed to playing a leading role in developing the country, its people and its economy. Our participation in the BBBEE process is but one aspect of our

operations as we also lead in sustainability and environmental initiatives in our industry,” says Toefy.

Through effective business partnerships with its suppliers and service providers the CTICC is affording these Small Micro Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) the opportunity to develop into sustainable and highly successful businesses.

“It is our dedication to service excellence, together with our investment in our people and commitment to enterprise development that has led to the CTICC garnering global recognition for its commitment to transforming the meetings and events industry to a sustainable one,” concludes Toefy.

For more information contact Zeenat Parker, Corporate Communications Manager on Tel 021 410 5010 or 071 888 2623.

Afrikaans Film ‘Musiek vir die Agtergrond’ Sold in America

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South African Afrikaans film recently made international news – it will be released in the United States through media company D Street. ‘Musiek vir die Agtergrond’ is the directorial debut for Sallas De Jager and was produced by Bosbok 6 Films (‘Roepman’ and ‘Verraaiers’) in conjunction with Film Factory and D Street.

Sallas says he is looking forward to the film’s American screening and believes it will appeal to people across the globe. He expressed his excitement saying, “We, cast and crew, have worked hard on our craft as filmmakers and are motivated to work even harder now that we know that our work will be seen by an audience used to only seeing the best.”

D Street’s CEO Dexter Davis, who was also one of the executive producers on the project, says, “Sallas’s directorial debut

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underscores the tremendous talent he has as a multifaceted filmmaker. We are thrilled about ‘Background Music’ and can’t wait to bring it to the US audience.” In fact, D Street was so pleased with De Jager that they have asked the director to produce two additional films for the company over the next three years – a drama set in South Africa and a courtroom film set in World War II. ‘Musik vir die Agtergrond’ follows the life of a struggling musician playing in pubs to make ends meet. After meeting a music producer, his life changes and he is seduced by fame, fortune, and the chance to live his dreams. But he also has to face a problem that most musicians cannot avoid – selling out. The film opens in cinemas on the 11th of October.

According to IMDb, seven Afrikaanslanguage feature films were released in the U.S. in 2012.

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NEWS

Photo & Film Expo

Photo & Film Expo Celebrates Five Years

T

he largest photographic event in Africa takes place this month in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Photo & Film Expo hosts over 20 000 industry creatives from over 30 countries and brings more than 400 brands under one roof from 31 Oct – 3 Nov. In this, its fifth year, the Expo is offering free workshops, new releases, over a million rands worth of giveaways, prizes and special deals, to attendees.

The event is open to the public and caters to photographers and filmmakers of all skill levels and genres.

In addition to over 100 presentations and demonstrations being offered by some of the top local industry ‘players’, organisers say visitors can expect a selection of international presenters including Pierre Poulain (Israel), Bruce

Smith (UK), Andrew Appleton (UK) & David Newton (UK). They will discuss a range of topics ranging from wedding photography to the challenges of shooting wildlife, studio setups, fashion, and boudoir. There will be talks discussing important issues like copyright law and photographers’ (and filmmakers’) rights.

The Expo will also include a Student Shoot-Out. Students from participating institutions can enter and stand a chance to win a prize sponsored by Samsung.

The prize includes a Samsung Laptop, the Samsung NX300 with a twin lens kit and a Samsung Galaxy Tablet. The theme this year will be ‘CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY’.

Students can shoot anything happening at the event using any camera of their choice and use their own style to depict the essence of the event.

NEWS

A Conversation with

Sunrise Production’s Phil Cunningham are managed correctly from the outset. After launch we continue to work with the sports bodies in suggesting and creating new animations, games, etc. to ensure that the fans always have a touch point and new reasons to engage with the character and therefore the sports teams.

Tell us about your awardwinning work and why it was recognized.

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f you follow South African sports teams, you know the work of Sunrise Productions.

Sunrise created some of the most popular teams’ 3D characters. They are also the creators of Jungle Beat, an animated TV series that has sold in 180 countries. The Callsheet spoke with Phil Cunningham, owner of Sunrise Productions, about how the company has grown and aims to move into full feature films.

Sunrise has created some of the most recognized characters in South African sport. Can you tell us which?

We started off with SA Rugby and their animated ambassador, Bokkie. Bokkie started out life as a Jungle Beat character, but once he stumbled across the green and gold jersey of the Springboks rugby team and accidentally put it on, he was transformed into the rugby super hero he is today. Following Bokkie, we worked with The Sharks on the creation of their character, Sharkie, and most recently we’ve created ZAC for Cricket South Africa. Outside of South Africa we’ve also been working with the England Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union in the creation and launches of their characters, Ruckley and

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Scorch respectively. We love combining entertainment and sport and encouraging kids to get out there and get active while supporting their favourite team.

Your company has pioneered an entrepreneurial 3D animated character branding and marketing model for high profile sports brands. How does this model work?

We approach and engage with the relevant sports body and identify their brand values and what message they would like to get across to their young fans. This starts with the idea for the character (which is sometimes obvious because of the logo, like Bokkie, and sometimes not, like ZAC) and then we suggest various activations of how best to use the character to engage with fans and potential fans. We work very closely with the sports bodies, and specifically their marketing departments, to make sure we’re creating activations that are in line with their strategy.

These characters are viewed as long-term ambassadors and so it’s important to treat them properly and ensure their personalities

www. f ilmmak eraf r ic a. c o . za

We strive for the very best quality and to do this we get the very best team on board. We really focus on strong story and supporting this story by telling it in a visually impressive way. Our characters are always engaging and impactful and people respond to them positively, even if they only see a still image.

We spend a lot of time on the development of the characters until we get them just right.

The team at Sunrise really enjoy working with our characters and stories and they take great pride in their work. I think this is key and comes across in how clever and beautiful the animations end up being.

Our Jungle Beat series has been broadcast in over 180 countries and won numerous international awards and we endeavour to maintain this world-class standard and always deliver the very best.

What are you working on now?

Well, that’s top secret! Ha ha. We are working on new sports opportunities and we’re continuing with our Jungle Beat television series and working on new episodes for season 3. We’re also in pre-development of feature films and we create commercials for international brands on an on-going basis.

Anything you would like to add?

We love what we do! It’s fun coming to work every day.

NEWS

SA’s First Venda Film to be Released

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outh African’s first Venda-language feature film, ‘Elelwani’, will run at Rosebank Cinema Nouveau in Johannesburg from 1-7 November 2013, prior to its official national release on 31 January, 2014.

This is to ensure that the film qualifies to be in competition for the 2013 South African Film and Television Awards (the SAFTAS).

The film, directed by Ntshaveni Wa Luruli and based on the novel by Titus Ntsiene Maumela, tells the story of Elelwani (played

by Florence Masebe), a young woman who left her rural village for the big city, where she has completed her studies. She’s been offered a dream job in Chicago and she’s engaged to Vele, the love of her life. The two set out on a drive to her village, intending to tell her parents of their plans to marry and spend their future together. After their arrival, Elelwani is blindsided when her parents reveal that her

hand has been promised to the tribal king, Torn between a glowing future and familial duty, she initially rebels, but finally consents.

What follows is a cinematic initiation into the culture of the Venda through an ethnographic thriller infused with the tradition of oral storytelling. Shot in the Thohoyandou area of Limpopo, beautiful images and a disturbing plot combine to create a film inflected with magical realism. Ntshavheni Wa Luruli, himself a Venda, deals maturely with a sensitive topic and the tale comes to a complex and grounded resolution. “‘Elelwani’ is a unique film and an important milestone in South African cinema history,” says Helen Kuun, CEO of Indigenous Film Distribution, which is distributing the film locally. “We are confident that the film is likely to win awards, which is why we want to ensure that it is eligible for the 2013 SAFTAS by exhibiting it in November this year. The SAFTAS

celebrate creativity, quality and excellence in South African film, and ‘Elelwani’ is definitely a movie that we can all be proud of.”

FEATURE

African Animation

Moving from Great Projects to Great Companies

By Kevin Kriedemann

Khumba © Triggerfish

Khumba © Triggerfish

16 | T HE CALLSHEET

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FEATURE

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frican animation is soaring.

Recent successes have put the continent’s animation companies in the spotlight.

But those in the know say that the industry needs a reliable pipeline of projects to continue to grow and thrive. Without that, the world-class companies that have been created could face significant challenges in the future.

“We’ve achieved the most difficult part; we have real feedback from the market that the world likes our work,” says Sea Monster’s Glenn Gillis, who also used to run Clockwork Zoo. “At an individual and company level, South Africa can compete with the best in the world.” As Shina Ajulo from Sporedust in Nigeria puts it, “The industry faces the threat of sustainability if capacity building and market scalability are not set right to meet the upcoming challenges.”

“We’re at a critical point where we need to achieve some measure of scale,” echoes Glenn. “I sometimes say rather flippantly that I’m not sure that we do have an animation industry: we have projects that we gear up and run down.”

The problem is what happens between these projects. Clockwork Zoo is the classic warning in this regard. Once Africa’s largest animation company, Clockwork Zoo had a staff of up to 120 animators working on successful international TV series like ‘Caillou’ (Cookie Jar), ‘Florrie’s Dragons’ (Wish Films for Disney Channel UK and Playhouse Disney), ‘Happy Valley’ (Dinamo, Wales) and ‘Mr. Bebe’ (Xilam, France). But Clockwork Zoo shut its doors in 2010, due largely to the crippling costs of maintaining staff, hardware, and the necessary software between jobs. “As successful as those projects were, the

company wasn’t sustainable in that form,” says Glenn. “The project-to-project production model, which is used by live action production companies, is inefficient unless there is a critical mass of similar production companies which can continue to employ crew and hire equipment,” says Triggerfish’s Stuart Forrest. “In animation, the setup costs of a 100-seater are very high if you’re going to wind down again after the production closes, and due to the length of the production, it is usually cheaper to buy than to hire equipment.”

Triggerfish managed to dovetail their two feature films – ‘Adventures in Zambezia’ and ‘Khumba’ - so that most of the crew went straight from one onto the other. But Stuart knows this is unusual.

“Because of the intrinsically creative nature of the development process, it’s difficult for a studio to line up productions back to-back and you never want to go into production on a script you’re not fully signed off on.“ With the closure of Clockwork Zoo and the end of feature film projects like ‘Adventures in Zambezia’, ‘Khumba’, ‘Jock’, and ‘Lion of Judah’, South Africa has a larger pool of freelance animation talent than ever before, even with the inevitable brain drain of top talent overseas. “There are some great animation schools, so there are a lot of new artists being trained every year,” adds Stuart.

So the sector seems to be moving towards a contract-employment model similar to live action, where even the largest production companies scale down to just a handful of employees between jobs.

“Software keeps getting faster and easier to use, so it doesn’t take long to train people up anymore and get them working in

your pipeline,” says Lung’s Claudio Pavan.

“From our experience, it’s better to use contract artists as a small studio. When the job is done you scale back down to save money till the next project.”

Shy the Sun’s Jannes Hendrikz agrees.

“South Africa finally has a good pool of freelance animators, designers and painters. We still have a long way to go in terms of experience but now we have reliable people available who can help out on a need-be basis based on their personal expertise and specialization. The other great thing is that local freelancers can finally survive on their own, as it seems that there is enough work to keep them busy. This in turn helps companies to keep their overheads low by not having to employ permanent staff.”

Rather than staffing, the real challenge in scaling up and down is the hardware and software costs, especially since most of the software requires monthly maintenance subscriptions.

“I can own R2 million rands worth of software, but instead of that being an asset, it’s actually a R400 000 a year liability because of the associated maintenance fees,” says Glenn.

While Adobe Creative Suite is now available to photographers and designers on a month-by-month cloud subscription, Glenn doesn’t expect this to be rolled out for animation software for a while.

African data speeds and costs make cloud storage difficult across the continent, especially when you factor in the huge amount of data animation uses. Animation companies also customize their pipelines, which is tricky within a month-by-month model. “We’re not just using software outthe-box,” says Glenn.

FEATURE

SpaceCoco © Lung

One solution is to stop fighting and outsource the bulk animation like everyone else. “Why build a staff of 30-50 when you can just own the creative process?” ask Glenn, who’s currently keeping the animation in South Africa on Sea Monster’s projects but points out that it may have been cheaper to outsource this to the East or even places like Canada.

‘Supa Strikas’ repeatedly came up as an example of effective outsourcing by an African animation company.

To overcome the difficult times between projects, Triggerfish is rather developing a model of doing five films back-to-back.

The first is likely to be ‘Here Be Monsters,’ a story about a boy and a sea monster set on South Africa’s West Coast, written

by Raffaella Delle Donne (‘Adventures in Zambezia,’ ‘Khumba’). Stuart says they’ve decided not to move forward with a ‘Zambezia’ sequel yet.

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“Slate deals like this will shift us towards a studio model, where there is far more control over the scheduling due to the fact that the studio has a number of green-lit projects ready to go and fully funded at any given time,” says Stuart.

“But it’s a question of having access to the capital that allows for this model.”

Finding a business model for investors In South Africa, the average film in the first half of 2013 made a R242 000, down 50% from the same period last year, which makes raising capital tricky, especially when you consider that an African animated feature like ‘Khumba’ costs around R100m, which is still at least ten times less than a Hollywood animated movie.

“We’ll only attract private equity into the industry when we can prove that we can give a return on investment,” says Sea Monster’s

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Glenn Gillis. “If you rely on government grants and the rebate and so on, it’s clearly not sustainable in its own right. This is a problem that hasn’t yet been solved by the film industry as a whole in South Africa, let alone animation.”

Thankfully, the box office figures for animated films in South Africa are well above average – ‘Jock’ made over R12m, while ‘Adventures in Zambezia’ made around R9m, although it’s probably too soon to draw major conclusions from just two films.

Most promisingly, ‘Adventures in Zambezia’ cracked the illusive international box office. Wayne Thornley’s debut feature film made over $30m at the global box office, the most money for an African-owned film internationally since Jamie Uys’ ‘The Gods Must Be Crazy’ in 1980.

“Animation does travel a lot easier than live action, as it’s easy to dub into foreign languages and therefore crosses cultural boundaries,” says Triggerfish’s Stuart Forrest. “’Zambezia’ was dubbed into around 20 foreign languages.” ‘Khumba’ even became the first animated feature dubbed into Afrikaans.

Animation also creates more opportunities for merchandising and licensing revenue, the driving force behind Sunrise Productions’ ‘Jungle Beat’ series.

“We’ve had great licensing partners on ‘Khumba’ and manufactured over 350 000 toys for distributors to sell around the world,” says Stuart. “However, in the independent feature film space, it’s still tough to co-ordinate a full merchandising strategy because it’s hard to get manufacturing commitments before the release date is set, and independent films are usually only booked into theatres once they are completed - which doesn’t leave much time for the manufacturing and distribution process.”

Triggerfish is working with a Cape Town games company Sijo on developing a ‘Khumba’ game, and have internally developed several apps, e-books and online games over their two feature properties.

But even with those additional revenue streams, film financing is, at best, about delayed gratification. “The other major challenge in the animation sector, especially in feature films, is the long time it takes to develop, produce, distribute and collect

FEATURE

Kemps © Luma

earnings from the production of a feature film,” says Stuart. “Financiers have to be very patient to see their investment recouped after many years, and producers have to be even more patient to finally see earnings.”

Stuart’s noticed a downturn in the amount of Minimum Guarantees (MG) that distributors are willing to pay for an animated feature. “So our model has gotten tougher in our local industry, where our financiers base most of their revenue estimates on MGs alone. On the other hand, we’re collecting overages so this does balance out the lower MGs. But budgets are unlikely to rise by very much in the short term, unless we have a breakout hit.”

Technology: Maya, Toon Boom and everything inbetween Thankfully, technological advances are helping animation companies do more with less.

“Technology has improved substantially over the last decade - both hardware and software - so it’s become feasible to make high quality feature films on a very reasonable budget,” says Triggerfish’s Stuart Forrest.

The preferred technology depends on who you speak to. “The same big players are still at the top: Maya/Max/Softimage for 3d and Nuke pretty much owning the VFX compositing,” says Lung’s Claudio Pavan. “Adobe After Effects still seems to have its grasp on the

motion graphic stuff. Let’s not forget Flame and the cappuccino machines that the agencies just love. That said, tides do seem to be changing. I imagine the new soon-to-be player will be Modo, now that The Foundry has bought it. We will have to see how the ‘mighty’ Autodesk, destroyer of all, responds to this and if they can respond in time.”

“Autodesk dominates with several products, the most popular of which is Maya,” says Stuart. “In South Africa, Softimage is also very popular, especially in the more high-end studios. There is a new renderer that we used on ‘Khumba’ called Arnold, which is affordable yet extremely good and enabled us to get a whole new look on ‘Khumba.’”

Glenn Gillis says Sea Monster works mostly with Toonboom for 2D animation and Qualcomm’s Vuforia for augmented reality work.

In contrast, in Nigeria, Ebele Okoye says Shrinkfish works mostly with Modo for modeling backgrounds in 3D and with Toon Boom for 2D work. Shina Ajulo from Sporedust seconds Toon Boom in Nigeria.

Kwame Nyong’o from Apes in Space Animation says, “Most animators in Kenya are using 3ds Max, Maya, After Effects and Toon Boom.”

Competing on price: the race to the bottom Despite more affordable technology, Africa still struggles to compete on price alone.

“The East has a formidable combination of government subsidies, low salaries, huge economies of scale and vastly experienced teams,” says Triggerfish’s Stuart Forrest.

Kwame Nyong’o from Apes in Space Animation echoes this. “Animators in Kenya still have the problem of being undercut by production houses in India when it comes to TVC productions.”

Lung’s Claudio says animated commercials companies have been protected slightly from this outsourcing trend. “It’s a little harder to farm commercials out to India and China with the tight deadlines and approval times needed. I say a little harder, but we need to be careful because if the incentives to outsource get too juicy, then we will find that work leaving our shores. I don’t think we are immune to the challenges faced by animation studios overseas; it normally just takes a little longer for us to get the symptoms.”

There’s a danger in joining the race to the bottom and undervaluing animation’s value.

“There’s a lack of respect that animation or the people in animation get from the rest of the industry,” says Claudio. “Budgets are shrinking all the time and animation really gets the brunt of it. This is on a global scale. A good example is how the animators were treated on ‘Life of Pi,’ receiving very little, if any, credit at all for the amazing work that made the film what it is. In the end, Rhythm & Hues was even forced to close its doors - not cool.”

He also believes the market is becoming dangerously saturated. “One could compare the animation industry to what happened to graphic design and DTP in the late 90s,” he says. “Anybody can buy a PC, download some crack software, do an online tutorial and presto they are an ‘animator’ and they can work for very little.”

Shy the Sun’s Jannes Hendrikz agrees. “It’s getting tough. Worldwide we have a saturated market, where too many small companies are competing for the limited amount of work out there. On some international jobs, we end up pitching against 20 other directors, if not more!

Because of the tough competition and the fact that there are many small companies who will come in with very low quotes, the clients now know that they can get away with offering way less money than before. The honest truth is that good animation is expensive. When budgets are slashed the quality usually goes down as well. Most work comes from large

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FEATURE umbrella corporations and most of the time quality takes second priority to money for them. Many companies are closing down due to these austere circumstances.”

Pan-African animation?

For now, despite Africa’s untapped audience of one billion people and rapidly growing economy, there’s no monetized pan-African market for animation. This should change quickly though.

“As the African middle class continues to grow, we will see African parents seeking out quality content for their children that relates more closely to their own specific culture and deals with our own stories,” says Triggerfish’s Stuart Forrest. “Because of the high cost of animation, it is first going to be a type of panAfrican content that gets developed. Once the market starts demanding it, there will be no shortage of producers willing to create production that will fill that market need.

With the rate of growth of mobile and tablet devices, new markets are opening up and new ways of distribution are being tested.”

Sea Monster’s Glenn Gillis agrees, “As Africa is getting more connected, people are realising that games and animation in particular are very good ways to cut across language and literacy levels.”

Stuart warns that it’s important for this pan-African market to open up quickly, because the international market is only going to become harder to crack. “Animation is only really successful when it appeals to a broad family audience - and then it can be super successful,” he says. “So the biggest challenge is going into a space that the international studios are very focused on because it’s a big money spinner for them.

The major studios are lifting their output to create sometimes two new animated features a year each. There is a very real limit

Liquid Cover , Thief & Pigeon © Wicked Pixels

to how many times the average child can go to the cinema per month, so the amount of films that can play well to children are limited to just a handful - and the studios then spend huge amounts on advertising to win that audience, making it very hard for independents to compete in theatres.”

For South Africa, Glenn warns, “Africa is both the opportunity and the threat. We’re in real danger of being left behind. It’s a combination of complacency, arrogance and accessibly – South Africa is not the gateway to Africa it’s promoted as.”

He points out that he believes South Africa is falling behind in the two areas where it counts the most: internet access and maths and science skills.

South Africa is fifth in Africa when it comes to the percentage of households with internet access, but sixth when it comes to internet speed. And in a recent study of 148 countries measured for maths and science literacy, South Africa came stone last. “Being an animator is not just about drawing pretty pictures,” says Glenn.

“Who will be writing the algorithms and code that keep us competitive?”

Kenya: animation in the Silicon Savannah Kenya is becoming known as the Silicon Savannah and is competing strongly in the animation space.

“After the success of projects like UNESCO’s ‘Africa Animated!’ and productions like ‘Tinga Tinga Tales,’ animation has come into the spotlight in Kenya,” says Kwame Nyong’o from Apes in Space Animation.

“This exposure of animation has led to some fun initiatives like ‘Kula Heppi,’ an online comedy series supported by Safaricom. Local ad agencies are taking Kenyan talent seriously and giving the likes of Phatboy Animation opportunities to produce animations for their clients, where before the agencies would almost always outsource animated work to countries like India and Malaysia. Buni Media is now on its eighth season of its puppet/ animation show, ‘The XYZ Show.’ And Recon Digital recently released a bunch of short

FEATURE

Ethiopian animator Ezra Wube

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Digital video technologies are creating many new possibilities for animators. They are affordable, forgiving (you can experiment with ideas as much as you want and then delete them) and democratic (they can be duplicated infinitely for everyone).

Bino and Fino Family © EVCL

animated films as well.”

Kwame’s ‘Legend of Ngong Hills’ is about an ogre of the forest who falls in love with a beautiful young maiden. The short won Best Animation at The Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2012 and at The Zanzibar International Film Festival in 2011, while Kwame was a Creative Focus Finalist at Annecy in 2013 (as was Senegal’s Yancouba Dieme).

But, as in South Africa, challenges remain. “For animators in Kenya to produce original content is still a big challenge, as the local broadcasters don’t have budgets available to commission new animated series,” says Kwame. “This leaves animators with the challenge of looking for support elsewhere, whether it be the development, corporate or other sectors. There is also no government support to help finance productions but we understand there is a new film fund, so we hope this will be changing soon. The animation sector needs more investment. There is a lot of buzz and excitement but not enough investors. The producers of ‘Adventures in Zambezia’

and ‘Tinga Tinga Tales’ put millions of dollars into those productions, and are now reaping the benefits. This proves that the world is hungry for African content! Let more investors come on board and take advantage of this industry that is currently in its infancy.”

Kwame believes “the time is right” for pan-African collaborations, “especially with the leaps in app development and the opportunities that are presenting themselves with the high speed connectivity and expanding skills base in the region.”

Animation in Nigeria Shrinkfish in Nigeria is pioneering a pan-African approach to animation. They’re currently working on the 23-minute ‘The Legacy of Rubies,’ the first official Nigerian/German co-production, for Focus Features’ Africa First short film platform.

“This involves people from Nigeria, Germany, The Philippines, India, the UK and Ghana,” says Shrinkfish’s Ebele Okoye. “The structure at Shrinkfish allows for adjustments in line with the current social, economic and globalized lifestyles. Production is no more

tied down to one physical location. With the advantage of our own server, co-ordination of projects is effectively carried out when these involve creatives from different parts of the continent - as well as different continents.”

They’re currently looking at screenplays from Ghana, Togo and Nigeria.

Sporedust’s Shina Ajulo says that within Nigeria, most animation production companies are developing for gaming and short form, rather than longer work. However, Sporedust is developing ‘Chicken Core,’ about the adventures of chicken warriors trying to free their land from a tyrannous boar king, for a range of formats, while CNN called Adamu Waziri’s ‘Bino and Fino’ series “Africa’s answer to ‘Dora The Explorer’”.

Ebele says, “A lot of people are starting to take animation more seriously than in the past few years. A few dedicated persons who cannot afford training are teaching themselves through online materials. Shrinkfish is training people in the Shrinkfish Media Lab (smedLAB). The first run of the smedLAB animation course started in March 2013 and has yielded some surprising results in the progress shown by the students through professional backing.”

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FEATURE

Adventures in Zambezia © Triggerfish

Ebele believes the biggest challenge is the accuracy of perceptions of poor-quality African animation. “Animation aspirants refuse to start with the basics of animation.

They jump into 3D animation for the glitter and end up producing half-baked, unfinished, bad quality work, which they put out and classify as ‘African animation,’ thus solidifying the cliché already built around the industry.”

She urges African animators, “Invest in knowledge. Individuals who are interested in becoming animators should invest their money into visiting animation training institutes, instead of wasting their money on expensive gadgets like iPhones, iPads and ‘swag.’ Pull out your pencils and paper and start the natural way and you will only excel when you transfer these to the technological tools.”

quite a bit. Animators are collaborating with programmers more and more on projects that involve physical interaction, like interactive stage shows, viral interventions like projection mapping, information booths or interactive museum exhibits.”

New avenues for animation

Accolades for African animation:

The future of African animation may have very little to do with traditional feature films or TV series though.

Sea Monster is increasingly expanding outside of 2D animation for TV series into animated explainers, augmented reality, branded entertainment, e-learning, games and gamification. “Our strategy at Sea Monster is to build a business that’s not dependent on long-form projects, so that we can do long-form projects,” says Sea Monster’s Glenn Gillis, admitting, “It’s the long way around.”

Similarly, Shy the Sun’s Jannes Hendrikz says, “The industry is opening up a bit, which is quite refreshing. There are lots of new opportunities for business, like gaming (console, mobile or web).

Interactive work has changed the scene

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Chicken Core © Sporedust

In addition to the success of ‘Adventures in Zambezia’ and Clockwork Zoo, recent accolades include: • Shy the Sun’s ad wins include first place at The Mobius Awards and Best International Animation at Infocom EME Awards, as well as Gold at New York and Silver at London and the Clios.

• Wicked Pixels’ ad wins include Grand Prixs at New York, Epica and Anifest, as well as two Golds at Cannes Lions.

• The Black Heart Gang’s wins include the ‘Tale of How’ winning a Special Distinction Award from France’s Annecy International Festival, widely considered

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the main animation festival internationally.

Triggerfish’s second animated feature film, ‘Khumba,’ screened in competition at Annecy and The Toronto International Film Festival’s Kids Programme.

Sunrise has won numerous awards for their ‘Jungle Beat’ children’s TV series, including both the Audience Award and Second Place at AnimaMundi in Brazil.

Luma has created dancing greek cows for Kemps in America, while their children’s TV series ‘Bun & Bunee’ was a finalist at both the KidScreenAwards in 2011 and the MIPCOM Junior 2009 Kid’s Choice Awards.

Mike Scott’s Goldfish music videos have around 8.3 million views, while Mike recently sold his ‘HappyLand’ series to China.

Matt Torode’s ‘Washing Over Me’ music video for Goldfish has over 600 000 views.

Bryan Devlin’s ‘Flood Runner’ game has over 35m plays.

Shine with Shy the Sun

S

hy the Sun is a creative concept resource with a passionate devotion to extraordinary worlds and marvellous characters that is produced through a joint process of character development, storytelling, illustration, animation and live action.

Shy the Sun is rooted in an environment of passion for animation. Unconventional as we are, this is what we do exceptionally well.

Borne out of a desire to knot animation and the arts, Shy the Sun is passionate about the power of narrative, and the visual feast of fantastical worlds and endearing characters that are developed through a dynamic process of storytelling. With each project we try something new and challenging. Our wildly inventive and lavishly detailed pieces are celebrated for their ability to capture the imagination of all viewers, young and old.

Shy the Sun strongly believes in a dynamic relationship between client, agency and resource, and is dedicated to the delivery of unique and challenging work.

We enjoy being involved from step one – collaborating with our clients in

By Ree, Nina and James

finding the best ways and teams to execute our commercials. We follow a hands-on approach, maintain a devoted interest in our projects and a special closeness to the characters, story and end-vision. We carefully consider the projects we take on, always inventing unique visual styles, never falling back onto previously used techniques and always finding a balance between sticking to an unyielding timeline and artfully crafting a product to utmost perfection. The work we do is honest, sincere and driven by aesthetic beauty. Our passion and healthy work ethic have resulted in us producing some of the most celebrated animated commercials in South Africa.

As our work is story based it is very easy for a project to develop into a campaign of various mediums. Our Clover commercial, for example, became a web and print campaign with other potential, such as toys, gaming and interactive media. Alice Madness Returns and The Beatles Rockband Trailer were developed to promote game play.

Another specialty that Shy the Sun offers is our involvement in script development. The

work we’ve done for McGee’s Alice and our Sea Orchestra project are good examples of where we received one-liner briefs, which we could develop into our own narratives. We never shy away from smaller projects limited to print and illustration; referring to the work we’ve done for Cadbury’s Joyville, Bournville and Musica.

Overall our services include illustration, character design, animation, live action, games and interactive installations.

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For Advertising Please Contact Hanlie Mylo 021 674 0646 or hanlie@filmeventmedia.co.za

Fresh and First-Class Fusion Model Management

By Jo Smith

F

usion Model Management is a boutique agency which represents models across every spectrum of the industry, from top editorial girls to international runway stars. Fusion is particularly well known for the calibre of commercial models they represent - both male and female - who are very successful in the television-dominated Cape Town season.

The owner, Fiona Craig, has 30 years of experience in the Cape Town model industry.

She believes in managing careers and has a dedicated team of bookers with extensive and varied knowledge in the industry. Tanya Goddard has worked as a very successful model in New York, Paris and Germany for many years, and Gisele Krige worked in film production before moving into the fashion industry as a booker. This hands-on experience in related fields benefits the models represented by the agency enormously. In addition, Fiona’s many and varied contacts with international clients and model agencies assist in both furthering models’ careers and in bringing fresh and much needed talent into Cape Town year-round for the benefit of

both local and foreign clients and production houses. The agency has a reputation for both professionalism and friendliness when dealing with clients, casting directors and models and is always prepared to ‘go the extra mile’ to ensure jobs run smoothly and models are well briefed and prepared, a big bonus during the crazy summer season.

In the past year, Fusion has had some top international models working through the agency - top runway girls such as Juanelle Mckenzie, Georgie Badiel and Shena Moulton have graced the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week runways, Hilda Dias Pimentel shot the new Lancome campaign with Mario Testino and Maritza Veer has shot the new GAP and Smashbox campaigns in NYC, a wonderful achievement for a girl from Worcester, who was scouted by Fiona at a model search competition. And of course, Fusion has managed the careers of the Mcgregor sisters Kerry and Tracy since they began modelling. Fusion models are going from strength to strength both locally and abroad and the agency continues to provide superb models and service to the industry.

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TALENT SPOTLIGHT

African Talent

Beautiful and Cosmopolitan

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Pace Model Artist Management

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frica has long been an object of both beauty and mystery. Old movies have depicted the continent and its inhabitants as hostile, unknown variables, entrenched in rituals and traditions. But as times have changed, so has the perspective on Africa and the talent that comes from this diverse place.

“Our locations are world renown for TV commercials and big movies and because of the seasons being opposite to USA and Europe,” says Fiona Craig, Director of Fusion Models. “Many fashion clients shoot here every summer, and have been since the 1980’s. So 25 years later, it’s very established.

Many countries today such as Nigeria, Angola and Ghana are becoming highly regarded in the fashion industry especially in terms of fabrics and designs and have their own show weeks each season too.”

Hilary Pace of Pace Models says that over the last few years, both global and local gravitation has been towards “more beautiful and commercial real people”. This year specifically, quirky has been the order of the day.

But why choose talent in Africa when there are thousands of international agencies offering similar models and actors? “We are a cosmopolitan country,” Hilary says of South Africa, “an eclectic mix from all over the world.

We have that mass appeal and have talent available for any country, brand or product.”

Fiona agrees with this sentiment. “We are blessed with some beautiful genes in this country, a mix of what came to our shores centuries ago and our own local genetic pool.

Look at Candice Swannepoel, Charlize Theron and Lerato Moloi. Even the albino look has taken off and some of those girls are spectacular.”

Although global appeal can be a good thing, what sets the continent’s talent pool apart is its flavour. Those intrinsically African nuances make us unique, Hilary argues.

These nuances are most present in African broadcasting, and with many African channels launching their digital platforms and reaching out to an increasingly international audience,

TALENT SPOTLIGHT

Pace Model Artist Management

We are a cosmopolitan country, an eclectic mix from all over the world. We have that mass appeal and have talent available for any country, brand or product.

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Fusion Model Management

the world has begun to embrace them.

This rosy outlook does have its downsides, however. Some agencies have resorted to encouraging simple things like natural hair and unique beauty because both the models and the productions they cater to have conformed to the market’s unspoken requirements. The talent industry is also largely economic-based – so that when the economy goes down, talent fees are usually the first to suffer along with the film production and advertising sectors.

Technology has also played a major role in changing the face of the industry. In the same way that it has helped introduce African talent to the world, it has also hurt it. The fashion industry does not think season to season anymore – nowadays there are usually only two ‘seasonal’ catalogue shoots: autumn/ winter and spring/summer.

Nevertheless, some do have a bright

Fusion Model Management

outlook for the industry. “The world is so much more universal these days, with the technology we work with, the ease with which we travel and the number of foreign scouts who visit SA annually looking for amazing talent to take elsewhere to develop it. Unfortunately if you want an international career you have to be where it happens, it can’t be developed only here in SA. But our talent always return to work here and make themselves available to our local fashion editors, commercials and movies,” says Fiona.

Kayos Casting Director, Monique Murray, thinks that the digital era has been a huge benefit to the development of the talent industry. Because people are now filming themselves with phones and other readily available electronic equipment, they have become more confident and natural in front of the camera. This is exactly what directors and producers want to see. Social media has also helped agencies source fresh, new talent.

Monique also feels that acting or

performance ability is very important. “African talent are generally quite natural on camera,” she says. “The industry has matured and we are finding that most of our African talent has had some experience in front of the camera.

This allows us to showcase a much wider variety of talent of all ethnicities.”

Monique believes that Africans are quite adaptive and flexible to change. “Along with our well established agencies, new ones are now opening their doors. These agents represent a diverse range of ethnic and skilled Africans, both professional and non-professional. This definitely makes South African talent very appealing for international productions.”

She says that there is a trend towards authenticity – especially in special skills. This resonates with many talent agencies. “I think they will carry on as they are at the moment – healthy, glossy, gorgeous people who have an earthy, sensual appeal rather than an untouchable air. Beautiful, but real women to aspire to,” says Fiona.

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Northern Africa Rich Offerings Above the Sahara

T

he entry gate to the Middle East, North Africa is known for its temperate, Mediterranean weather and European influence. It offers a diverse range of tourist experiences – from desert trips in southernmost regions to snorkelling and pyramid hunting near the Nile. But what most don’t know is that Northern Africa’s rich Arab, French, and Spanish history is steeped in the film industry.

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Morocco © Karol Kozlowski, Shutterstock

COUNTRY SPOTLIGHT

Episodes have been shot in the tiny, coastal country since the 70’s. As a result, it has two impressive studio backlots – Ancient Rome and 1950’s Sicily. The mild climate and geographic diversity are added bonuses, with competitive pricing equivalent to that of Morocco. Some of the blockbusters that were filmed here include ‘Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and ‘The English Patient’.

Morocco and Tunisia as Filming Destinations Morocco’s involvement in the film industry dates back over a century to 1897 when Louis Lumiere filmed ‘Le Chevrier Marocain’. ‘Casablanca’, the famed 1940’s movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, was set in the industrial capital of the same name. But that’s not all. Its idyllic, desert setting combined with Eastern influences, competitive labour costs, and hospitable people makes this area film-friendly. The long list of films shot here includes ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, ‘The Mummy’, ‘Black Hawk Down’, ‘Babel’, ‘Inception’, ‘Troy’ and ‘Gladiator’.

Ridley Scott’s epic action film, ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ was filmed in the southern Moroccan town of Ouarzazate, where Atlas Studios are located. Its immense set structures can still be seen rising from the hazy, desert sands today.

Tunisia is a hub of excitement for moviemakers. Mega feature films like the Star Wars

Getting to North Africa

by Air Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt all have national airlines which provide for intercontinental and in-country trips.

Morocco has three main international airports, as well as 21 national airports connecting visitors to Europe and the rest of the country. Tunisair connects travellers to European and Middle Eastern spots.

Algeria does not have a national airline, however there are 42 airports, five of which are located in major cities.

Climate Northern Africa is hot, but with four recognisable seasons. The temperatures are usually mild and Mediterranean near the coastal areas, with Saharan desert temperatures across the southernmost regions of Morocco and Algeria and throughout most of Egypt. Temperate, agricultural areas can be found in Morocco and Algeria’s interior. These are peppered with bitterly cold winters and very hot summers due to the Atlas Mountain Range spanning across the region.

You Need to Know About Although North Africa is a well-known filming destination, most of the countries have almost no film equipment or creative talent pools. You will have to source your directors, DOPs, and stills photographers elsewhere. Filming permits are relatively easy to obtain in North Africa, and Morocco and Tunisia will provide you with crews, art departments and set construction.

Film Festivals in North Africa Egypt - Cairo International Film Festival www.ciff.org.eg Tunisia - Carthage Film Festival www.jccarthage.com Morocco - Festival International de Film de Marrakech (FIFM) www.festivalmarrakech.info Algeria - Oran Film Festival (FOFA) www.fofafestival.org Egypt - Ismailia Film Festival www.ismailiafilmfest.com Algeria/Morocco - National Amazigh Film Festival www.amrec.ma www.ccm.ma/en/festamazigh.asp Algeria - Sahara International Film Festival www.festivalsahara.com

Did you know?

Atlas Film Studios in Ouarzazate also operate guided tours through their movie sets as many of them have remained in place after filming.

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Tunisia © Paul Fell, Shutterstock

COUNTRY SPOTLIGHT

IN PRODUCTION

In Production November 2013 Thanks to ever-present confidentiality clauses, no one is ever allowed to officially talk about what’s in production in Africa, so this monthly section is an unofficial overview of the industry’s worst-kept secrets. Two Oceans Productions wrapped ‘Northmen: A Viking Saga’ in October, but there’s still a lot on the go.

Black Sails ‘Black Sails’ is back at Cape Town Film Studios for a second season shooting with Film Africa. The first season only premieres on Starz in January 2014, so its early renewal is a big show of confidence in the series.

‘Black Sails’ is the story of Captain Flint and his pirates, twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic ‘Treasure Island.’

The Giver Moonlighting Films is in production in Wellington on ‘The Giver,’ an adaptation of Lois Lowry’s Newberry-winning dystopian children’s book. Triple-Oscar winner Meryl Streep leads the cast, but is apparently not coming to Cape Town. Oscar-winner Jeff Bridges, ‘True Blood’’s Alexander Skarsgard, ‘The Kennedy’’s Katie Holmes and pop star Taylor Swift also star. Philip Noyce, who shot ‘Mary & Martha’ and ‘Catch a Fire’ in South Africa, is directing The Weinstein Company and Walden Media co-production.

Jeff Bridges in ‘Crazy Heart’

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IN PRODUCTION

Dominion Film Afrika is in production in Cape Town on the 90-minute TV movie pilot for ‘Dominion’, a sequel series to the 2010 film ‘Legion’. According to Deadline, ‘Dominion’ picks up 25 years later in the aftermath of a catastrophic war between an army of angels and mankind that only four cities survived. Christopher Egan (‘Kings’) stars alongside Alan Dale (‘The Killing’, ‘Ugly Betty’) and Tom Wisdom (‘300’).

‘Legion’’s Scott Stewart is directing the pilot, written by Vaun Wilmott (‘Sons of Anarchy’).

Sophia Grace and Rosie movie

Christopher Egan in ‘Kings’

Chappie Uncle Morris is in production in Johannesburg on ‘Chappie,’ the new film by ‘District 9’ and ‘Elysium’ director Neill Blomkamp. According to Deadline, ‘Chappie’ stars Sharlto Copley as a robot with artificial intelligence, which is stolen by gangsters (Die Antwoord’s Ninja and Yoland Vi$$er). Hugh Jackman (‘Wolverine’) and Dev Patel (‘Newsroom’) also star.

Ninja and Yolandi Vi$$er from Die Antwoord

Rumour has it that Youtube child stars Sophia Grace Brownlee and Rosie McClelland (the girls in pink tutus covering Nicki Minaj on ‘Ellen’) are shooting a fairytale in Cape Town with Film Afrika for Warner Brothers.

SAF3 Kalahari Pictures continues filming in Cape Town on ‘SAF3’, a heroic new TV series from Gregory J. Bonann, the creator of ‘Baywatch’. Starring action legend Dolph Lundgren (‘The Expendables’), the series follows an elite multi-agency task force dedicated to saving human life. The team consists of heroes who form a highlyspecialised rescue unit to answer the most challenging calls in the most dangerous elements on earth – air, fire and water.

Dolph Lundgren in ‘The Expendables’

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INDUSTRY MOVES

‘Felix’

‘The Forgotten Kingdom’ Wins at U.S. and U.K. Festivals

‘Felix’

African Movie Wins at Top European Children’s Film Festival ‘Felix’, the feel-good South African family film, has won the €7 500 award for Best Children’s Film at the 36th Lucas International Children’s Film Festival, which ended on Sunday in Frankfurt, Germany. It also won has won the €5 000 Michel Award for Best Film at The Filmfest Hamburg Michel Children and Youth Film Festival, also in Germany. This is the third film festival award for ‘Felix’ which also won the Audience Award at Durban International Film Festival in South Africa earlier this year.

Lucas, Germany’s premier children’s festival, received over 400 entries from across the globe. Four children joined industry experts on the jury to select Felix as the winning film.

“We get a multifaceted insight into South Africa today,” the jury said at Saturday’s award ceremony at the German Film Museum. “The film tells an entertaining and exciting story with ease, great actors and good music.”

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In ‘Felix’, 14-year-old Felix Xaba (Hlayani Junior Mabasa) dreams of becoming a saxophonist like his late father, but his mother Lindiwe (Linda Sokhulu) thinks jazz is the devil’s music.

When Felix leaves his township friends to take up a scholarship for grade eight at an elitist private school, he defies his mother and turns to two aging members of his father’s old band (Royston Stoffels and Thapelo Mofokeng) to help him prepare for the school jazz concert.

“We had two incredible screenings at Lucas, complete with ovations and whistles,” says director Roberta Durrant. “The audience absolutely loved the film but I didn’t expect to receive the main award as the competition was stiff.”

‘Felix’ is a Penguin Films production for Sabido Productions, distributed by Crystal Brook Distribution.

For more information, visit www.felixthemovie.com

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South African producers ZenHQ Films and Binary Film Works’ feature film ‘The Forgotten Kingdom’ has won at two more international festivals, the Golden Punt Audience Award for Best Film at the 33rd Cambridge Film Festival in the U.K., and at the Woodstock Film Festival in New York, including Best Film, Best Cinematography and Best Editor.

The Forgotten Kingdom is a story of a young man’s pilgrimage home to find his former self, and is the first feature film produced in and about Lesotho.

The Woodstock and Cambridge wins follow on the heels of five other recent wins in the U.S. ‘The Forgotten Kingdom’ has been selected into 31 film festivals in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Africa. It recently screened to standing ovations at the Durban International Film Festival, where it was picked up for South African distribution by Indigenous Films.

“Winning the awards is very gratifying,” says the films writer/director Andrew Mudge, who attended both Woodstock and Cambridge festivals and awards ceremony.

The Forgotten Kingdom will be released in South Africa in April 2014 after a road show in South Africa and Lesotho in March.

INDUSTRY MOVES

Rowan Pybus Lloyd Maanyina, Sydelle Smith, Kyla Herrmannsen © Sydelle Willow

Makhulu Productions Wins at Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival Makhulu Productions’ acclaimed short film ‘Amazing Grace’ was named the ‘Best Short Program’ at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival.

This prestigious accolade is the fourth international film award for ‘Amazing Grace’, an emotive short that tackles deforestation in Zambia. The piece was named best African film at the UN Forest Short Film Festival in April, followed by two ROSCAR awards at the Wild Talk Africa Film Festival held in Durban in July.

“We are really proud of Amazing Grace”, says Makhulu’s founder Rowan Pybus. “This was a passion project for everyone involved.

Winning Best Short Program at the Jackson Hole Film Festival is a huge honour for our team and we share this award with the subject of our documentary - the incredible Lloyd Manyina. Lloyd is a humble visionary who went from being a woodcutter and charcoal burner to tree planting conservationist. We wanted to tell his transformative story as simply and as succinctly as we could. For us, Lloyd’s journey demonstrates how one mans’s decision to preserve that natural world can create far-reaching positive change. When all is said and done that is what Makhulu Productions is all about. We want to tell more stories about unsung heroes like Lloyd; people whose lead by example and who are actively changing their communities for the better.”

Monica Rorvik

New Film and Production Appointment at Wesgro Wesgro has appointed Monica Rorvik as International Trade and Development Manager: Film and Production.

The Western Cape’s official Tourism, Trade and Investment Agency says it will benefit from Rorvik’s experience as an arts administrator, which she brings to the position.

Rorvik will oversee the Agency’s film and production trade responsibilities.

With more than a decade’s experience at one of South Africa’s most prolific arts organisations, the Centre for Creative Arts, Rorvik has significant management experience within project conceptualisation, fundraising, planning, implementation, evaluation, and reporting.

Her special area of expertise is film and her experience as the Assistant Film Festival Manager meant that she had oversight of all portfolios of the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF). She was also actively involved in curating documentary and short films and has curated special exhibitions of African film for the launch of the African Union and the World Social Forum. She regularly helped other festivals source South African and African content.

Rorvik stays abreast of global trends and

business strategies and has a strong interest in new media, transmedia, animation and the changing and challenging distribution field.

“Rorvik’s strong industry relationships across most film sectors include industry stakeholders, film-makers, training institutions, parastatals, and media. These strengths in the industry, on a global level, will now be leveraged to the benefit of all projects she undertakes,” said Nils Flaatten, Wesgro’s Chief Executive Officer.

As a core member of the DIFF team that grew successful projects such as Talent Campus Durban and the Durban FilmMart (from their inception in 2008 and 2010 respectively to December 2012), she knows what it takes to start a project from scratch, researching, shaping and delivering large-scale projects in accordance with stringent timelines.

An added value is her experience across a number of arts genres. She also has extensive networks in music, literature and dance.

“I derive great fulfilment by bringing film-makers together, by providing prominent platforms for their work and expanding their film and business impact in the global market place and look forward to doing that within Wesgro,” Rorvik said.

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OPPORTUNITIES

Colours of the Nile International Film Festival Calls for Entries from Across Africa

T

he Colours of the Nile International Film Festival (CNIFF) will take place from 5–9 February 2014 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The East African festival is calling for submissions from across Africa for feature-length and short fiction films, as well as feature-length and short documentaries. The entry deadline is 15 November, 2013.

“The inaugural edition of CNIFF that took place in November 2012 was very successful,” ” says Abraham Haile Biru, president of CNIFF and an award-winning African cinematographer.” The overwhelmingly positive response of the African film community and audiences encouraged us to host the festival annually instead of biennially as originally planned.”

Film curator June Givanni, who has worked with the British Film Institute, Toronto International Film Festival and Focus Feature’s Africa First, is the new festival

director, while CNIFF’s competition section will be judged by an international jury consisting of African filmmakers and leading industry professionals.

“The theme is Lenses on Africa’s Renaissance,” says Abraham. “We want to get the message across that cinema is a powerful medium for educating, inspiring, promoting peace, and freedom of expression; all vital for the renaissance of our continent.” The topic reinforces the theme of the 50th anniversary of the OAU/AU and affirms the AU’s charter for African Cultural Renaissance.

In out-of-competition screenings, CNIFF will spotlight South African films in its Africa Special Section and films from other continents in the World Cinema Corner.

Abraham says, “South Africa offers a good example in setting favourable policy and framework conditions for the promotion of cinema. More and more films are coming from South Africa, reaching wider African and

international audiences. This is definitely an experience other African countries can take lessons from to revamp their film industries.”

In recognition of the importance of training for the development of African cinema, the festival has programmed a number of workshops addressing various filmmaking topics.

“I’m honoured to have the chance to head a festival that is truly devoted to the promotion of Africa cinema,” says Abraham. “We are working very hard to offer excellent selections of films for our audiences and the opportunity of exchange and networking for African filmmakers.”

He emphasised that CNIFF will remain a modern place for showcasing African cinema and a platform where filmmakers of different generations meet.

For more information, including rules, requirements and the official submission form, visit www.coloursofthenile.net.

CTV Calls for Local Documentaries from Local Filmmakers

C

ape Town Community TV (CTV) is offering local documentary filmmakers the opportunity to become part of the CTV team and become one of our partners through sharing your films with our community, your community.

CTV is renowned for its documentary content and this is your opportunity to have your documentary films associated with CTVʼs fascinating and thoughtprovoking documentary programming.

Cape Town Community TV (CTV) is a community TV station based in Observatory, CapeTown, South Africa. We provide community access to the powerful medium of Television broadcast as a tool

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to promote human rights, social justice and community cultural development. CTV is committed to engaging a wide range of community perspectives to build a sense of community and common purpose, to promote healing and tolerance and encourage communication across barriers of race, culture, physical ability, language, class, gender, age, and sexual orientation.

With this goal in mind, we accept content from around the world that presents diverse points of view that challenge and engage our viewers to think beyond what they may know. CTV is known for its thought-provoking local and international documentary programming.

CTV is expanding its footprint with a

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second local free-to-air frequency and a national platform via DSTV. Our programmes and your films will be seen locally in the Western Cape and nationally via channel 263 on DSTV. If you have documentary films that you would like to screen on CTV, you will be need to complete a basic Broadcast Licence Agreement that gives CTV permission to broadcast your film for either 24 months, or a period determined by you and CTV. Please understand that at this stage in our growth, we are unable to offer a licence fee.

Please contact Tina-Louise Smith on 021 448 0448 or tina@capetowntv.org for further information.

OPPORTUNITIES

AFC Storytelling International Screenwriting Competition

T

he AFC Storytelling International Screenwriting Competition of the African Arts Foundation was conceived to promote understanding of African life through screenplays and documentary projects and to create greater international cooperation in bringing African subject matters and locales to the screen.

First held in 1998, this Competition inspired writers from around the world to creatively contribute to a better cultural understanding of Africa. During our test – research periods of this contest, we were very pleased in the quality of entries, which represented an international collection of talent.

The African Film Commission (AFC) is in its implementation phase and Africa is called to play a major role in this 21st century. Being so, AFC globalizes the contest’s objectives to encourage writers around the world to actively

participate in its Screenwriting Competition.

Three Categories have been created for writers to compete on namely: • Africa – African Diasporas: Focused on the stories and people of Africa this category seeks projects with a distinctly African point of view that enlightens, challenges and informs the reader. Stories can be set in the past, present or future.

• Go Green – Sustainability: This subject matter deals with the growing concerns about the state of the self, our immediate relationships, the environment and our planet. From Sci-fi to factual and fictionalized accounts and, portrayals of a planet gone array, writers are free to explore the impact of man on the world and those who share it.

• International – All Stories: This category has no limits on subject matter or content, but simply seeks

to reward the most compelling, well crafted stories of our shared humanity from around the world.

The 2013 AFC Storytelling Finalists will be notified January 2014. The 2013 Winners will be announced in February. Both Winners, Finalists and Semi-Finalists will be posted on line.

Winners will be awarded with prizes in Los Angeles, California, USA, in March 2014.

Winners will not only receive prizes-they will also receive the full support of the African Film Commission so that these superior film and documentary projects may get the opportunities for production.

October 3 – November 20 REGULAR DEADLINE – $50 Per Entry November 21 – December 30 LATE / FINAL DEADLINE – $60 Per Entry For more information visit: http:// africafilmcommission.org/community/ screenwriting-competition/

Call for Entries to the

Inaugural WGSA Muse Awards

E

ntries are open for the inaugural Writers’ Guild of South Africa’s Muse Awards. In its continued endeavour to unleash the potential of South African writers, WGSA has launched the Muse Awards to honour its members. With the growth in the South African film and television industry it is critical that credit is given where credit is due. Often it is an overlooked fact that it is the writers who are the backbone of the Film and TV industry, as without their vivid imaginations there would be nothing to watch on our screens.

“WGSA has created the WGSA Muse Awards to recognise the hard work done by our members in the SA film, TV and entertainment industry. It is an award by writers for writers, which finally shines the spotlight on the often forgotten custodians of SA arts and culture,” says Harriet Meier, Chairperson of the WGSA. There are six categories for which entries will be accepted for the 2013 WGSA MUSE AWARDS:

• • • • • •

Feature Film TV Drama TV Comedy Documentary Stage Play Unproduced in any genre While the main language of the entries should be English, short dialogue sequences in other SA official languages are acceptable as long as English

translations are supplied.

As the Muse Awards grow, more categories will be added, including new media, gaming, animation, shorts and a category for student writers.

The WGSA Muse Awards forms part of the WGSA’s schedule of initiatives to strengthen the writing profession by offering skills development programmes as well as protecting the interests of South African writers.

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EVENTS

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EVENTS

November Aluta Film Festival 30 Oct – 2 Nov Kimberley, South Africa

KUNJANIMATION 03 - 09 Cape Town/SJohannesburg, South Africa

CAPE TOWN FILM MART 04 - 06 Cape Town, South Africa

DISCOP AFRICA 06 - 08 Johannesburg, South Africa

AFRICA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 10 - 17 Calabar, Nigeria

AFRICACOM 12 - 14 Cape Town, South Africa

NFVF SA FILM INDABA 2013 14-15 Nov Johannesburg, South Africa

CAIRO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 19-26 Cairo, Egypt

December © Shy The Sun

INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF MARRAKECH 06 - 14 Marrakech, Morocco

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ASSOCIATIONS

WGSA

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Behind-the-Scenes; Shoot Day 12 of 35; Exterior Anglesey Riverside - Camera crew with the director Nick Green © Joe Alblas

The Writers’ Guild of South Africa (WGSA) honours, celebrates and promotes the creativity, quality and writing excellence of local writers with the introduction and launching of the WGSA Muse Awards.

There are six categories for which entries will be accepted for the 2013 WGSA Muse Awards: • Feature Film • TV Drama • TV Comedy • Documentary • Stage Plays, and • Unproduced Script in any genre A panel of independent judges will be looking for excellence in writing style, story, characterisation, dialogue, and impact. Every nominee will receive a personalised Nomination Certificate, and each winner will receive a personalised Winner’s Certificate and a beautiful and specially designed WGSA Muse Trophy.

The judging process will take place during November and December 2013, with the nominees announced in January 2014. This will be followed by the award ceremony, which will take place early next year.

ASSOCIATIONS

Khumba © Triggerfish

NFVF Macufe Film Week

continues to grow The third edition of the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) Macufe Film Week took place from the 8th to the 12th of October 2013 at Nu Metro in Waterfront, Bloemfontein as part of the Macufe programme. The film week featured workshops on scriptwriting, producing, directing, the acting classes as well as screenings of local feature films like Khumba, Fanie Fourie’s Lobola, Gog’Helen and Zama Zama.

The NFVF Macufe Film Week was officially opened by the Head of Department for the Free State Department of Sports, Arts, Culture & Recreation Advocate Tsoarelo Malakoane. In his opening speech Malakoane acknowledged the need to have a Provincial film statutory body in the Free State. “We are currently in talks with Treasury for the budget allocation that will be dedicated to the establishment of the Free State Provincial statutory body that will be able to cater for the needs of the aspiring filmmakers in the province. We realize the urgent need to have this body to ensure the proper development and sustainability of the

Lineo Sekeloane at Macufe conducts producers workshop

film industry the Free State.”

The workshops, facilitated by industry figures like Mmabatho Kau, Bonginkosi Ncube, Mutodi Neshehe and Lineo Nkosi, once again proved to be the great platform for young people to gain insight on various aspects of filmmaking. “It was good to see young people showing genuine interests to grow in filmmaking. The interaction during the Q and A sessions was exciting; they were engaging and asking relevant

questions. It was also good to see the auditorium almost full to capacity during the screening, they showed an appetite for local films,” said Ncube who was one of the facilitators.

Acting Head of Marketing and Communications at NFVF Aifheli Makhwanya said it’s encouraging to receive such a positive feedback. “The NFVF Macufe Film Week is without a doubt becoming one of our key activations in our calendar.”

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