The Callsheet June 2011 by Film & Event Media

R22.80 June 2011 www.thecallsheet.co.za

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32ND DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FILM FESTIVAL

Mama Africa

THE 32ND Annual Durban International Film Festival will be hosting several excellent feature films and documentaries this year.

IGHLIGHTS of the Festival include Terence Malick’s The Tree of Life, The South African premiere of Oliver Hermanus’s Skoonheid and Paula van der Oest’s Black Butterflies. On the documentary side Ryley Grunewald’s The Dawn of a New Day and Leonard RetelHelmrich’s Position Among the Stars are the ones to watch out for. The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) runs from 21–31 July 2011 at venues all over Durban, including selected township venues. With more than 250 screenings over ten days as well as workshops, master classes and seminars for filmmakers, this event is a must attend for the film industry. The 32nd Durban International Film Festival kicks off on 21 July 2011 with the world premiere of the South African film Otelo Burning, directed by Sara Blecher. This entertaining and heart warming film about a group of South African township kids who discover surfing as a way of overcoming the pressures of life, will surely prove a

fantastic start to the festival. The festival will be crammed with great films from around the world. Skoonheid, Oliver Hermanus’s groundbreaking film which was not only the first Afrikaans language film to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival but was also selected in the Un Certain Regard section, will have its first South African screening at the festival. DIFF will also present the world premieres of Charlie Vundla’s noir film How To Steal 2 Million, John Barker’s thrilling heist flick 31 Million Reasons, Faith Isiakpere’s

crime drama The Algiers Murders, Eldorado by new talents Shaldon Ferris and Lorreal Ferris, the hilarious comedy Taka Takata by Damir Radonic, and The Dream by Zuko Nodada. Making their African premieres are Mukunda Michael Dewil’s psychological thriller Retribution and Paula van der Oest’s moving film about Ingrid Jonker, Black Butterflies. DIFF 2011 includes the African premiere of the year’s most anticipated film – the reclusive Terrence Malick’s The Tree Of Life, which just won the

Palme d’Or in Cannes. Other highlights include Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris, which will close the festival, Bela Tarr’s The Turin Horse, Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Elena, Jose Padilha’s Elite Squad 2 – The Enemy Within, Takeshi Kitano’s Outrage, Michel Ocelot’s Tales Of The Night, SJ Clarkson’s Toast, Lee Chang-dong’s Poetry, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. African cinema will also be well-represented by Djo Tunda Wa Munga’s striking and unique

Viva Riva!, Nigerian director Andrew Donsunmu’s visually beautiful Restless City, Justin Chadwick’s uplifting Kenya-set film The First Grader, and Ebrahim El Batout’s Hawi which first appeared in Durban as a project at the inaugural Durban FilmMart in 2010. DIFF will focus on two national cinemas this year: India and Canada. Six films from highly regarded Indian director Satyajit Ray will be presented, alongside exciting new works by talented new Indian filmmakers. Leena Manimekelai will present the world premiere of her film The Dead Sea and other Indian films include Onir’s I Am, Sanjoy Nag’s Memories In March, Kaushik Mukherjee’s Bengali hip hop film Asshole, and Aamir Bashir’s Autumn. In a very strong year for Canadian cinema, DIFF will present Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar-nominated Incendies, the gritty drama Jo For Jonathan, Ed GassDonnelly’s Small Town Murder Songs, Xavier Dolan’s ravishing Heartbeats, and the quirky Familiar Ground by Stephane Lafleur. Canadian documentaries include Barry Steven’s The Prosecutor, a fascinating look at the International Criminal Court, and Shannon Walsh’s St. Henri, The 26th Of August. Continued on page six

PAGE TWO PIN-UP: CANDICE BOUCHER Aazaan

Aazaan

ACTING MODEL and former Playboy pin-up Candice Boucher makes her feature film debut in Bollywood action thriller Aazaan.

URBAN-born model Candice was a hit at this year’s Cannes Film

Festival when she wore a daring black dress from local designer Gavin Rajah to the premiere of Israeli film Hearat Shulayim. Candice was in Cannes to promote her new movie, Aazaan, a Bollywood action adventure. The statuesque model, who started modelling while she was still at school in Dur-

ban, has gone on to appear in some of the top magazines in the world, including Elle, Cosmopolitan, FHM, Sports Illustrated and GQ. Recently she was named a Guess girl, joining the ranks of Claudia Schiffer, Adriana Lima and Drew Barrymore, who were all previously the face of Guess. Candice landed her Bollywood debut as a result of her work on TV commercials with Indian director Prashant Chadha. Prashant decided to cast Candice as the romantic lead in Aazaan opposite fellow movie debutante Sachin Joshi. Sachin is better known in India as the managing director of the XXX energy drink and his interests in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Prashant said: “While scripting the film I felt that Candice would make the perfect mystery miss. Given that she’s a Playboy Cover girl, the instant connect is: She must be hot. She is but, there’s also a certain vulnerability that makes her more appealing” Prashant added: “Candice Boucher stays in New York and is playing a Moroccan girl. Actually, I know Candice for over

four years.” Candice enthused about her role, saying: “I absolutely loved the whole experience, the best part was just learning along the way, the cast and crew were great, and one or two of my scenes I really had a lot of fun with.” The movie is set to shoot all over the world in locations like Morocco, Sudan, Poland, Germany, France and four cities in India. The director revealed the details of shooting in so many locations: “The technical crew, except for the cameraman is hired from the city we are shooting. The process of shooting was not that tedious because we spent a lot of time in pre-production. Shooting in five-six countries is not an easy job, but because our preparation is so strong we are able to wrap our shooting in stipulated time and in a given budget.” Shooting also took place closer to home in Cape Town and Plettenberg Bay, where the closing scenes of the film were shot last month. Candice joined the cast and crew in South Africa, although she did not have any scenes to shoot

while here. Candice plays a sand artist in the movie, and she was coached for her role by professional sand artist Alexandra Konofalskaya. Candice believes her modelling experience helped prepare her for the job, saying: “My modelling background definitely made it a little easier, as with photos you still have to portray some kind of story or emotion, and you kind of have to still climb out of your shell a bit on set. So going over to a movie set was a little easier I think.” She added: “I had an acting coach sit down with me and discuss my character at length and how I should portray her. It is something different that I’m used to as a model, but was very enjoyable to do.” Although she has no other acting roles lined up yet, the 27-year-old says she would be open to repeating the experience if she was offered an exciting project: “It was really never my intention to go into acting, I did enjoy the experience very much. think if the right project came up I would consider it. Aazaan was a special project though as I am close to Roopa (Chadhan, head of media relations on the film) and Prashant the director.” Candice who appeared on the cover and on the pages of the April 2010 edition of Playboy magazine, recently revealed she would not pose nude again. She said: “It’s something I wouldn’t want to have happen again because when I did it, I had my reasons and I’m happy with how it turned out. I enjoyed the shoot and I’ve decided I’d like to leave it like that and not to go back.” When asked about her immediate plans for the future, Candice, who is now based in New York City, said: “Right now I am just focussing on the modeling side again and looking forward the the release and premiers of Aazaan.” The music release of the film is set for July 2011, while the film itself will be officially released on 16 September 2011. Kate Hodges

NAB 2011 - AN INTERVIEW WITH GIDEON FURST I’m sure you can check out on the NAB website. CS: Of the big announcements made which will directly impact our local industry. GF: Our industry is rapidly growing, so there isn’t one thing that came up at NAB ’11 that isn’t going to directly impact our industry. It’s a good thing, that’s for sure.

TECHNOLOGY THE Callsheet’s Jasyn Howes catches up with Gideon Furst to find out about his impressons of the annual National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas.

HE event boasts a conglomerate of film and television manufacturers that come together to showcase the future of the industry in an open platform. This allows industry buffs from around the world to not only see the latest gear on offer, but also comment on the pros and cons of each. For Gideon Furst, head of digital at Media Film Services, NAB is a must. In this interview he reveals all the notable

developments from this year’s event and gives us the low down on how it will affect our local industry. CS: How would you describe the NAB show from a South African viewpoint? GF: It’s a cost effective event to attend considering the exchange rate works in our favour, compared to similar events in Europe. You get a chance to meet similar minds from across the world all representing various brands. It’s a well-organized event, what else can I say? CS: How important is NAB to the global film industries? GF: NAB is very important as a lot of new technologies are showcased. They also look at

upgrades on existing gear whilst introducing the world to new products. It’s also a way for manufacturers to get feedback on new products before they go into production. It’s the best platform for market research, which is essential to the success of new products. CS: What were some of the biggest announcements made at NAB ’11? GF: Some of the highlights that really stuck out for me were the Arri Alexa-M and Alexa Studio. Sony F65, Apple FCP-X and the baselight plug-in for Mac. I was also impressed by the OLED monitors, Red Epic cameras, Cinedeck Extreme 3D software and the awesome Alexa 120fps firmware update. There was a lot more that

CS: Any disappointing news from NAB this year? GF: The tsunami that occurred earlier this year has caused not only the loss of thousands of lives but also tarnished the Japanese infrastructure. That has had a serious impact on all of the new technology that was expected to launch already. CS: What’s it really like attending this event in one of the world’s craziest cities? GF: I’ve only been to NAB twice, so I can’t really speak for others. What I can say is that our industry is becoming more and more competitive, so there is less time for partying. Most of the big deals are not made on the exhibition floor but rather at night over dinner at smaller private releases of equipment in conference halls. CS: Which suppliers do you feel are making the biggest and bravest moves in terms of new technology? GF: Well, it’s easy to see who the

big guns are. Arri and Red are obviously making huge leaps in the move towards a film stock free industry. Sony, with there F3 and F65 are doing a lot for the commercial market and of course companies like Filmlight are taking colour grading to new heights. There are exciting times ahead! CS: What is MFS taking into consideration in the wake of NAB ’11? GF: We will be looking at new external camera recorders, the new FCP-X, the new Alexa range, RED Epic, Thunderbolt drives, and new lenses and the move to LED lighting and the advantages they offer. CS: What are your predictions for NAB ’12? GF: I honestly believe that we can expect better external camera recorders, cloud editing, new and improved LED lighting, editing software upgrades that can handle higher quality footage, a focus on data storage and data management, higher frame rates from a variety of new cameras, faster processing of images, a look at green energy in the film industry and terrestrial broadcasting. It’s going to be even better next year, that’s for sure. For more information on NAB ’12 visit the website: www.nabshow.com Jasyn Howes

TRIGGERFISH TAKES ZAMBEZIA TO CANNES Zambezia

ANIMATION PRODUCER Stuart Forrest and studio producer Kirstin Barwise from Triggerfish Animation were at this year’s Cannes Film Festival to promote 3D animated feature Zambezia.

HE film was directed by Wayne Thornley and produced by Stuart. Triggerfish, which is based in Bergvliet, Cape Town, screened a 20 minute

promo at the festival as well as 2D work in progress of the film for international distributors. It is a coming of age tale about a young falcon trying to escape from under his stern father’s claw. He flies away and heads to the bird-city Zambezia, where he finds himself at the centre of an adventure and – in the tradition of animated features – he learns the value of family and friends. Zambezia was one of nine South African films hosted in Cannes by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF). When asked about his impressions of Cannes, and the experience as a whole, Stuart said: “It was great to be in the buzz of it all - it's terribly glamorous. The NFVF did a great job at managing the South African pavilion and we made lots of worthwhile meetings with South African filmmakers, investors and other industry people who you don't normally have time to connect with.” Stuart was thrilled with the movie’s success in France, revealing it has sold far more than they estimated beforehand, “We showed the film and a promo at a 3D cinema, and the response

was terrific. People were blown away by the high quality of production from a small animation studio - most of the independent animation out there is pretty grim. We sold way above our original sales estimates and have now got a total of 26 territories sold.” Zambezia is being distributed by Cinema Management Group (CMG), who have also managed the international sales of Hoodwinked – The True Story of Little Red Riding Hood and Academy Award nominated documentary Gasland. Edward Noeltner, the president of CMG, was excited about the film’s reception in Cannes, saying: “Cannes was

extremely gratifying as we have now closed 24 separate international pre-sales for the film. Every distributor who signed up for the film came out of the 3D promo reel screenings with ‘two thumbs up’ saying the film has real theatrical potential in their territory. Many distributors also lauded the films fabulous 3D animation quality which the team at Triggerfish has put a lot of time and energy into. Overall, we couldn’t be happier with the reactions from Cannes.” Stuart says the movie will be complete in October, just in time for the American Film Market, which runs from 2-9 November

2011. AFM is an annual event held in Santa Monica, California, where representatives from over 70 countries go to buy and sell movies. Zambezia should open on South African screens towards the end of 2012. Stuart feels Cannes is an important experience for local filmmakers saying: “It's invaluable. It's important to get a sense of what else is getting to the market and what is selling at this point in time. And it's great to network and meet other producers who are dealing with the same issues.” Kate Hodges

THE DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The Dawn of a New Day

FILM FESTIVAL Continued from page one

HE powerful documentary line-up includes World Premieres such as Ryley Grunewald’s The Dawn of a New Day where healing is shown to have many facets beyond the physical, Mickey Dube’s Sobukwe, A great Soul about Robert Sobukwe one of South Africa’s most influential, but unsung, heroes, the Keith Jones/Deon Maas music revolution collaboration Punk In Africa, and the Dara Kell/Chris Nizza collaboration Dear Mandela about innovative leadership emerging in informal settlements. Not to be missed, DIFF will present the African premiere of Mama Africa,

Mama Africa

the inspirational film about South African singer and activist Miriam Makeba. With the COP 17 conference on climate change taking place in Durban later in the year, a range of topical environmental films is included in this year’s Eco-Lens focus. There is village resistance to oil giants Shell in The Pipe; Blood in the Mobile shows how frightening mining conditions produce material for our cellphones; and, fresh from Cannes, The Big Fix exposes corruption and cover-ups surrounding the Mexican Gulf oil spill. Countdown to Zero (by Lucy Walker) is about nuclear weapons, while Into Eternity covers nuclear waste storage. Eco-Pirate- the Story of Paul Watson is about this legendary

defender of our oceans and its creatures (Paul Watson himself will attend the festival). Along with the riveting story of Harry Belafonte in Sing Your Song, a special highlight will be Leonard Retel-Helmrich’s tracking of an Indonesian family in Position Among the Stars – this film won top awards at both Sundance and IDFA. Look out also for King Naki, The Imam and I, and the Durban-shot Street Kids United. Other documentaries cover Bollywood, Robert Mugabe, the Black Power movement in America, organic agriculture, paraplegic musicians in Kinshasa, the famous el Bulli restaurant, the global financial meltdown, and West Indian cricket. Packages of short documentaries and short films are also on offer. DIFF will host the Wavescapes Surf Film Festival for the 7th consecutive year – a six-day blast of red-hot wave action, surf stories and groundbreaking cinematography. This year marks the 10th year of DIFF’s partnership with University of KwaZulu-Natal’s AV unit who run the workshop programme for first-time filmmakers from community organisations. For more information and programme details on the 32nd Durban International Film Festival visit www.cca.ukzn.ac.za

THE DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 3D Lab

3D Lab

INDUSTRY NEWS 3D film making lab launched at the Durban University of Technology

OUTH Africa’s first educationally orientated 3D film production laboratory was launched at the Durban University of Technology in May 2011. Established by Matla Innovation, in partnership with the DUT, the lab will be able to produce full length 3D feature films and 3D advertisements whilst providing cutting edge 3D facilities. Use of the lab will be available to the university’s video technology students and to international and local production companies, studios and TV stations. It also has the ability to convert existing 2D content to 3D, which is useful for entities with large video libraries and also for the setting up of a TV channel dedicated to the distribution of 3D contents.

Zwelakhe Sisulu, executive chairman of Matla says, “The technology that we are providing could easily make South Africa a creative centre for content creation for the big screens, television and the internet.” Matla has spearheaded this collaborative project with eThekwini municipality by using its extensive technology networks in the East. Innovative 3D film-making techniques and equipment were sourced from the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan, a research and development agency that promotes industrial development. The partners also work closely with the Kwa-Zulu Natal Department of Education and the Department of Science and Technology. The project is part of a wider electronic device development and education connectivity initiative that is funded by the Technology In-

novation Agency. Two of ITRI’s top technical minds, GZ Wu and JD Chen will be responsible for training 20 DUT video technology staff and senior students on the various aspects of 3-D production including the handling of 3D cameras, recorders, viewing hardware and the use of specialised content management software. Once the training is complete, DUT video technology staff and students will begin work on five 3D television programmes, which can be beamed into schools around South Africa. This is part of a pilot project to test the effectiveness of delivering upgraded content including 3D content, via affordable South African branded set-top boxes, netbook and tablet computers to help bring educational messages to life. Professor Pete Burnett, head of the video technology department says, “3D is the future of television and film.

We are very pleased to be involved in these cutting edge technologies as the equipment is so costly and the opportunity to receive training is rare”.

FILM FESTIVAL AFDA, the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance has had four 2010 graduation films selected to be screened at the 32nd Durban International Film Festival taking place from 21 - 31 July 2011. The films are; Lindela, Cake, Blinde Kleure and Above the Fold.

HILIPPA Caddow’s Cake tells the story of 5-yearold protagonist Sarah who looks after her mother. Sarah’s mother suffers from Alzheimer’s. The short tells the story of Sarah’s efforts to reunite with her estranged sister Becky at a planned birthday

tea party. Everything that can go wrong does, and a comedy of errors ensues. The cast includes: Michaela Von Seydlitz, Cameron Subramoney Writer/Director Tian Nel tells the story of nail technician Patricia Botha in Blinde Kleure. Patricia is battling financially and her attempts to find work are fruitless. An insurance claims official Justin is trying to discuss the suspicious circumstances around her father’s death with her as Patricia starts to panic. The cast includes: Marne van der Burgh, Toure Kanyiso Madlakane Above The Fold, directed by, Derryn Leigh Smith, tells the story of journalist Rose, who loses her photojournalist husband during the 2008 xenophobic violence that sprung up around South Africa. Rose visits one of the refugee camps that sprung up as a result of the attacks in her pursuit of the truth behind her husband’s death. The cast includes: Chantelle Down, Melvin Biza, Promise Cebekhulu, Skumbuzo Ndaba and Colin Fisher. Lindela, written and directed by Lillian Million is about a Hillbrow mechanic Shadrack. Shadrack is mistaken for an illegal immigrant at a roadblock one night due to his dark complexion and is held at Lindela repatriation centre. Shadrak is deported to Zimbabwe, but his mechanic skills come to the rescue when the bus breaks down and he is able to escape. The cast includes: Takalani Phanlandwa, Mamphalo Mohobane, Kagisho Mosholi.

THE DURBAN FILM MART 2011 FILM FESTIVAL THE second Durban FilmMart (DFM) takes place at The Royal Hotel from 22-25 July 2011.

FM IS a forum run jointly by the Durban Film Office and the Durban International Film Festival that runs concurrently with the annual film festival. DFM is looking to become an established feeder market much like the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Cinemart. It is an opportunity for African film-makers to meet with leading financiers and an industry networking event. The end goal is to facilitate African productions by putting various industry players in the same place. The last edition of DFM saw over 200 international producers, financiers, funding organisations, sales agents, filmmakers and distributors brought together over four days. They had the opportunity to attend master classes, workshops, meetings and presentations on relevant topics. Accredited DFM delegates will also have access to the Durban International Film Festival. The Durban Film Office’s (DFO) Toni Monty said, “126 qualifying projects were submitted in 2011, a significant increase from 2010’s figure of 76 qualifying projects. The final selection, up from 12 projects

in 2010 to 20 projects in 2011, is split between Feature Film and Documentary genres.” Feature projects in the DFM 2011 selection are: 69 Midane el Messaha (69 Messaha Square), directed by Ayten Amin and produced by Ihab Ayoub (Egypt); Ali Mea’za, directed by Ibrahim El Batout and produced by Hossam Elouan (Egypt); Boda Boda Thieves, directed by Donald Mugisha and produced by James Tayler (South Africa); Children of the Sand, directed by Ekwa Msangi-Omar and produced by Appie Matere (Kenya); Imbabazi, directed and produced by Joel Karekezi (Rwanda); Lock Yourself In, directed by Elan Gamaker and produced by Bridget Pickering (South Africa); Midnight Dogs, directed by Lassaad Dkhili and produced by Guillaume de Seille (Tunisia); Robin du Web (Robin of the Web) directed and produced by Veronique Doumbe (Cote D’Ivoire/ United States of America); This Boy, directed by Kyle Lewis and produced by David Max Brown (South Africa); and Two Princes, directed by Philippa Ndisi-Hermann and produced by Atieno Odenyo (Kenya). The selected documentary projects for DFM 2011 are: The Black President, directed by Adze Ugah and produced by Anna Teeman; (Nigeria/ United Kingdom); Femme á la

Camera, directed by karima Zoubir and produced by Hicham Brini (Morocco); En Terre Inconnue, directed by Ariane Astriid Mbourou and produced by Cyrille Masso (Cameroon); FIDAI , directed by Damien Onouri and co-produced by Mathien Muller and Alexander Singer (Algeria/ France); Homage to the Buddha, directed and produced by Nicole Schafer (South Africa); I, Afrikaner, directed by Annalet, Steenkamp and produced by Lauren Groenewald (South Africa); Naana La Reine Mere (Naana, Queen Mother), directed and produced by Jean-Marie Teno (Cameroon); Ndiyindoda (I am a Man) directed by Mayenzeke Baza and produced by Bryony Roughton (South Africa); Return to Zimbabwe, directed and produced by Xoliswa Sithole (South Africa) and Rollaball, directed by Eddie Edwards and produced by Steven Markovitz (South Africa). Peter Rorvik, director of the Durban International Film Festival added, “Alongside the fiction features, this year we have strengthened opportunities for documentaries, working closely with the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA) in setting up documentary pitching sessions to commissioning editors and financiers.” Exciting lead experts at Durban FilmMart this year include

Juliane Schulze, Peter Broderick and Hetty Naaijkens. Juliane will present a session on Film Finance Fundamentals. She is senior partner at Peacefulfish, a strategic media consulting company based in Berlin, specializing in content financing, and in particular in developing innovative financial solutions for audiovisual projects. Peter will present on Distribution Techniques and will provide a guided tour of the worlds of “Crowdfunding and

Crowdsourcing”. He is President of Paradigm Consulting, which helps filmmakers and media companies design and implement state-of-the-art distribution strategies. Hetty founded Scarabee Films, which specializes in highquality creative documentaries, short films and features and her productions have been repeat winners at both IDFA and Sundance. Hetty will present on Documentary Finance Wizardry. Kate Hodges

ONE MILLION DOLLARS FOR AFRICAN DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKERS

Chris McDonald

DOCUMENTARIES ON 4 May 2011 Hot Docs announced a $1-Million Production Fund for African filmmakers in their newsletter.

HE fund was initiated by Blue Ice Productions, a film and television business in Canada. According to Chris McDonald, Executive Director of Hot Docs, both principals at Blue Ice are South African-Canadians who would like to see more films about Africa being made by Africans. The ShawMedia Hot Docs Fund has been very successful in Canada and Blue Ice hopes to replicate this success in Africa. Chris says Hot Docs is thrilled that Blue Ice has

shown confidence in their ability to deliver and that they aim to do exactly that. Chris says that it has never been easy to make documentaries, but nowadays it is particularly challenging. This is why Hot Docs is being aggressive about assisting filmmakers to finance their films. Neiloe Khunyeli, Junior Production and Development Executive at the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), says the fund is exciting because it makes the development of more ambitious documentary films viable. Elizabeth Radshaw, Hot Docs Forum and Market Director, points out that the announcement in May was an early announce-

ment. The nitty gritty of the fund needs to be ironed out, but they hope to have the details available for us in September. She says it will be a five year fund that aims to promote social, cultural, political and artistic docs in the region. The fund is more than cashin-hand as it hopes to involve the Canadian production community “... in a non-proprietary way,” says Chris. African filmmakers who may benefit from the support of a mentor will be partnered with filmmakers from the greater Hot Docs network. Funded filmmakers could also attend Hot Docs as part of the fund. They would be exposed to market and networking opportunities the festival offers

and meetings with international buyers, who offer complementary fund injections. Denis Lillie, of the Cape Film Commission (CFC), was upbeat about the fund, saying it will have a positive impact as it will help emerging and established filmmakers to access international commissions. Making the connection between funding and distribution, Neiloe says the Foundation is committed to showing that film is a viable economic activity. Their understanding of the filmmaking landscape as Neiloe indicated, is that by making more films we can grow the industry and encourage investors to come on board. While the NFVF is thinking about quantity, the CFC is thinking about quality. Denis thinks that greater investment into documentary films will improve the quality of the films, which in turn will boost the level of interest to acquire the films. Lauren Groenewald, Co-chair of the South African Documentary Filmmakers’ Association, who attended Hot Docs in May this year, saw a lot of the international content South African filmmakers are competing with. She thinks that more equitable financing will improve the chances for success both locally and globally for South African documentary filmmakers. As we currently produce films at a fraction of international budgets, we cannot compete internationally. Lauren urges local

financiers to recognise and support the economic possibilities of local high end documentaries. Although documentaries appear to be losing support from broadcasters around the world, they also seem to be growing their audience. Chris points to the fact that the Hot Docs audience doubles every three years and in 2011 their festival attendance totalled 150 000 people. “They have an insatiable appetite for these types of stories,” he says of the Hot Docs festival goers. Elizabeth refers to this situation as a market disconnect. TV is no longer connecting the growing market for documentaries with the films it wants to see. This market for documentaries is therefore forced to ferret out the content it wants to see through other avenues and today this means at festivals, online, or elsewhere. In South Africa, Denis thinks that because the SABC is short on money, they need to consider that documentaries are cheaper to produce than other content. By focusing on investing in documentary film they can empower the local film community. The buzz words around documentaries nowadays is creative financing. The Hot Docs fund promises some respite for documentary filmmakers from this worn refrain and will allow them to focus their creativity on making their films. Tina-Louise Smith

DANCE FILM FESTIVAL AT THE BAXTER Stalle Place

Dancers from the New York City Ballet

DANCE FILMS THE Baxter Theatre in Cape Town will be holding their 6th Dance Film Festival from 30 June - 2 July 2011.

HE Baxter Theatre in Cape Town will be holding their 6th Dance Film Festivalthis month. The exciting line-up, which features 10 films in single screenings, features dancers ranging from international legend Mikhail Baryshnikov to Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance winner

Mamela Nyamza. A host of dance movies will be screened in the Golden Arrow studio from over three days at 7.30pm nightly, plus a matinee at 2pm and an early showing at 5.30pm on Saturday, 2 July. The film festival is being presented in association with Cinedans. Nicolette Moses, Baxter associate producer and planning manager, who has been running the festivals since their inception, was excited about the festival, saying: “Based on feedback from choreog-

raphers, directors, dancers and teachers last year, we decided to separate the dance and film festivals, to give the studios, companies and the wider dance community the opportunity to attend without having to compromise their rehearsal schedules. Nicolette added: “I am over the moon about our programme this year. When last did we see Baryshnikov or New York City Ballet on our screens? I hope that it will encourage filmlovers and makers and the public to come and see these films.

There’s only one screening of each of them.” The line-up of films kicks off with three films on Thursday, 30 June 2011 at 7.30pm. The first is Ställe Place by renowned Swedish choreographer Mats Ek, created for and featuring Royal Court dancer and professor Ana Laguna and dance legend Mikhail Baryshnikov. Mats often focusses on mature dancers and the duet between these two greats makes for moving viewing. Directly afterwards is Alarmel Valli’s Padam Vazhi: The Path is Hidden, about an Untouchable man who may not enter a Hindu temple due to his low status. The protagonist prays to the god Shiva for help. The dancing is performed by Ranee Ramaswany in Bharatanatyam dance style. The film was shot from multiple view points with cutting edge graphic design used to create an emotive visual piece. The third film on the opening night Point Taken, features four eight-minute short films in a variety of dance styles. Hyperscape is a martial arts dance film with choreography by Marco Gerris. Memory Lane, choreographed by Joost Vrouenraets, is about an elderly couple looking through their photo albums and reflecting on their past. Diamond Dancers is about line dancers who perform in a flash mob and Val, by choreographer Boukje Schweigman, looks at a man who falls from the sky onto a barren landscape. He embarks on a metaphorical journey and by the end of the piece the man is lall alone. On Friday, 1 July 2011, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Sutra will be screened. He collaborated closely with the artist Antony Gormley, who created a set using twenty-one wooden boxes

which are repositioned to create an ever-changing environment. The piece was inspired by Buddhist Shaolin monks. On the Saturday at 2pm, the matinee is Zero Degrees, which tells the story of a train journey across the Indian/Bangladeshi border, starting with a frantic scramble caused by a lost passport and ending with a fellow passenger dying, unnoticed by his fellow travellers. The journey covered in the film is a metaphorical journey. The second last screening on 2 July 2011 at 5pm is the local film Cape Town Soup, which consists of four portraits of Cape Town residents, featuring the works Hatched, choreographed by Mamela Nyamzama and Amkele Mandlas Nyamza, John Cartwright’s On the street, and Hairdresser with choreography by Chumani Matitibala, Sinetemba Tati and Zen Mlumbi from the Volcano Art Project in Gugulethu. The film is a staged documentary, dealing with the everyday issues Capetonians face using the medium of dance. The final show on Saturday at 7:30pm is NY Export, featuring an ensemble cast of New York City Ballet dancers. The movie was shot on 35mm film and shot on location in New York City. It was the winner of the Audience Award at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival and was nominated for the Rose D’Or Award. Ticket prices for the Baxter’s Dance Film Festival are R30 and the films will be screened at the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio. Booking is through Computicket on 0861 915 8000, online at www.computicket.co.za or at Shoprite Checkers outlets countywide. For full details of the Festival offerings visit www. baxter.co.za. Kate Hodges

We’re distributing 4 000 copies a month free via bulk distribution at film industry commissions and organisations; key industry meeting points like equipment houses, post facilities and broadcasters; on set; and at key industry events. This means we’ll remain the most read film industry trade publication. After seven years of carrying the cost of mailing another 4 000 copies direct to everyone else, we’re asking for subscriptions to help us cover our rising distribution costs. Subscribe now for just R22.80 pm to keep receiving your copy, delivered to your door every month. Please contact us for a subscription debit order form: dani@filmeventpublishing.co.za or 021 674 6691.

COLOUR TV COMING TO SABC 2 Terri Ann Eckstein, Wayne van Rooyen and Quanita Adams

Kim Cloete, ‘Tyren’ and Merlin Baile

TELEVISION SABC to launch a new sketch show aimed at coloured demographic

N JULY SABC 2 will launch a new sketch show, COLOUR TV, which is aimed at coloured viewers. The show, loosely based on the satiri-

cal US sketch show Saturday Night Live, will focus on the humour of the coloured demographic that makes up almost ten percent of South Africa’s population. COLOUR TV will feature several well known South African actors, including David Isaacs, Quanita Adams, Kim Cloete, Robin Adams and Ter-

ence Bridgett. The show aims to use humour to speak to this previously overlooked demographic and address the issues they face. COLOUR TV can be seen as a response to the recent issues surrounding this population group, particularly government spokesman Jimmy Manyi’s comments about coloured people in the

Western Cape. The success of eTV’s Late Night News with Loyiso Gola and 5fm’s comic character Tyren have revealed that there is a market for a show of this nature. The series originator is Bernhard (Bernie) Baatjies, who teamed up with Bonngoe Productions and Jungle Works to create COLOUR TV. Bernie said: “Never before have the conditions been so ripe to introduce a show to South Africans that challenges a thought process and teases diplomacy so outrageously and SABC 2 is the perfect platform to launch this first-of-its-kind series to the world. The definition of who coloured people are has shifted from being a one dimensional take based on skin colour and race to being a more complex definition based on lifestyle and behaviour, we’re apparently even more misunderstood and subjected to even greater, more severe stereotyping than before. “Colour TV provides SABC 2 the opportunity to talk directly to a broad South African audience using comedy and satire as a tool of engagement. The coloured sector makes up 9.1% of the SA population and traditionally this audience has been under-serviced. It’s TV for us by us. It’s a place where we invite you to laugh along with

us ... not at us. It’s our place under the broadcast sun. The world as WE see it!” The skits in the show will include a soap opera - a local Romeo and Juliet dealing with two families the Pieterses and the Jones’. There will also be a consumer protection segment called Raak Wys, a game show, a news affairs show called Special Consignment which parodies similar serious news shows. In addition COLOUR TV will offer a lifestyle show segment called Kuier focusing on real people. Traditional segments such as weather and financian news will also be included. Zandile Nkonyeni (publicity manager of SABC 2) adds: “This project is unlike any other the SABC has previously commissioned and we are proud to be able to give COLOUR TV a platform to showcase content that will push the boundaries in honest comedy that’s authentically South African in its approach. COLOUR TV will firmly put SABC 2 on the map as a thought provoking South African channel that is truly in touch with its audience. COLOUR TV is an opportunity for a demographic rich in tapestry and culture to tell their stories and provide a window into one of South Africa’s lesserexplored cultures.” Kate Hodges

THE TV SHOW AFRICA CONFERENCE 2011 Sandton Convention Centre

TV SHOW AFRICA THE TV Show Africa conference was held at the Sandton Convention Centre from the 31st of May to the 2nd of June 2011.

HE conference, organised by Terrapin, was partnered with the SatCom 2011 conference. Speakers included Farah Chaudry from Africa 24, Media Ltd in Kenya; Reshma Bharmal-Sharif MD of Starfish Mobile in Tanzania; Frans Lindeque the chief operating officer of Top TV; Alan Knott-Craig Jnr CEO of The World of Avatar and

many others. The two main conference days were held in an area just off the primary exhibition space, adjacent to the SatCom exhibition itself. Delicious lunches were provided by the organisers every day, and the venue’s location meant there were a variety of hotels to choose from for the delegates who had flown in from all over Africa. As can be expected in the inaugural edition of the conference, there were several teething problems. These included speakers not turning up and the website’s networking features

not being functional in time for delegates to fully benefit from them. Speakers were especially interested in IPTV, TV for mobile, piracy, alternative financing for original content and getting away from the advertising model. The conference focused on Africa and the continent’s challenges in catching up to the rest of the world, and implementing these changes in a way that would be relevant for our unique and highly differentiated economies. Conference manager Hmrithi Jairam was pleased with inaugural conference and looking ahead to next year, “At the TV Show Africa we heard from telco’s, broadcaster’s, and content producers and we will definitely be picking up where they left off for next year’s event. Look out for hot topics such as Business models of IPTV & streaming companies, The mobile TV principles to broadcasting, and Overcoming challenges in the emerging new platforms for content delivery to name a few.” On 31 May 2011 there was a pre-conference workshop run by Sadiq Malik, the director of business operations at BCT Global. Sadiq has run workshops and seminars in locations as far afield as Kuala Lum-

pur, Mauritius, Singapore and Dubai. The fiery speaker introduced delegates to the ideas of media convergence and offered a helpful overview of many of the topics to be covered on days two and three. The chairperson on Day One was Talia Sanhewe, the managing director of Talia Sanhewe Picture Studio. Talia, who has worked as a correspondent for CNBC Africa, CNN International and the BBC World Service, introduced Linda Jensen, the first speaker of the day. Linda is the chief executive officer of HBO Central Europe, and her interesting presentation got the day off to a good start. Although there were some cancelled speakers on day one, the conference offered delegates the opportunity to network and engage with speakers during panel discussions. The chairperson on day two was Simon Dingle, a technology journalist and well known speaker. Simon raised some interesting points about piracy, suggesting it’s time to engage with pirate content producers as competitors. Simon was interested in all the speakers had to say, and in addition facilitating panel discussions, he often contributed his own informed views. When asked about his impressions of the conference as a whole, Simon elaborat-

ed “I enjoyed the event and thought that there was a good mix of content for industry representatives. It was unfortunately somewhat under-attended from what I could tell but I would not venture guesses as to why this was the case as I was not involved in organising it and also have not engaged with the industry much at such events in the past.” Delegate Thandi Davids, the regional director of broadcasting and sales for Fox International and National Geographic Africa had mixed feelings about the conference, saying: “The show I felt was a bit too technically skewed, would have preferred more content driven speakers and more focus on on-air case studies. I found the final day had more meaningful and relevant speakers. I was disappointed by the fact the advertised speakers were not on the schedule.” There were several hiccups, in particular the late cancellation of several keynote speakers, several speakers covering the same topics while at the podium and a heavy focus on technical issues. However, considering this was its inaugural year, the TV Show Africa conference could become a must-attend function in years to come. Kate Hodges

INTERVIEW WITH THE LION OF JUDAH DIRECTOR DERYCK BROOM Deryck Broom and Georgina Cordova

ANIMATION DIRECTOR Deryck Broom spoke to us following a disappointing opening in the United States for Africa’s first internationally distributed 3D film, The Lion of Judah.

HE animated film is a faithbased tale about a sheep called Judah. The movie was released at 80 cinemas across the US on 3 June 2011. Academy award winner Ernest Borgnine, Michael Madsen and Scott Eastwood (Clint Eastwood’s son) voiced characters in The Lion of Judah. The movie was given unfavourable reviews by critics in

major publications such as The Hollywood Reporter, The Miami Herald and Variety. It was however well received by the Christian media, with a recommendation from Ruth Graham (television evangelist Billy Graham’s daughter). The film also won several awards including the Sabaoath International Christian Film Festival’s ‘Best Animated Feature’ and thehighest Dove Seal of Approval for family viewing. We got Deryck’s view while he was on a nine-hour layover in London on his return to South Africa. He was disheartened by his experience in the US, however he is determined

to look on the bright side. Deryck revealed that when he started on the project, it had been billed as a faithbased straight-to-dvd release. Although they started with a team of just 5 people, eventually The Lion of Judah was being worked on by 30-odd people in fields as diverse as animation, surfacing and texturing, lighting, dynamics and SFX, compositing and rendering. Deryck said: “As the feedback came in from the work being done. Animated Family Films were encouraged to look at a cinema release. This further enthused the small, but passionate team.” He added: “In spite of our inexperienced team, limited budget and hectic deadline, the almost completed movie was getting rave reviews from its intended audience, and animation as an industry was given a boost of confidence in South Africa. So much was sacrificed by so many for the sake of this awesome project. Based on the initial reviews it was decided that the project should be accessible to 3D screens and Character Matters re-renderd the entire movie in stereoscopic.” Deryck feels the problems arose when the deadline was moved up as there was an opportunity for the movie to open in 80 cinemas across

the US on 3 June 2011. Due to the decision to screen the movie early there was very little promotion and audiences were unaware of the niche faith-based nature of the animated film. Deryck explained: “The problem came in when there was initially not even enough funding to create 80 cinema prints and then to further advertise the film in all 80 areas. The majority of areas where the cinemas were willing to show the movie, had no advertising or promotion at all, no billboards, TV commercials, trailers before other films and the cinema I attended in Los Angeles didn’t even have a poster up yet - so the film was a completely unknown entity whose intended target market wasn’t yet aware of the event.” He continued: “In areas where there was promotion to local churches, some cinemas were sold out and 10 cinemas in the USA have decided to extend their screenings and some other cinemas have asked to screen it too. We have had extremely positive responses from the audiences that watched it.” The Cape Town director concluded: “We will take the lessons we have leant and further seize opportunities with passion. From the top down,

everybody involved in the movie gave it their all and I’m so proud to have been a part of this extraordinary team. The best is still to come for The Lion of Judah.” After arriving back home Deryck was pleased to learn that 23 cinemas chose to screen the film for a second week due to a positive response. The Lion of Judah will be released by Warner Brothers on DVD and Bluray in September 2011. NuMetro will release the film in South Africa later this year.

Kate Hodges

MONTHLY WRAP PARTY AT THE PENINSULA ALL SUITES INDUSTRY EVENTS

Louis B’s at The Westin

FILM & Event Publishing’s May monthly wrap party was held at The Peninsual All Suite Hotel, situated on Sea Point’s Golden Mile, on 26 May 2011. The outside deck was shown off to full advantage on the unseasonably warm evening.

HE Peninsula All Suites treated guests to a delicious cocktail or a bracing whisky sours on arrival and generously provided an open bar until 9pm. The film industry’s top networking function was well attended which, along with the vocal stylings of Francois from Bands4Africa, ensured a vibrant atmosphere on the evening. The Callsheet’s publisher, Lance Gibbons said a sad farewell to longstanding Callsheet editor Kevin Kriedemann and welcomed new editor Kate Hodges. The speeches were followed by a fascinating display from Movie Vision, part of their national roadshow. Thanks to all our sponsors: Cape Film Commission, Panalux, Superior Vision, Southern Lighting Solutions and Bands4Africa, and to everyone who joined us for contributing to lovely event. Our next wrap party will be held at The Maremoto hotel in Long Street on 30 June 2011. Visit Facebook to see the full gallery.

Sarah Scott & Jan-Paul Van Der Linde

Thomas Taddei

Matthew Brown, Chris Roland & LeeAnn Cotton

Tivan Bumstead, Natasha Loring & Grant Swanby

Arthur Mataruse & Rutendo Mtutu

Dawid Minnie, Gillian Quickfall & Neville Thebus

Francois Du Plessis

John Harrison

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

LOWE Bull CT Create's Hansa's Vuyozela

HE latest installment of the Hansa 'Vuyo' series of ads is hitting our screens and contains a few interesting faces. The ads have been a winner since their inception all revolving around the free thinking and loved Hansa hero Vuyo, who drifts off into thought about the success of his business ventures, all based on some everyday event. The campaign is the brainchild of Lowe Bull Cape Town and the ads have been produced by Fresh Eye Film Productions with well respected South African director Jonathan Parkinson at the helm. But packaging an entire concept, evoking emotion and portraying a significant time line of events is no mean feat to accomplish in just 60 seconds. "It’s never easy doing a sequel to an ad, and even more difficult if the first was one of South Africa’s best loved ads. The tricky thing about doing the next Hansa ‘Vuyo’ ad is to upscale the previous one, how do you beat Vuyo and his wors, going to space, and Vuyo owning his own football team,” says Kirk Gainsford, Lowe Bull CT creative director.

“Well, I think that Jonathan has done a great job, the ad requires great scale, huge scenes that tell you how successful and big Vuyo’s next enterprise becomes, but also the small charming moments that everyone remembers. In many ways there are two movies playing out at the same time, the humble Vuyo and his friends and the meteoric rise of the Vuyozela. Jonathan took our idea and progressed it, to turn Vuyo into South Africa's own Steve Jobs," says Gainsford. All the installments have been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback and this one promises to outdo them. This time we see Vuyo inventing the Vuyozela, which rockets him to international acclaim and stardom. "We were briefed to make this ad feel even bigger than the previous ads and take it that much further and we also wanted the look and feel of the ad to have a modern thrust and be nice and clean with that big production feel. We achieved it with attention to the smallest details and in some cases it even meant that there were scenes within scenes. Even content on background monitors and TV screens was especially created for the ad," explains Jonathan Parkinson, the director for Fresh Eye Film Productions. "The Vuyozela concept was especially nice because of the name play with Vuyo's name, but we also wanted to create Continued on page 19

MICT SETA STAKEHOLDER’S ROADSHOW IN CAPE TOWN Nomfundo Molefe

INDUSTRY EVENTS A ROUND-up of the issues covered at the MICT Roadshow in Cape Town.

N 1June 2011 MICT Seta presented a Roadshow to industry stakeholders at the Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town. The Roadshow offered the film, advertising and media industries an opportunity to interact with MICT SETA management in person following the announcement of changes to the organisation’s make-up. This followed the April first announcement that the Information Systems, Electronics and Telecommunications Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority (Isett Seta) has been

changed to the Media, Advertising, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority (MICT SETA). MICT’s purpose is to facilitate the improvement of skills in media, advertising and ICT. In the meeting they laid out their vision, stating that The MICT SETA wishes to develop South Africa into a Media, Advertising and ICT knowledge-based society by encouraging more people to develop skills as a means of contributing to economic growth. The MICT SETA’s aim is to generate, facilitate and accelerate the processes of skills development for workers at all levels by basing skills development programmes around growing technologies. They hope to accom-

plish this aim by working closely with universities and R&D units as well as facilitating internships with Isett companies. One of the major ways MICT SETA aims to implement these goals is through the use of Pivotal grants. Pivotal stands for Professional, Vocational, Technical and Academic Learning. Additional pivotal grants may be granted to companies that apply for them for bridging training programmes. The Pivotal Grants will be calculated on the basis of a standard cost per learner per programme multiplied by the number of students accepted onto accredited workplace learning programmes. The Seta will also look at discretionary grants which will take the form of co-funded grants between

the Seta and the company. These grants will cover development of scarce and critical skills, balanced between urban and rural areas. MICT SETA also made a commitment to Educational and Training Quality Assurance. These Quality Assurance goals will be met by: accrediting training providers, promoting quality, verifying assessments registering assessors and moderators, certifying learners and database maintenance. Further towards the aim of quality assurance, there are terms and conditions involved in acquiring accreditation, these include: registration with the Department of Higher Education and the uploading of learnership achievements. Skills training centres will be required

to submit a moderation report, undergo a verification visit and provide MICT SETA with Certificates and statements of results. MICT SETA has also put in place arrangements to cover the organisations transition from ISETT SETA. These include the processing of mandatory grant payments, an assurance that all WSP/ATRs commitments will be honoured and the revelation that payments for the new financial year will be processed from the MICT side. The processing of discretionary grant payments was also discussed with an assurance that all contractual obligations and commitments would be honoured. It was revealed that payments are being processed on an ongoing basis and that commitments will be transferred on completion of audit. Additional transitional arrangements include the implementation of current active learning programmes. These active programmes cover learnerships, skills programmes, bursaries, internship and workplace experience. MICT SETA has assured that monitoring and evaluation is ongoing and that employers will be expected to deliver on their contractual obligation. Other areas of concern that MICT will be focusing on during the transition are the implementation of new learning programmes, accreditation and Sic codes.

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS Continued from page 18 an instrument that fitted in with modern culture, something that was sexy and interesting enough to catch on around the world and even be more appealing than traditional instruments. It was also important to get the emotional aspect right, to portray the four friends as real people, people that the South African public could relate to and take a liking to,” says Parkinson. “As one of South Africa’s top selling brands, the ads capture the essence of what Hansa embodies, sophisticated yet enjoyable living. Shooting this ad was not only extremely fun, but highly rewarding,” concludes Jonathan. MALO 8 directs a second commercial AFTER the success of DStv’s Visitors commercial, Ogilvy Johannesburg approached Malo 8 of Frieze Films to direct a second commercial with the same much loved character – Mavis. The first ad had achieved noting scores of 80% among DStv subscribers and 61% amongst non-subscribers, the highest achieved by any of the different media utilised by the campaign. Producing an second ad that bettered these would be no mean feat. This time the agency upped the ante by introducing a new and very colourful neighbour – Prudence. Prudence is quite confused and just a little out-

raged by Mavis’ popularity. She observes people visiting at all hours of the day and night. Of course, Prudence is hiding a secret desire to get an invite, too, and experience the magic of DStv. For Malo, the direction needed to focus on building on the Mavis character as well as creating Prudence. She had to embrace the busybody neighbour role in style, performance and character. While wardrobe was a key direction element for Malo in his development of the character, the commercial offered an opportunity to combine styling, performance and comedic story telling. Careful comedic timing and a tight edit all contributed to the end result. Malo 8 is the alias of award winning Soweto-born television and film director, Dumisane Phakathi. Frieze Films executive producer, Jo Barber, believes that Ogilvy’s early confidence in Malo’s ability has helped to develop his skill to exciting mutual benefit. She says he is currently in development on several other commercial projects both locally and internationally. For details on these and other storries please visit www. thecallsheet.co.za

ONLINE NEWS HIGHLIGHTS Terry Pheto

LATEST NEWS TERRY Pheto has joined the cast of The Bold and the Beautiful TERRY, the female lead in the Oscar winning South African feature film Tsotsi, joined the cast on 13 June 2011. The actress will be playing the role of a South African heart surgeon in the long running soap opera. The first episode of The Bold and the Beautiful aired on South African screens in March 1987.

Terry said: “This is the opportunity of a lifetime and I look forward to sharing the screen with my soapie heroes Katherine Kelly Lang and Susan Flannery, while sinking my thespian teeth into a challenging role.” The scenes featuring Terry, who is also the face of L’Oreal Paris will, only reach South African Screens in 2012. Terry added: “I was head-hunted. I found out in December last year. I tried hard to keep the news to myself but I had to tell close friends and family.

Athol Fugard

“I grew up watching The Bold and the Beautiful. Not in my wildest dreams did I imagine myself acting in the soapie. I’ve always wanted to act in a soapie but I thought it would first be in a South African soapie.” STEPHEN Fry is set to star in an adaptation of The Borrowers, shooting in South Africa FILMING on the children’s story is set to begin in South Africa in the next month. The story is based on the original novels by Mary Norton which were

adapted into a film starring John Goodman and Jim Broadbent in 1997. Stephen said: “I was surprised to get this script because I remember they did The Borrowers not that long ago. I thought, ‘Oh, that’s odd’, but I read the script and thought it was delightful and I had a really funny part.” The role of Arietty, the story’s protagonist, is said to be played by Aisling Loftus, best known for her role in the BBC drama Dive. This adaptation of the fantasy

novels was written by Danny Brocklehurst, a writer for Shameless and Clocking Off, and the creator of the BBC drama, Sorted. Most recently he wrote Exile, which was seen on UK screens in May. SOUTH African playwright Athol Fugard won a Lifetime Achievement award at the 65th Tony Awards held in New York on 12 June 2011. THE playwright wrote the novel Tsotsi upon which the 2005 Oscar-winning Gavin Hood film was based. Other film adaptations of his plays and novels include Boesman and Lena directed by John Berry, Master Harold... and the Boys and Marigolds in August. Athol, who was born in the Eastern Cape, has been writing for 55 years. He has been honoured many times including an Obie award, a South African Order of Ikhamanga in Silver and honourary degrees from Yale, Princeton, Brown and Wits Universities. The 78-year-old is a professor of drama at the University of California. Last year he returned to South Africa following a 14year absence to open The Fugard Theatre in District Six. Also honoured at the awards was Cape Town-based Handspring Puppet Company who received a special Tony for creating the puppet horses in War Horse, which won Best Play.

DIARISE JUNE

UPCOMING FEATURES Troye Sivan with the cast of Spud at the Cape Town premiere

Cannes Lions 19-25 June, Cannes, France SABC1 Seskhona Auditions 25 June, Nelspruit Orion Hotel, Nelspruit Encounters Documentary Festival Master Classes 25 June, AFDA, 18 Lower Scott Road, Observatory Encounters Documentary Festival Panel Discussions -G-Spotting 25 June, Nu Metro V&A Waterfront, Cape Town Wildlife Film Academy 26 June -26 July, Longkloof Studios, Cape Town National Arts Festival 30 June-9 July, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape The Craft Of Editing Documentary Film 25 June, AFDA Cape Town, Observatory National Arts Fest 30 June-9 July, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape

JULY Wildlife Film Academy 16 July – 15 August, Longkloof Studios, Cape Town The Loeries Travelling Exhibition 19-22 July, Concept Interactive, Cape Town

Eddie Mbalo speaks at The NFVF Discussion Session on 10 June in Cape Town.

JOBS & OPPORTUNITIES TONY BLAIR FAITH FOUNDATION SHORT FILM COMPETITION THE Tony Blair Faith Foundation is calling for young filmmakers from ages 14-18 to submit short films for The Faith Short Film competition. Faith Shorts 2011 gives young people between the ages of 14 and 18 the opportunity to express what their faith means to them in their own words and take this to the global stage by winning the chance to see their film premiered at British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Deadline: 1 July 2011. The judging panel includes Hugh Jackman and Jet Li. For more information, visit www. faithshorts.org.uk

ERNEST COLE PHOTO AWARD THE South African Centre for Photography has announced a new award for photography under the auspices of The University of Cape Town, offering a unique opportunity for photographers to complete an existing project. The Ernest Cole Photography Award has been established to stimulate creative work in photography in South Africa. The emphasis will be on creative responses to South African society with a focus on human rights and social change. The deadline for the award is 17 June 2011. For more information, visit www.ernestcoleaward.org.

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MICT Seta CEO Oupa Mopaki at the MICT Seta Roadshow in Cape Town on 1 July.

AIB AWARDS THE Association for International Broadcasting’s media excellence awards are open for entry. The awards cover factual programming in TV, radio, crossmedia productions, marketing and technology. This year for the first time there will be awards for the best in sports coverage, science and finance. Deadline: 1 July 2011. For more information, visit www.aib.org.uk. CELLUDROID SCI-FI/ANIME/ FANTASY FILM FESTIVAL THE second Celludroid Sci-Fi/ Anime/Fantasy Film Festival is calling for entries. The festival will happen in mid-July 2011 (awaiting word on a visiting di-

rector). Deadline: 1 July 2011. Feature and short film submission info can be found on www. celludroid.net. SHNIT INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL 2011 SHNIT International Short Film Festival is calling for short film entries. Now in its ninth edition, Shnit 2011 will take place from 5-9 October 2011 in Bern, Cologne, Vienna, and for the second year, Cape Town. In addition to the existing three international jury awards (Smart Joe, Magic Jack and Long John), there is an international audience prize and this year will be the first to boast an award category for each host country:

DIARISE JULY (CONTINUED) Film Industry Business Forum 20 July, Andros Boutique Hotel, Claremont, Cape Town MediaTech Africa 20-22 July, Coca Cola dome, JHB Durban Int. Film Fest 21-31 July, Durban Charlton Philiso, Sekgana Makhoba, Oupa Mopaki and Neville Nicholas at the MICT Seta Roadshow in Cape Town on 1 July.

Neville Nicholas, senior manager of Isett Seta’s sector skills planning division.

Durban FilmMart 22-25 July, Durban Jock 29 July, cinemas How to Steal 2 Million 29 July, cinemas

Best Swiss, German, Austrian and South African shorts. Films must be submitted internationally through the online webform or through Reelport or Short Film Dept. Please Note: Films can be eligible for both international and South African competition: there is one submission and Shnit will decide where they compete. Shnit is also calling for entries for their Kaapse Bobotie programme, which will have a special focus on music videos. Deadline: 1 July 2011. For more info, visit www.shnit.org. CALL FOR ENTRIES: SA’S NEXT TOP FILMMAKER 2011 FOLLOWING the Success of SA’s Next Top Editor 2010, General

Post in partnership with Curious Pictures have announced that entries are now open for SA’s Next Top Filmmaker 2011. Winners will receive a 1-year internship at Curious Pictures in Auckland Park as well as exposure to the industry at large. Entrants may enter individually or in teams of two and will be required to submit a script, treatment, storyboard and/or shot list for a 3 minute film. For more information, www. generalpost.co.za PEOPLE TO PEOPLE GOOD PITCH X THE People to People (P2P) International Documentary Conference, will hold the inaugural Good Pitch X funding and net-

working forum. For more information, email arya@uhuruproductions.co.za or www.rococorocks.co.za. PRODUCER WANTED FOR OCHRE MOVING PICTURES OCHRE Moving Pictures is looking for an experienced reality producer for a prime time docureality factual entertainment series. The contract is for seven months starting in July. Responsibilities include format conceptualisation in conjunction with exec and broadcaster, project planning, scheduling, budgeting and resourcing, as well as highly creative input on editorial and guiding a crew and director. Skills include

organisational and planning ability, business and problemsolving, advanced story-telling, team-management and people skills. Multiligual candidates will be in higher standing. For more information, email antonochre@yahoo.com. PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION SPACE ROCOCO (ex 38 Special) on 38 Buitenkant Street in Cape Town is dedicating the studio (upstairs) to photography and filmmaking and will be hosting monthly photographic exhibitions and film screenings. For more information, visit www.rococorocks.co.za. Siyamukelwa Ngcobo

AUGUST African Cats 5 August, cinemas The Loeries Travelling Exhibition 5-12 August, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria Nikon Behind the Lens Wedding Workshop with Brett Florens 10-12 August, London, England Film Industry Business Forum 17 August, Andros Boutique Hotel, Claremont, Cape Town 5 July, Durban The Loeries Travelling Exhibition 25 August–2 September, North West University, Potchefstroom

JULY ISSUE Booking deadline: 29 June 2011 Material deadline: 01 July 2011 Print deadline: 08 July 2011 • PUBLISHER: Film & Event Publishing • PHYSICAL ADDRESS: 57 2nd Ave, Harfield Village, Claremont, Cape Town • PHONE: +27 21 674 0646 • PRINTER: CTP • PUBLISHER: Lance Gibbons (lance@filmeventpublishing.co.za) • EDITOR: Kate Hodges (kate@thecallsheet.co.za) • COPY EDITOR: Sally Fink (sally@filmeventpublishing.co.za) • DESIGNER & PHOTOGRAPHER: Jess Novotná (jess@filmeventpublishing.co.za) • ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE: Makkie Slamong (makkie@thecallsheet.co.za) • INHOUSE JOURNALIST/ WEB: Siya Ngcobo (siya@filmeventpublishing.co.za) • HEAD OF PRODUCTION: Dani Jibrail (dani@filmeventpublishing.co.za)

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