The Callsheet Issue 11 by Film & Event Media

The

Issue 11 2012

Callsheet Africa’s Leading Film Industry Magazine

Hot New Trends From IBC Talking About Final Cut X DISCOP Update

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The

Callsheet

CONTENTS

Africa’s Leading Film Industry Magazine

www.thecallsheet.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: Nicole Rawlins nicole@filmeventmedia.co.za Head of Design: Zaid Hendricks zaid@filmeventmedia.co.za Sales and Marketing Assistant: Robyn-Lee Malan robynlee@filmeventmedia.co.za

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Join us

Nicholl Fellowship

Jameson First Shot

First South African to Recieve Fellowship

Opportunity of a Lifetime

Colours of the Nile Film Festival Debut in Addis Ababa

SA Visas Update/Africa Movie Academy Awards Report on the Festival’s Debut

10 Kenya International Film Festival The Festival That Almost Wasn’t 11

Cairo International Film Festival Facing a Challenge

12 UNESCO/SA Film Festival, Vladivostok 14 Hot New Trends From IBC “Pro”spective From Amsterdam 18 Talking About Final Cut X And Avid Too...

22 Events 24 It’s a Wrap

A Sneak Peek at the FEM Wrap Party

26 DISCOP

Behind the Scenes

28 Loeries Rankings The Oﬃcial Rankings

30 IDFA

African Presence

31 MIPCOM

Five Things You Need to Know

32 Film Industry Fund A New Way to Give Back

33 Association Spotlight 36 Achievements 37 Opportunities 38 Directory Listings

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NEWS

ACADEMY AWARDS FIRST SOUTH AFRICAN NICHOLL FELLOWSHIP WINNER

Sean Robert Daniels

Front row (left to right): Fellow Allan Durand, Fellow Nikole Beckwith, Fellow Sean Robert Daniels, Fellow Michael Werwie and Fellow James DiLapo. Back row (left to right): Nicholl Fellowships Committee member Robert Shapiro, Nicholl Fellowships Committee member Peter Samuelson, Nicholl Fellowships Committee member Dan Petrie Jr., Nicholl Fellowships Committee member Dana Stevens, and Nicholl Fellowships Committee member Buffy Shutt.

n November 8 in Beverly Hills, Sean Robert Daniels of Laezonia, Gauteng, South Africa was awarded an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 2012 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting, The Academy’s Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting is an international screenwriting competition established to identify and encourage talented new screenwriters. Sean was the only winner from the African continent – all of the other winners were from the United States, and he is the first winner from South Africa. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the same organization that awards the coveted Oscar. Sean says at first winning the award felt “surreal” but after the awards ceremony he felt “honoured”. “From what I experienced and who I met this week, I can tell you that it doesn’t matter what age, gender or ethnic group you are – just being part of the final ten is a fantastical feeling. Although being the first South African made me feel a touch special too,” said Sean.

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Sean’s script “Killers”, about a hitwoman called home by her mother who makes a dying request, was one of five winning screenplays selected from a record 7,197 entries this year. Greg Beal, Director for the Nicholl Fellowships, has administered the competition for over twenty years. Over that time, he says the pool of international candidates has grown and changed. “We started with dozens of foreign resident entries in 1991,” says Greg, “soon climbed into the hundreds and remained in the 300-500 range for a number of years. With the arrival of an online application and the acceptance of PDF file scripts, foreign entries climbed above 600 and then went just over 1000 for the first time this year.” Sean says he hopes that his win encourages more Africans to enter the competition. “I think that all too often, as Africans, we can let ourselves believe that Hollywood - being the epicentre of the filmmaking world - is all too far away. This year there 17 screenplays from the whole of the African continent to the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwrit-

ing, and I think that number is testament to this mindset,” says Sean, “hopefully, the honour that was bestowed on me will inspire other screenwriters on our Continent to either start writing a screenplay. Or, for those who have a screenplay on their hard drive, to re-write a fresh draft and enter it into next year’s Academy Nicholl Fellowships. The entry fee was $52, and even before I made the finals the experience was worth every penny.” By winning a Nicholl Fellowship, Sean joins an elite group of screenwriters. Past winners include Jacob Estes (1998) who wrote and directed “The Details,” which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, Bragi Schut, whose 2003 Nicholl-winning script “Season of the Witch” was released earlier this year and Ehren Kruger (1996) who co-wrote “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” and also penned “Arlington Road,” “The Ring” and “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” Sean hopes winning the Nicholls Fellowship will allow him to pursue his goal of working as a writer and director in Hollywood, a dream he’s had since he was 17

years old and adapted one of his favourite novels into a screenplay. After years of working as a screenwriter and teaching, Sean had forgotten about the Nicholl Fellowship until he saw a tweet about the entry deadline from The Academy. “Killers” is the first feature length screenplay that he is proud of writing. However, he was still dubious about entering the competition. Then one night, he went to a gala that coincidentally, had Oscar night as the theme. He was surrounded by giant statues of Oscar and he took it as a hint. He hopes others follow his lead. “I guess this is for those of you out there sitting in front of your computers, trying to create worlds. Writing is a lonely job, but we are all lonely together - and that is magical. So dream big, write even bigger,” says Sean. In addition to the awards ceremony, Nicholl Fellowship winners participate in a week of industry events in Los Angeles hosted by the Academy and receive USD $35,000. For more information on the Nicholl Fellowship visit http:// www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/ index.html

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NEWS

JAMESON FIRST SHOT: OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME

Alan Shelley & Kevin Spacey

ow does it feel to be whisked off to Hollywood to make a movie with a legendary actor like Kevin Spacey? “It felt surreal!” says Alan Shelley, the first South African winner of the Jameson First Shot competition. This year, the winner could be YOU. “Just by entering, just by setting a goal of just entering, I had a huge boost in confidence. Then you have the chance of winning something. It’s a no-brainer, as far as I’m concerned,” says Alan. Jameson First Shot, the international short film competition designed to uncover up-and-coming film talent from South Africa, Russia, and the U.S. was launched last year. Alan and two other winners, from the U.S. and Russia, respectively, beat over 700 other aspiring screenwriters, winning the opportunity to fly to Los Angeles to shoot their script and direct Kevin Spacey, all with the backing of his award-winning Production Company, Trigger Street Productions. This year, winners will shoot another legendary actor in Los Angeles – Willem Defoe. “I would love to shoot with Willem Defoe,” says Alan, “he’s got such strong features and would make a great

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bad guy, he’s such a great actor, it’s a real privilege to whoever can make that movie with him.” But you have to compete to win. It’s easy. Write a script based on one of the the three following themes: ‘legendary’, ‘humorous’, or ‘very tall tale’. Then follow the other simple rules at http://www. jamesonfirstshot.com/enter. You can even download a sample script. Once scripts are submitted, Trigger Street, with their judging panel of industry experts, produces a shortlist of 20 entries. After completing a rigorous second stage selection process to showcase their creativity and directing skills, the winners will be chosen. That’s when the fun begins! “You have to keep a video diary of your experience, and then they send you on a really, really long flight, then you meet one of the producers at Trigger street. I had the privilege to go directly from that flight to meet with producer Dana Brunetti,” says Shelley. Alan discovered the Jameson First Shot competition reading this magazine, The Callsheet. “At the time I was a lecturer at City Varsity and we get three copies of The Callsheet. Everyone pointed it

out, it created quite a stir. A lot of people were saying have you seen this competition, wouldn’t it be cool if you won? I was like, I think I want to enter this competition! It was about three months before the deadline and so being a complete procrastinator I forgot about it until three days before the deadline. My girlfriend then basically told me we weren’t going to go out until I wrote the three pages, and then I wrote the Spirit of a Denture,” recalls Alan. A native of Cape Town, Alan majored in directing and as a student won several awards for his films. He had worked as a writer, director, editor and vfx supervisor on a locally produced independent mini-series before winning Jameson First Shot. His winning script, Spirit of a Denture, told the story of a workaholic dentist who gets a visit from a disruptive pirate. Kevin Spacey says, “we were impressed with the caliber of many of the entries, but the three winners stood out; they listened to the advice we gave and as a result delivered some well-constructed, clever stories that grabbed our interest.”

trying to start my own business with a few like-minded filmmakers and it’s called Bench Films. And we’re just trying to get ourselves off the ground and shoot creative projects. The difference is the confidence I have in my own abilities is certainly improved, and I want to show that winning wasn’t a fluke. And we entered another competition recently and we won that and right now I’m working on a short film that was commissioned by City Varsity and it’s cool, it’s about a taxi driver who dreams of becoming a pilot but he can’t afford it so he turns his taxi into an airplane,” reports Alan.

Since winning Jameson First Shot, Alan can’t believe how life has changed. “Right now I’m

Find out more about Jameson First Shot at http://www.jamesonfirstshot.com/.

He’s looking forward to congratulating this year’s South African winner. Alan says,“I very much would like to congratulate this year’s winner, I would tell them be prepared, the crew in LA make it really easy and so you don’t want to be the one letting people down by being unprepared, you want to have everything ready to go.”

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NEWS

COLOURS OF THE NILE FILM FESTIVAL DEBUT

Restless City

rom 7-11 November, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia will host the first Colours of the Nile International Film Festival (CNIFF) - a showcase of “the best of African cinema to African audiences” which also aims to give more international visibility to African cinema. The festival will screen 58 films, all of which will be African, East African or Ethiopian premieres. Competing films come from Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Mali, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia. Abraham Haile Biru, twotime Best Cinematographer winner at FESPACO for Darrat (Dry Season) and Abouna (Our Father) and President of CNIFF says, “Cinema is a powerful means of expression and making our voices heard. And Africa has many voices that deserve to be heard. Film festivals are platforms where such artistic voices and expressions are magnified, depicting our way of life and point of view. Nevertheless African films and filmmakers do not have enough

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platforms in the international festival circuit to make African voices heard and understood. What is more, the African audience rarely have the chance to watch the few well made and artistically accomplished works by African filmmakers. CNIFF is a dynamic addition to the African film festival round that recognizes and accommodates the vitality of African cinema. It is also a celebration of the filmmakers of the continent. CNIFF is also built in the convection that Addis Ababa, as the seat of the African Union and in this sense also as the “diplomatic capital” of the African continent, shall lend itself as a showroom for African cultural and cinematic vibrancy.” CNIFF organizers The Blue Nile Film and Television Academy and The Ethiopian Filmmakers Association expect 22,000 – 25,000 people to attend the festival. It has three competitive selections - features, documentaries and short films by African directors and/or produced by African countries in the last two years. 11 prizes will be awarded, including The Great Nile Award for Best Feature Film Director.

The focus, according to Alla Verlotsky, CNIFF Artistic Director, is on filmmakers who are still establishing their reputations. “Blue Nile Film and TV Academy naturally gives us a focus on emerging filmmakers,” says Alla, “and fostering conversation about film as the visual art. Thus to promote film culture is very important. Equally important as to build new production and co -production opportunities.” Members of the jury include New York City-based documentary filmmaker Henry Corra, French film director and screenwriter Karim Dridi, Ethiopian director Solomon Bekele Weya, and South African producer Letebele Masemola-Jones. Alla says they will be seeing different films than they would have in the past. “From my perspective,” says Alla, “there is a fundamental change taking place in African cinema in both its creative department as well as the industrial development. While the digital revolution gave push to more independent production and further development of the industry in selected African nations like South Africa,

Kenya and Nigeria, a totally new identity of African filmmakers/ cinema has emerged during the last decade.” Biru notes, “The emergence of young and vibrant filmmakers has enabled African films to show Africa from many windows and not only from the one of poverty and war.” Biru says the vast array of technologies available across the continent has also had an impact on African film offerings and distribution. “This also goes with the two faces of African cinema,” Biru states, “The international face of African cinema and the privileged African filmmakers are able to use cutting age modern technologies. This is an excellent thing for African films but the issue of reaching African audiences remains a critical weakness. The investment should not only be in making the film and showing it in festivals. Building local distribution outlets need to be taken in to consideration. The underground African cinema is at the same time emerging with the accessibly of simple and cheap production technologies and their own distribution outlets.” The hope of festival organisers is that CNIFF will help to uncover more gems that “belong not only to the African film treasury, but the film treasury of the world,” says Alla. She points out that one of the first restored projects of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation was Touki Bouki by the great Djibril Diop Mambéty. “Today,” says Alla, “a conversation on film culture is impossible without mentioning the symbolism of Souleymane Cissé’s Yeelen, the poetic realism of Sarah Moldoror’s Sambizanga, and the expressionism of Ousmane Sembene’s Moolaadé.” For more information visit www. coloursofthenile.net/festival2012

NEWS

SA VISAS: UPDATE

ast issue, we reported that a meeting was being planned between the Cape Film Commission (CFC) and the South African Deputy Minister of Home Affairs around work permits and visas for members of the film industry. That meeting took place at the end of October. Afterwards, Cape Film Commission CEO Denis Lille said, “Home Affairs have committed to resolving all of the challenges with regards to Permits and Visas in relation to the film industry that were tabled at the CFC through our Membership and by others. Home Affairs have appointed a Director of Corporate Affairs, who will be given an additional mandate to work with the film industry. The processes will be clarified and streamlined through this Directive with the focus being on Cape Town.” In addition, Denis

notes that the CFC has entered into an agreement with an attorney specialising in work permits and visas in relation to the entertainment industry that allows the CFC to offer free advice for permits and visas and competitive rates for applying for permits and visas through the CFC.

tion. Home Affairs have really come to the party with this and we are really grateful to them for the

support they are giving the film industry and the partnership that has been created.”

So how is the new process working? Denis says, “the relationship we have developed with Home Affairs is working well… we worked with one of our largest production companies and assisted them in fast tracking 350 visas for a production about to enter South Africa. We also assisted the reality TV show ‘The Amazing Race’ with a similar requirement. Our friends in India have also benefited from this relationship whereby we have been processing 150 visas for an inbound produc-

AFRICA MOVIE ACADEMY AWARDS: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS produced, premiered and or released between December 2011 and November 2012 are eligible. Features may not exceed 120 minutes and shorts should not be longer than 40 minutes.

MAA (Africa Movie Academy Awards) is calling for entries for the 2013 edition to be held in April next year. The deadline for submissions is 30 De-

cember, 2012. Nominations will be announced in the first week of March. Acceptable genres include feature length films, shorts and documentary entries. Only films

“There is this great awareness of the possibilities in Africa. This has been an exciting year for African cinema as many big budget productions have been produced on the continent and distribution is becoming more accessible to African films,” says AMAA founder Academy CEO Peace Anyiam-Osigwe. The winning films for AMAA 2012 included How to Steal Two

Million, Otelo Burning, and Shattered. Established in 2005, AMAA aims to facilitate the development and relevance of African film & cinema by providing a rewards & recognition platform for film makers on the continent. The gala event, which is televised live, attracts Hollywood celebrities alongside their African counterparts, as well as African politicians and media. Last year’s winner for Best Film was South Africa’s How to Steal 2 Million, which also won in the categories of Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, and Achievement in Editing. Films can be entered at http://www.ama-awards.com/ node/add/films

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COVER STORY NEWS

KENYA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

or seven years Nairobi has played host to the Kenyan International Film Festival (KIFF). The objective of the festival is to create a cinema-going culture and to make the film business profitable for local filmmakers. But this year, KIFF CEO Charles Peter Asiba says, “we weren’t sure if the festival would go on.” Online, bloggers remarked that, “film enthusiasts were left wondering did it really happen.” Charles says that turnout was negatively affected this year because advertising for the festival was virtually non-existant due a lack of financial support from the government. KIFF, “is a private entity,” says Charles, “but we work with the government to promote the culture of film in Kenya. For a reason unknown to us, they felt that the festival should have been run by the government.” He also said that the government had concerns around the clas-

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sification of films. Says Charles, “we got no financial support from government so we had to reduce activities.” Despite the lack of promotion, some events were still packed. For instance, the screening of the opening film “The Captain of Nakara”, directed by Kenyan filmmaker Bob Nyanja was full. So was a screening of the film “Mugabe” which laid the foundation for a lively session on leadership and democracy featuring “movers and shakers” of African politics. Also, a film about a local Kenyan politician led to a lively discussion. “We had a couple of full houses,” said Charles, “‘Mugabe’, for instance, “Inside Story” was a full house, the opening film was a full house.” KIFF received over 400 films from 40 countries for the festival but screened only 150 because of logistics and the films not having been classified. This year’s theme was “world

classics” to create an opportunity for the West to meet the East though great productions and the exchange of expertise. Previous years provided platforms for members of the film industry to exchange ideas on technological and artistic developments, indentifying distribution networks locally and internationally for regional filmmakers, building capacity for young filmmakers through mentorship and practical skills training, introducing regional films to international markets, creating forums for audiovisual practicioners to engage with governments to support film development. But will there be a Kenyan International Film Festival next year? “There will definitely be a festival” says Charles, though the form it will take is uncertain. “Festivals have to have a free way,” he says. He said it is possible that another festival could be created or that another KIFF could be organized.

WINNERS: Best Long Feature Film:

‘Captain of Nakara’ Directed by Bob Nyanja. (Kenya)

Best East African Film:

THE CUT’ Directed by Beryl Magoko (Uganda) Best Documentary: ‘Town of Runners’ Directed by Jerry Rothwell. (Ethiopia/United Kingdom)

Best Short Film:

‘8’ (Eight) by Raul Cerezo (Spain) Best Animation: ‘Yellow Fever’ Directed by Wgendo Mukii (Kenya)

Best Student Film:

‘Normal People’ Directed by Piotr Zlotorowicz (Poland)

COVER STORY NEWS

CAIRO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

rom November 27th to December 6th 2012, the Egyptian Opera House will hold the 35th Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF). Performances and seminars are scheduled to take place in 9 locations within the Cairo Opera House and its divisions, such as the theatres,

El Hangar’s Theatre for Arts and the Centre of Creative Arts, in addition to two open air display screens inside the Opera House. In addition to screenings and an awards ceremony, a film market will be held at the festival, in cooperation with the Egyptian Cinema Industry Chamber (ECIC). But the festival is taking place in a challenging environment for attracting international visitors due to recent political unrest. For instance, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Office warns of, “a high threat from terrorism throughout Egypt,” stating that, “although security is tight throughout the country, especially in resort areas, there remains a high risk of attacks, which could be indiscriminate, including in public places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers such as hotels and restaurants.” This could have an impact on festival attendance by international film industry leaders. However, festival organisers are not trying to sweep the climate under the rug. A general symposium titled “African Cin-

ema as a Medium of Political, Social, and Cultural Emancipation and its Role in Improving Africa’s Image” is planned, a panel headed by The Minister of Culture, Dr. Saber Arab and managed by ambassador Mona Omar Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for African Affairs and African Union. Clearly, the political climate, whatever the impact, will not be ignored.

CIFF 2012 AWARDS

Shadi Abdel Salam: Award for the first and second films, presented to the director along with a money prize of $ 20,000 to be shared equally with the producer. Isis Prize for Best Actress Isis Prize for Best Actor Isis Prize for Best Director

International Competition for Feature Films

“Saad Eddin Wahba” Award for best screenplay

The Golden Pyramid for Best Film: The Golden Pyramid for best film, to be awarded to the director along with a money prize of $ 50,000 to be shared equally with the producer.

“Youssef Chahine” Award for best artistic contribution.

The Silver Pyramid: Special Jury Prize, awarded to the director along with a money prize of $ 30,000 to be shared equally with the producer

International Competition for Arab Feature Films Naguib Mahfouz Award: Awarded to the best Arab Film with a money prize of $ 30,000, to be shared equally by the director and producer. Isis Prize for Best Actress Isis Prize for Best Actor Human Rights Competition The Tahrir Square Prize: Awarded to the best film promoting the values of Human Rights, and given to the director. FIPRESCI Award: Given to the best film in the international competition of the festival, as chosen by the FIPRESCI jury.

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NEWS

UNESCO

he African Arts Institute (AFAI) hosted 17 members of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recently in Cape Town, South Africa for a closed training workshop on the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diversity and Cultural Expressions. The workshop aimed to train the participants to provide technical assistance to governments in developing countries, in order to strengthen the system of governance for culture in such

societies. The matters explored included topics of particular relevance to the creative industries, including how to boost the potential of the dynamic cultural sector for sustainable development in Africa. Attendees were all African experts on creative and cultural industries. “The programme is being piloted in Africa in recognition of the great potential of African cultural and creative industries for sustainable development at the national as well as the regional levels,” says UNESCO CapacityBuilding Programme Coordina-

tor, Ms Guiomar Alonso Cano. The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diversity and Cultural Expressions is a two-and-a-half-year project funded by the European Union aiming to strengthen the system of governance for culture in the beneficiary countries through specific technical assistance missions carried out by experts of beneficiaries’ own choosing. To help beneficiary countries establish the proper legal, regulatory, and institutional framework necessary to develop their culture sector. This includes assistance provided by local or international specialists such as sharing information and expertise, instruction, skills training, transmission of working knowledge, and consulting services and may also involve the transfer of technical data. “It aims to create a network of leading experts on the cultural and creative industries who can assist and guide governments to develop and implement public policies and strategies to turn that potential into a vibrant and flourishing cul-

tural sector,” said Alonso, “We are looking forward to working closely with this great network of experts… and beyond to promote African creativity. This is an ambitious long-term investment in scaling up the impact of this Convention in the dynamic and creative African region.” The participating experts included 17 Ms Nicky du Plessis, Ms Ukhona Mlandu and Ms Monica Newton (South Africa), Mr Imran Ahmed (Ethiopia), Mr Allan Birabi (Uganda), Ms Yarri Kamara (Sierra Leone), Ms Florence Majachani and Mr Jesmael Mataga (Zimbabwe), Mr Munukayumbwa Munyima (Zambia), Ms Elizabeth Nasubo and Ms Joyce Nyairo (Kenya), Ms Amy Niang (Senegal), Ms Ochai Ojoma and Mr Deji Olatoye (Nigeria), Mr Hans Ramduth (Mauritius), Ms Vicensia Shule (Tanzania) and Ms Ayeta Wangusa (Uganda). For more information visit: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/ culture/themes/cultural-diversity/ diversity-of-cultural-expressions/ programmes/technical-assistance/

SOUTH AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL, VLADIVOSTOK

T The Cradock Four

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he weather isn’t familiar, but the films would make South Africans feel at home at the first-ever South African Film Festival in Vladivostok, Russia from 20-24 November. Award winning South African feature documentary, “The Cradock Four” will be shown at the festival, hosted by South Africa’s Ambassador to Russia, Mandisi Mpahlwa.

South Africa’s Honorary Consul in Vladivostok, Dr Yuri Sivachenko, has organized the festival, which includes a wine festival, tourism workshop, and business and academic meetings. The South African Film Festival in Vladivostok was inspired by the success of a similar festival in Moscow held earlier this year, in which two South African directors, Sara Blecher (“Otello Burning”) and

David Forbes (“The Cradock Four”) visited Moscow for bilateral talks with Russian academics, broadcasters and filmmakers. “The Cradock Four” tells the story of the assassination by a police hit squad of four antiapartheid activists near Cradock in 1985. Their brutal murder and the burning of their bodies was one of apartheid’s most heinous and notorious incidents.

The film took Forbes seven years to make, and he had to take the Department of Justice to court to get access to the records in the National Archives. The film won Best SA Documentary at the Durban International Film Festival in 2010 and was nominated for the Amnesty International (Durban) Human Rights Award. The film has shown at festivals in the Middle East, Europe, Russia, and Africa.

IN MEMORIAM

REMEMBERING GREG CAMERON

Greg Cameron

he film industry is mourning the loss of Greg Cameron who passed away recently due to a motorbike accident. Greg is remembered as a successful key grip who worked on numerous projects including “Doomsday”, “24”, “The Philanthropist”, “Charlie Jade”, and “The Piano Player”. Greg was 41 years old. He will be deeply missed. The following is a letter written by his friend and colleague, Guy Micheletti.

Greg Cameron

A Sad Day In Cape Town | The Loss of Greg Cameron How do you express sadness that is brought on by a loss of a special man? Greg Cameron passed away from a motorbike accident on 12 November 2012.

Even though Greg and I had our share of hard times, I am so thankful that we made our peace…the friendship and love I have for him never died. Most of my favorite memories of the past involved Greg and I in young, crazy and laugh ‘til you cry moments.

He will forever stay that way in my heart.

Greg had a loyalty that is rare to come by…and Greg had a kind, generous heart. Sadly there will be a great hole in our industry, as Greg was one of the top Key Grips of South Africa. No one could ever match his talents nor his personality or wit. Greg will be deeply missed by all…and may he live in all our heart for always. Those that he touched will remember his kindness, his laughter and his mischievous ways… which can only be Greg Cameron!

May he rest in peace!

written by Guy Micheletti

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NEWS

“PRO” SPECTIVE: HOT NEW TRENDS FROM IBC

his year’s IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) was the largest ever. The number of attendees at the annual event for professionals engaged in the creation, management and delivery of entertainment and news content worldwide was 50,937. This compares with the record year 2011 which had 50,462 attendees, an increase of 0.93%. We asked two industry leaders to share their “pro”spective on what drew the crowds to Amsterdam and what others in the industry need to know about what was on show at IBC this year. “Pro”spective from Stacey Pearson, Marketing Manager, Touchvision: Q. How long have you personally been working in the industry? A.18 years in Marketing for Touchvision. Q.IBC attracted a record number of visitors this year – why do you think that was the case? A.There was an increase in the number of exhibitors too with over 14 halls. There were also new sections such as the Future Zone and Production Workflow areas. I noticed that the Connected world was attracting many visitors.

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The Conferences seem to attract many people. The number of visitors in Hall 7 seemed lower than in previous years, but it may be that large numbers were attending booths in the other halls. Q.Why did you attend? A. Touchvision needed to sign up new products, re-establish old contacts and promote AJA products on the AJA stand. I didn’t make any of the conferences this year as I was there more to help out and represent Touchvision on the AJA stand for which we are the main distributor for Africa. Q.What new technology did you see at IBC that you think will change how you do business now or in the future? How will it change how you do business? A. Mass Data storage. The media and entertainment market require advanced storage solutions such as Isilon. We in the past normally dealt with just Software from ToonBoom, Autodesk and Adobe. Now we have added the workflow and storage products integral to the production pipeline into our product portfolio. With AJA Hardware and the graphics capabilities of NVIDIA, we can offer something to everyone, whether they are MAC or PC or whether they work on AVID, FCP, Autodesk or Adobe.

Q. What technological advances do you think will be adopted here on the African continent next? Why? A. Smart Mobile Chip technology, Better Broadband, Media Clouds and digital asset management offerings like Adstream etc. In Africa, the lack of wired infrastructure means that all forms of wireless communication will be adopted rapidly as the technology matures. Q. Was there anything that is gaining in popularity that was surprising to you? Has anything lost popularity that is surprising to you? A. Certainly 3D TV seemed to have lost much of its novelty. There were very few exhibitors in Hall 7 (the post production hall) that were making any amount of noise about 3D TV. The focus seems to have shifted towards digital cinema workflows and solutions to make working with 4K images easier. Q. What are the top three pieces of hardware /Software you got a closer look at or learned more about at IBC? Can you describe them? NVIDIA Nvidia’s product portfolio includes graphics processors, wireless communications processors, PC platform (motherboard core logic) chipsets, and digital media player software. Nvidia’s most notable product families are: GeForce, for gaming graphics processing Quadro for computeraided design and digital content creation workstation graphics processing products. Tegra, a system on a chip series for mobile devices and Tesla, dedicated gen-

eral purpose GPU for high-end image generation applications in professional and scientific fields. Farmers WIFE The new release of Farmers WIFE is a powerful Scheduling and Facility Management Software specifically designed for media professionals in production, post production, audio, broadcast, advertising & education. You can manage projects, create budgets, track resources, invoice and create financial reports. Whether you’re working on Mac, PC, Linux, iPhone or the Web, Farmers WIFE streamlines your workflow to significantly increase productivity and profitability.

AJA are supporting Multi-Format I/O, 2K, 4K Workflows and Scaling with their new Corvid Ultra, The T-TAP™ for Thunderbolt™-enabled Workflows seemed to get a lot of interest and the The Ki Pro Family, tapeless video devices that record high-quality files onto computerfriendly media attracted the production crews. They have SD/HD-SDI, HDMI, and analog inputs so you can interface with virtually any type of camera or connect seamlessly with your post production hardware.

Q. What were people talking about the most at IBC? A. 8K Super Hi Vision, Cloud Computing Q. What do you expect IBC will be showcasing next year? In ten years? A. Touch technology, streamlined storage, cloud computing, bigger data cameras that are getting smaller, all in -all out converters for more formats.

PROFILE

ADVERTORIAL

SUNSHINECO: BY PHOTOGRAPHERS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

et the sun shine on your business this season with SunshineCo. The founders of “Sunshine” have an international photographic background and a straightforward vision. They believe that the highest standard is just good enough. With this in mind, they established the Sunshine Company in 1998. From there, the group quickly expanded to six specialised divisions and changed their name to “SunshineCo.” From a staff of two, the company has grown to seventeen dedicated staff members. The team is the company’s most valuable resource and is the main reason for the success of the business. The spirit of the company is what they are most proud of – it’s fun, enthusiastic, and professional. What They Bring to the Table SunshineCo. provides the best and most cost-effective solution for

your stills and video production needs; friendly, knowledgeable and experienced staﬀ; the most recent lighting and digital gear; everything, under one roof, well maintained equipment in top condition; enough stock and backup for your biggest production; after hours and weekend service; delivery service with own vehicles; own in-house repairs service. Exciting New Products SunshineCo focuses on professional, high-end products with durable build quality and unique technical and design features (like the Hasselblad Medium format digital cameras and industry standard Profoto Flash and Continous Lighting).

An ingenious new camera rig from Sweden, very popular with

DOPs in Europe and Scandinavia. It’s called the “Swedish Chameleon”. This camera rig features very ergonomic design and allows near hands free operation. It converts any DSLR or box-style camcorder to a comfortable and solid shoulder mounted camera. The Swedish Chameleon takes the weight oﬀ your arms via a back rod and a waist belt allowing you to concentrate on focusing instead of carrying. It comes with a unique belt driven follow focus. SunshineCo. is introducing a real gem to the South African market, a handcrafted range of lightweight carbon fibre tripods and precision ball heads from FLM, made in Germany. This company has been around for over 20 years but the products were not distributed internationally. These

products provide very good value for the money and many unique, patented features. It is already a hot seller. SunshineCo. Rental oﬀers many new products this season. They are specially catering for their videographer clients with even more constant light options, namely from BRIESE, LITEPANEL and PROFOTO. Next to the above mentioned video camera rigs from Swedish Chameleon, Glidecam and GlideTrack they have also added on-board monitors from Marshall and SmallHD, VOCAS matte boxes and more. SunshineCo. appreciates the support of their clients in their continuing goal to provide top-of-the-range equipment and services for shoots in South Africa and beyond.

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NEWS

“PRO” SPECTIVE: HOT NEW TRENDS FROM IBC

“Pro”spective from Gideon Fürst, Head of Digital, Media Film Service: Q. How long have you personally been working in the industry? A.Almost 20 years. Q. IBC attracted a record number of visitors this year – why do you think that was the case? A.I would say basically there are new advancements in satellite communications and mobile television. Those are the main reasons. Basically they’ve become smaller and more powerful and the tech has become more streamlined, easier to work with, and much more cost effective. Q. Why did you attend? A. I normally go there because there are always new developments on the pro camera front.

IBC

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But the real reason we went there was for sensors and lighting because there are major developments happening in those fields. Camera sensors, there is new technology in lenses that can cover these sensors, and ARRI just came with some new anamorphic prime lenses. We went to have a look at those, those lenses are revolutionary. Those things are extraordinary -- we will see more of those at some stage. Basically, they are very fast, rather small, and their anamorphic flare is adjustable (some technicians told us off the record that the flare will be adjustable). The other thing is that Zeiss lenses are usually quite sharp, but these are warmer and more emotional. The other thing that we looked at was Angenieux. They launched a whole branch of new lenses, which are also extraordinary, beautiful lenses. Some of the Angenieux

lenses are already here, the bulk of it we will see in the market worldwide about June/July next year. Another reason we went there, besides our business relations with European companies we also went to look at new investments in smaller high-speed cameras and specifically Phantom launched a smaller high speed camera called the Miro M320SE. It’s a more affordable high speed camera to rent for clients and it’s small, so you can put it in interesting places and you can still shoot 1500 frames per second. We liked it so much we bought one! And we received it last week Tuesday. Q. What new technology did you see at IBC that you think will change how you do business now or in the future? How will it change how you do business? A. There were interesting releases from software companies such as Assimilate SCRATCH and Avid. Product management and file management advances have gone leaps and bounds in advancements. Q. What technological advances do you think will be adopted here on the African continent next? Why? A. Apart from some advancements in software packages I think the cloud production file hosting is really advancing. Because it is so expensive for us to import hard drives we have to find a more costeffective way of managing storage in South Africa, and the whole of the continent, actually. Q. Was there anything that is gaining in popularity that was surprising to you? Has anything lost popularity that is surprising to you? A. Nothing surprises me actually. You know what was really good, Arri launched a new light

called the m9, and that light is basically a 9kw hmi par with the same power as a 12kw hmi par, it’s much more power efficient than current 12kw lights. Also the LED tech for lighting has come far, Nila launched a new little LED light that it really impressed me. It’s so easy to work and energy efficient. Q. What are the top three pieces of hardware you got a closer look at or learned more about at IBC? Can you describe them? 1.The Arri anamphorphic 2.The Phantom Miro 3.The Nila LED lights Q. What were people talking about the most at IBC? A. The economy being in a shambles and how to make productions that are more costeffective. All of those - the cloud hosting, mobile television - are things are geared towards creating more cost-effective productions. Mobile television will be a big player in the next few years. Q. What do you expect IBC will be showcasing next year? In ten years? A.It’s impossible to think ten years ahead in this business. But I think what we’ll see at the IBC next year is the announcement of the ARRI Elexa 4k camera. Also we will see the Cooke anamorphic lenses and the Angenieux anamorphic zooms. Q. Anything you would like to add? A.I was really surprised that Sony didn’t have any of their new cameras there. Sony has announced the imminent launch of the Sony F55 and the Sony F5. And the F55 will be in direct competition to RED EPIC and the ARRI Elexa and the F5 is replacing the Sony F3 and is in direct competition with the Canon C300.

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COVER STORY

TALKING ABOUT FINAL CUT X

ideo editors are talking about which way the future of video editing software is headed, and which software they should be using. We asked an editor about Final Cut X, which is generating a lot of buzz, and asked for reflections on Avid in comparison. We had a chat with Tongai Furusa,Head Editor, fourteen 10th productions: Final Cut Pro X “Basically we’ve been in the postproduction industry for 10 years now…one of the advantages that we had over most of the postproduction bigger companies was Final Cut. We started with Final Cut 3…Final Cut X is out now and it is completely different than Final Cut 7. A lot of guys were upset about this. We took a look at Final Cut 10 and looked to see where it was going. It is much cheaper than what Final Cut 7 used to be and is three times cheaper. We opened it and we were like first years, we were like ‘this is completely different’... the whole way of editing literally changed because it uses magnetic timelines, it’s completely different to linear editing…You literally have to jump on the system and start working with it. We started doing our smaller jobs on Final Cut X.

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It’s making our work faster. We can get files on the system much quicker. With Final Cut 7 you had to transpose them and convert files. If you think about it, there are so many different cameras out there…that have their own codex… so it makes sense for Final Cut to take whatever kind of files were out there and allow you to start editing right away. There are problems, it can be slow to download, but looking back, Final Cut 7 was the same way. And they have been bringing out upgrades…and with each upgrade the system is getting more stable. What Final cut 10 is doing is jumped ahead of everybody. It helps right now when budgets are not that big to have systems like Final Cut X. You want to have a one-stop shop for what you’re working on. Editors now need to edit not just offline, but online as well, do some 3D stuff as well. This is where the future is going, you can’t just edit offline, you must learn how to edit online and grade. I just find this new system really is the future and I want to encourage other editors to have a look at it, download it, and start working with it. A lot of people were worried about stability, will it work with big projects? Now that the new versions are coming it is more stable. We are cutting all of our projects on it. … Others might be thinking, well jump over to Avid, but that is just really catching up with Final Cut 7, Final Cut X is taking people to the next level. I think in the future you will see a lot of people coming back to

Final Cut X. You look at me as a Black filmmaker in South Africa, it was really because of Final Cut and Steve Jobs. All I had to get was a G4, a Mac desktop and Final Cut 3 software and I had a business and I was able to cut music videos, and start doing documentaries, and so forth. It’s literally been the backbone of our business since that time. I was wondering when Final Cut X came out…I thought should I take that leap of faith again (instead of jumping over to Avid) and we did. I definitely believe that Final Cut X will be popular across the African continent because if you won’t find editing products in a store there with this, as long as you have the internet, you can download Final Cut. Now I’m literally as fast as the guys in America. So if the download comes out today I can download it and I am as quick as anyone anywhere in the world. And the downloads don’t cost anything. So it’s actually cheaper. And all the support is online. I think it will definitely create an advantage for emerging markets in Africa. Here people are sceptical and they are not really sure if it’s going in the right direction. So people are saying you built the car, but I am not sure it is going to get me to Durban. Will it get me half way and collapse? A lot of these companies, it is not about changing two systems, it’s about changing ten systems, so they want to know what they should do in the future? For the rest of the continent they don’t have as developed a system as we have in South Africa so you should take a risk on Final Cut because it is giving you everything that everything a major establishment can give for a low price. Content is king now. If you think about it, the amount of con-

tent that is needed right now is absolutely ridiculous because of the internet…Final Cut X has things built into like share to Facebook or share to Vimeo, so it understands where your outputs are going… it’s not going to broadcasters anymore. It’s going to some guy’s online channel. And you can create your own destination and it will create the exact file you will need for CNN, etc. So it understands where your product will end up. I think this is important for the African continent.” Top 5 things Tongai likes about Final Cut X: It can import raw files like RED, it imports AVCHD, and Imex F video files as well. It imports a lot of different codex without having to transpose them.

The colour grading tool. So when you’re onlining, you’re able to change the colours, and colours give you a firmer look.

It uses metadata, so it allows you to manage your files more easily and quickly, which speeds up your editing time.

For commercial editing, it has a feature called “auditioning” – you can put four different clips into the same place, so it edits as fast as your brain is going.

The plugins. There are a lot of companies out there now that let you use amazing effects and amazing looks with a click of a button. It allows you to be as good as the big programs but a lower price.

COVER STORY

AND AVID TOO...

chat with Bronwen MacKellar Freelance Video Editor:

I entered the industry as an editor in 1996, and I was an assistant to Sabrina O’Sullivan and she was working on Avid, and she had been a film editor. She was cutting on Avid, I forget what generation, it was so dinosaur now. She was working on the MNET animals campaign. It was at the time a ground-breaking commercial where they used a whole bunch of animals singing on a stage. ..I came on board after the first wave of those commercials…a lot of people had to turn the project down because they said it couldn’t be done…But the oﬄine was such a close match to the final online product, and we achieved it on Avid. We pushed that machine really, really hard to achieve that and it was really amazing what could be done. That’s not really my story, I was literally on her coat-tails watching this happen. I was really, really new, I was just on the side-lines watching this happen. I was an assistant, then I was a junior editor, and in 2002 I moved into long-form etc. and starting working at Red Pepper, working on magazine shows. There are a lot of things I really like about Avid. I say, “My language is Avid, and my distant second language is Final Cut.” It doesn’t make it better or worse, but when I look at things I think of it in Avid - the way you understand layers, the way all the eﬀects interact with one another. They are very different in subtle ways but the same. I would very much like to be good in Final Cut, but I’m not as good as I am in Avid. There’s always someone fresh out of college who is good at Final Cut, not that they’re better at editing. I think they are very similar, actually, I don’t know that one has a strength that the other doesn’t have. It’s a tool, if you push the system you will get what you want out of them.

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EVENTS Film for Change Film Festival 22-26 October Cape Town, South Africa

Kenya International Film Festival

24 October â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3 November Nairobi, Kenya

Colours of the Nile International Film Festival 7-11 November Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

AfricaCom

13 -15 November 2012 Cape Town, South Africa

African Creative Economy Conference 14-16 November Dakar, Senegal

AFDA Annual Film Festival

23 - 25 November Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban South Africa

Cairo International Film Festival 27 November-6 December Cairo, Egypt

Muizenbosch

1 December Cape Town, South Africa

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EVENTS

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NEWS

IT’S A WRAP T

his month’s Film & Media Event Wrap Party, an evening of film industry networking, was held on 25 October at the luxurious Mandela Rhodes Place Hotel & Spa, located in the cultural and scenic splendour of Cape Town’s bustling city centre. Entertainment for the night included an ABBA show and music from DJ Didier.

Mike Smit , Mark Eckstein & Makkie Slamong

Mandela Rhodes Place Hotel & Spa

“This monthly wrap was fantastic,” says Lance, “we would like to thank our sponsors, Jameson, FilmLight, Wizardz, Visual Creations, Royale International, Panalux, and Visual Impact.” ABBA’s HERE will be performing in early December for the Lucky Lucy Foundation. Please contact Andre Fischerfor ticket information at 072 358 5636.

Desmond O’Connor & Marius A Boaden

Sibusiso Shangase & Jameson Girls

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Sibusiso Shangase & Maya Kulycky

ABBA

Grant Flynn & Bruce Storey

Tim Pope, Andrew Norris & Jim Mansfield

DJ Didier

The Wizards Team

The Royale International Team

The ABBA Team

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UPDATE

ON THE GROUND AT: DISCOP

rama, romance, the latest news – DISCOP Africa had it all. For sale, that is. The products on display were literally spilling out of the conference hall at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg South Africa from 6-8 November, and Film & Event Media were there. The following are five things you need to know about the seventh edition of DISCOP Africa, the television content market and co-production forum, from our perspective on the ground:

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Attendance was up. There was an 150% increase in attendance at

DISCOP Africa this year, which organizers claim make it the world’s fastest-growing digital entertainment marketplace. “With 2.5 times more participants year-on-year, all of them busy throughout the 3-day program, we can conclude that Africa has now become the world’s fastest growing digital entertainment marketplace,” says Patrick Jucaud-Zuchowicki, General Manager of Basic Lead. A total of 1248 delegates representing 672 companies from 86 countries attended the 3-day event. This included 173 exhibiting distributors and 304 broadcast-

ers, Pay-TV platforms, mobile operators, broadband-based TV services, closed-circuit networks and territorial distributors operating in Africa. DISCOP AFRICA featured the largest selection of African created content ever available under one roof, with 195 independent production and distribution companies also in attendance.

If you missed it, you may have missed out. “The consensus amongst veteran distributors was that 90% of Africa’s key content

buyers were at the market and that sales were significantly stronger than ever before,” says Jucaud-Zuchowicki. The next DISCOP AFRICA will take place from 6 to 8 November 2013, at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg, South Africa.

UPDATE

AT A GLANCE: DISCOP

hey say a picture tells a thousand words, and that was certainly true at DISCOP Africa. Content from around the globe was on display, with some surprising countries promoting aggresively. The following is a visual feast of some content on offer.

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UPDATE

LOERIES RANKINGS

he Loeries, which aim to recognise, reward, and foster creative excellence in brand communications have released their oﬃcial rankings for 2012. These are meant to provide a relative measure of success of agencies and production companies in the year’s competition. The methodology is determined and published before the entry deadline and judging in order to ensure that there is no bias towards a particular outcome. The rankings are calculated by awarding points for each award, with the points based on the probability of winning each award. Additional details on how the rankings are calculated can be found by visiting the following site: http://www. theloerieawards.co.za/default. aspx?link=how2enter_ranking

Images courtesy of zaid hendricks

RANKING BY CATEGORY – REST OF AFRICA & THE MIDDLE EAST

RANKING BY ANIMATION COMPANY

DDB Mozambique

BlackGinger

Squad Digital (Kenya)

Sinister Studio

Havas Tunisie (Tunisia)

Aces Up Animation

McCann Digital Israel

Wicked Pixels

IMPACT BBDO Dubai (UAE)

Conduit

MetropolitanRepublic Uganda

Shakewell

Ogilvy Africa (Kenya)

Sweetooth Productions

TBWA East Africa (Kenya)

Advantage Y&R (Namibia)

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Images courtesy of zaid hendricks

UPDATE

LOERIES RANKINGS RANKING BY DIGITAL PRODUCTION COMPANY

RANKING BY FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY

Gloo

BouďŹ&#x20AC;ant

OgilvyOne

Velocity Films

Brandtone

Egg Films

BNRY

Now & Partners

Hellocomputer

Plank Films

Ogilvy Interactive

Your Girlfriend

Base2

Platypus Productions

Dojo115

7Films

Bletchley Park Creative Marketing Agency

Team Best

140 BBDO

Giant Films

Touchlab

Shy the Sun

Note: The digital production company ranking only includes points awarded within the Internet, Mobile and Interactive category.

RANKING BY EDITING COMPANY

Note: The film production company ranking only includes points awarded within the TV, Film & Video Communication category.

RANKING BY POST PRODUCTION COMPANY

Left Post Production

Blade Works

Deliverance

BlackGinger

Upstairs Post Production

Platypus Productions

House on Fire

Sinister Studio

Priest

House on Fire

Platypus Productions

Searle Street Post

Blade Works

Deliverance

Aces Up

Riot

JWT Cape Town Edit Suite

Silver Bullet Productions

Wicked Pixels

Images courtesy of zaid hendricks

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COVER STORY NEWS

IDFA

idfa

he 25th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) was held from 14-25 November. 22 local documentary projects from South Africa took part in the festival, and several Africans participated in the IDFA Summer School. Thirteen of the 22 South African films at IDFA have been supported by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF). In addition, two NFVF supported projects, Devil’s Lair and The Dream of Shahrazad were invited to pitch at the festival. The NFVF together with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the South African Documentary Filmmakers Association (DFA) formed part of the South African delegation representing the country at IDFA. NFVF CEO Zama Mkosi says, “we are very grateful to once again be part of this amazing platform. IDFA provides us with yet another opportunity to take local projects to the world which is one of our key objectives.”

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IDFA is the world’s largest documentary film festival, and selects documentaries from around the world for screening. The selection is made on the basis of, among other things, the documentary’s particular innovation, relevance to social issues and the extent to which documentaries communicate with their audiences. IDFA’s commitment to knowledge-sharing is clear from the IDFA Academy Summer School, which gathers young filmmakers, editors and producers from 14 different countries in Amsterdam to be guided by eight tutors, including filmmakers for a week of discussions, lectures and workshops to help participants take their documentary projects to the next level. A total of sixteen international projects were selected for the Summer School, of which eight projects were supported by the IDFA Fund (formerly known as the Jan Vrijman Fund). The projects hailed from twelve different

countries and ranged from narratives driven by archive footage to personal accounts to cinema verité. One notable aspect of this year’s Summer School: apart from a few Dutch participants, there were no other projects from Western Europe or North America. Lucian Barnard and Annalet Steenkamp’s project “Afrikaner Girl” was selected for the Summer School. Lucian and Annalet, South Africans, say it was a great honour to have been chosen to take part in the Summer School because hundreds of entries are received each year and this year only six projects (in editing stage) made it to the Summer School. Says Lucian, “being able to have been to the Summer School was an eye opener, and a huge burst of inspiration. To see the importance of documentaries in the first world and experience a very big documentary culture, makes you feel more hopeful about your project as you know it would seen by thousands, whereas if it had to only stay here, one would be lucky have it seen by a couple of

hundred. But that’s just my opinion, not quite sure about the facts though. The massive interest from viewers to documentaries in Amsterdam are tremendous though.” Lucian and Annalet also gained ideas for enhancing the longform post-production industry in South Africa. “Long-form post isn’t necessarily overlooked, the budgets are just way smaller for long-form projects in this country, and obviously compared to commercials, because there is a brand attached. I do believe we should however look into innovative ways to do product placement cleverly in long-form. Thereby we can have budgets considerably higher, to spend more time crafting the films, thereby creating higher quality work, which would in turn lead to higher vested interests, which leads to more funding. The days of blatant product placements are over and it can work very well,” said Lucian. Information on IDFA can found at: http://www.idfa.nl/industry/ festival.aspx

COVER STORY NEWS

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT: MIPCOM TV show conceived by dancing wizard Michael Flatley. The stars were out. Other high-profile stars and producers to be found on the Croisette this week included Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, in Cannes to accompany one of the highlights of the event, the World Premiere TV Screening of FX’s ‘The Americans,’ distributed by 20th Century Fox Television Distribution, which played to a packed and enthusiastic house. Also present, British cuisine guru Nigella Lawson, ‘The Walking Dead’ producer Gale Anne Hurd, with star Sarah Wayne Callies, ‘NCIS’ cop Michael Weatherly, alongside the show’s executive producer Gary Glasberg, ‘X-Files’ star Gillian Anderson and ‘Saving Hope’ doctor Erica Durance. Also attending MIPCOM to present ‘House of Cards’ to potential buyers was features film and theatre giant Kevin Spacey (‘The Usual Suspects,’ ‘LA Confidential,’ ‘American Beauty’).

IPCOM, the global market for entertainment content across all platforms, brought together major companies and household names from the film and internet world in Cannes, France. Top industry executives, talent, and buyers gathered for screenings and events at the market. Here are the top 5 things you need to know about MIPCOM this year. 12,900 delegates from 104 countries, including 4,400 buyers, attended MIPCOM. Of those buyers, over 500 were making dedicated VOD acquisitions. There were significant increases in the number of companies attending from Latin America (+36%), China (116 companies +30%), South Korea (119 companies +12%) and

Country of Honour Canada (252 companies +11%). In addition, the number of US companies in Cannes rose 11%, with all the major US studios in town, including a debut appearance from DreamWorks, represented by DreamWorks Animation and Classics. The lines between film, television, and web-based content is getting blurred. Attending his first MIPCOM, independent film producer/distributor Harvey Weinstein unveiled The Weinstein Company’s plans to expand in television production and distribution with the likes of epic drama series ‘Marco Polo,’ reality series ‘Supermarket Superstars’ and documentary series ‘Seal Team Six.’ He also unveiled a new initiative - the World Dance Awards – a live

Digital players were at MIPCOM looking to develop content. Robert Kyncl, Google/

YouTube’s Vice President, Global Head of Content, announced that the company will launch 60 new channels in the UK, Germany and France, with original content coming from such TV heavyweights as FremantleMedia, BBC Worldwide, Endemol and All3Media. He urged the content production community to embrace YouTube. Jason Kilar, CEO of online TV service Hulu said his company has spent $500 million on content this year. He stressed that Hulu is working closely with traditional broadcasting heavyweights, bringing the BBC’s ‘Misfits’ to US audiences and Nickelodeon content to Hulu for the first time, thanks to a deal with Viacom. MIPCOM aims to be international. While individual countries, especially in Europe, may be feeling economic pressure at the moment, MIPCOM confirmed that there is an ever-increasing need for cross-border business and networking. Among the new initiatives, the first LATAM Global Dealmakers Networking Lunch, which brought together 80 of the most influential executives operating in the Latin American region.

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ASSOCIATION SPOTLIGHT

COMING SOON: FILM INDUSTRY FUND the industry build relationships with community leaders through its implementation.

t’s not every day that a project gets a letter of endorsement from the Provincial Government before it even gets off the ground. But that’s exactly what’s happened to the Film Industry Fund, a joint initiative of the Commercial Producers Association and the South African Association of Stills Producers. The Film Industry Fund is a way members of the film industry can give back to the communities in which they work, specifically, to the communities in which filming takes place. Alan Winde, Western Cape Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism says “the envisaged fund, driven by the contributions of willing clients, has the potential of becoming a powerful tool to transform the attitudes of residents towards the film industry.” Rudi Riek of the South African Association of Stills Producers explains that the Film Industry Fund is being established to allow ring-fencing of funds to be used by communities in which filming takes place. Participation in the fund will be voluntary, with recommended fees depending on the size of the shoot. Companies will be able to budget accordingly. The goal is to “change the perception the general public have of our industry,” says Riek, “many people still only view us as a nuisance and do not see why they should be inconvenienced if they do not directly benefit from it.” The hope is that the fund will help

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So how will it work? The pilot programme will be implemented in Cape Town, then will extend to other parts of the country. Organizers are in the final stages of creating a non-profit company which will have a board of directors that is representative of the bodies that participate in the fund. An administrator will be appointed to handle the logistics of operating the fund. This will be the only person that will be remunerated for his or her services in order to keep the administration costs low. Participating in the fund will be easy -- a company will indicate that they wish to become part of the fund and will then sign a document giving the fund permission to invoice them based on permits issued by the Cape Town Film Office. This document will be sent to the Film Office requesting that all permits issued to that company be forwarded to the fund administrator. The administrator will analyse the permit for the following: 1. company name 2. area in which filming is taking place 3. number of crew on set 4. number of days the permit is valid for Based on this information the administrator will invoice the company as follows: • Micro shoots - no fee (however should the company wish to contribute they can) • 15 people of less on set - R250 per day • Between 16 and 30 people on set - R500 per day

• More than 30 people on set R1000 per day Currently the City of Cape Town issues just more than 5000 permits to our industry annually, it is anticipated that the fund will generate approx R1 500 000 annually. The funds will then be ring fenced as follows: • 15 % administration fee • 35% to be placed in a communal fund to be used in areas that need it the most but don't often host film crews (The majority of the Cape Flats for instance) • 50% to be ring-fenced for the specific ward in which filming took place. The community will be informed on a regular basis via the ward councillor and the residents association chairperson regarding the amount available to them and they can then apply to the fund for these funds to be released for specific projects. This will then be announced in the media each time funds are released for projects in order to promote our industry to the general public. Rudi says, “it is vitally important in my opinion that the private sector ploughs back into the community in which they operate, our industry is no different. Currently individual companies within our industry give back to the community in their own way, this initiative will create a communal platform for our industry as a whole to give back in a regulated an responsible manner which is both sustainable in the long term and focused specifically on the communities that are affected by filming.” Gavin Levy of Cape Town Productions echoes the impor-

tance of the film industry supporting individual and social development, “the Industry as a whole is very demanding, and in many cases the impact of the industry is felt by the local communities. Early morning starts, intermittent roadblocks, noisy directors and the like. Very few of these communities feel any tangible benefit from the industry as such, and it is therefore incumbent upon each producer to make sure that they participate in community outreach programmes.” Gavin says Cape Town Productions will add the Film Industry Fund to charities it already supports, like the Reach For A Dream Foundation. “We think it is a brilliant idea,” says Gavin, “one which has been mooted many times over the year, but always shot down in flames. With Minister Winde’s blessing it is now becoming a reality.” Adds Rudi, “this fund must not be viewed as elitist or creating an expectation within communities. It is a genuine project endorsed by more than 70 companies within the two associations that are establishing it and the intentions as set out above are real and transparent. The fund is voluntary and nobody will be forced to take part, however those who do take part will know that their money is being spent well and is going directly to the people that are being affected by their presence. We hope to have the fund up and running before the end of 2012 and we will communicate the launch in the media, in the interim all queries can be directed to info@filmindustryfund. co.za.” Once the fund is active, information can be found at: www. filmindustryfund.co.za.

ASSOCIATION SPOTLIGHT

MICT SETA joining soon. Through collaboration and working together, more so in times of skills needs, we can indeed make a difference.

ICT SETA GRADUATE INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME - a job creation initiative “Partnerships that work” The MICT is a Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) that caters for the training needs of companies and employees in the Media, Advertising, Film, Information and Communication Technologies sub-sectors of our economy, including unemployed young people. The SETA has in the previous year together with its constituent companies trained 1986 unemployed graduates, 1371 (69%) of whom were placed in permanent

employment on successful completion of the programme. This year again, the SETA and a number of companies in the sector have initiated a comprehensive Graduate Internship Programme to train and subsequently employ 3000 unemployed young graduates in the participating companies. This skills development initiative is absolutely phenomenal, graduates will hone their skills in the following and much sought after skills areas: • Print Media and Broadcasting • E-Learning • Television, Video and Film Production

• • • • • • • •

Advertising Systems Development Business analysis Software Testing ICT Project Management Finance Human Resources Digital Migration

Since the beginning of this year 1668 unemployed graduates are currently in internships and in good stead for permanent employment on successful completion of the internship programme. MICT Seta salutes all the employers who have positively responded to the MICT Seta’s clarion call to join the skills development revolution and also thank in anticipation, those who will be

Unemployed graduates who wish to further their careers in the MICT Sector are encouraged to submit their CVs with a covering letter indicating their preferred field of internship to: Email: info@mict.org.za Fax: 0862300271 by no later than 10 December 2012. Successful candidates will receive a monthly stipend for the duration of the internship. The MICT levy-paying employers who wish to participate could download a Letter of Intent (LoI) from the MICT Seta website: www. mict.org.za. Terms and Conditions apply.

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ASSOCIATIONS SPOTLIGHT

NFVF The National Film & Video Foundation (NFVF) is a statutory body mandated by parliament to spearhead the development of the South African film and video industry. National Film & Video Foundation and Durban Film Office hosts two day workshop for emerging KZN filmmakers 16 November 2012: The National Film and Video Foundation in partnership with the Durban Film Office (DFO) will host a two-day workshop targeting aspiring film makers in Durban to provide skills and training as part of its mandate to develop the South African film and video industry. Jozi Film Festival attracts Vodacom as a partner for their new mobile film competition category Following the success of this year’s first Jozi Film Festival, JFF has attracted mobile telecommunications giant Vodacom as a partner in Jo’burg’s first ever mobile phone film competition. The competition opens on 15 November 2012 and closes on 30 December 2012. The top ten films will be uploaded to a dedicated Youtube site in January 2012 where the public can vote via sms for their favourite film. The best films will be screened at next year’s Jozi Film Festival, running from 15 to 17 February 2013. Application deadline for 2013 EURODOC extended The application deadline for EURODOC 2013 has been extended to 21 November 2012. EURODOC is a training programme specifically designed for coproducing creative documentaries at the international level, a documentary think-tank covering a wide variety of narrative styles and production modes with the aim of defending the documentary genre. The 7th annual SAFTAs judging process commences 12 November 2012: The judging process for the 7th Annual South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) commenced on Thursday 08th of November, with filtration of all the qualifying submitted projects. South Africa takes 22 documentary projects to IDFA 12 November 2012: South Africa is taking 22 local documentary projects to the 25th International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA), 13 of these have been supported by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF). In addition, two NFVF supported projects, Devil’s Lair and The Dream of Shahrazad have also been invited to pitch at the festival. One Day on Earth 2012 calling all filmmakers Founded in 2007, One Day on Earth is a film project that once a year aspires to capture the human experience in every country, on Earth on the same day through a network of filmmakers across the globe. Adventures in Zambezia, One week only in California South African film Zambezia, has been scheduled to screen in California for one week The film is currently performing well internationally, having been on the top 10 of Russian box office, outperforming big releases like ParaNorman, Cars, Incredibles, Shrek, Ice Age, Happy Feet and Finding Nemo. Call for Projects at Creative Focus (Mifa) The creative focus has opened a registration call for projects to be submitted for 2013. Scheduled to take place from the 11th to the 14th of June 2013 as part of the International Animation Film Market (Mifa), the creative focus is a special place where dreams can become reality. Internship brings new blood to SA film industry The Film Industry Learner Mentorship Programme (F.I.L.M.) starts training the latest MICT-SETA internship programme on 1 November 2012. The 10-month programme will see 40 interns receive unit-standard aligned, accredited training, as well as mentorship in leading production companies and on local and international film, TV and commercial productions.

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ASSOCIATIONS SPOTLIGHT

CPA The Commercial Producers Association of South Africa (CPA) is a professional trade association of film companies specializing in the production of television commercials.

CPA EXCO RE-ELECTED FOR 2012/2013

CPA WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS

The CPA’s Executive Committee was re-elected for another year at the Association’s AGM held in September in Cape Town.

Thursday, 18 October 2012

The 2012/2013 Committee is:

The CPA is pleased to welcome the following companies to membership of the Association:

Gavin Gillespie - Fresh Eye

* Filmworks - Leigh Clarke

Claire Richards - The Shooting Gallery

* Miros Films - Kathi Bullard

Scott Njumbuxa - Picture Tree

* Star Productions - Adam Thal

Colin Howard - Egg Films Anton Rollino - One Step Beyond Charles Gallacher - Cab Films Skip Margetts - The Farm Glen Bosman - Catapult Commercials

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AWARDS

ACHEIVEMENTS

Toon Boom Storyboard Pro Wins a Primetime Engineering Emmy®

Toon Boom Storyboard Pro, Toon Boom’s flagship storyboarding software, has won a Primetime Engineering Emmy® from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Prime Engineering Emmys are presented for engineering developments so significant an improvement on existing methods or so innovative in nature that they materially aﬀect the transmission, recording or reception of television.

Saving Rhino Phila wins a Panda Award at the Wildscreen Film Festival NHU Africa’s production, Saving Rhino Phila has won a Panda Award for best film in the Nature Conservancy Enviornment and Conservation category at the Wildscreen Film Festival in Bristol, UK. The Wildscreen festival is the longest standing wildlife film festival in the world, drawing top names from broadcasters like Animal Planet, Discovery and National Geographic.

Sustain Our Africa Winners Samantha Gray and her film But We Slept won the Judge’s Choice award and Uga Carlini’s Good Planets Are Hard to Find won the Audience Choice award in the Sustain Our Africa short film competition at the Film for Change Film Festival.

Mwansa the Great wins at AiM Zambian short Mwansa the Great won the 5th edition of AiM Short Film Competition. Directed by Zambian filmmaker Rungano Nyoni, the film is about an eight-year-old boy who aspires to be a hero and embarks upon a journey to prove his greatness, with unexpected consequences.

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OPPORTUNTIES

WILD TALK AFRICA FILM FESTIVAL ROSCAR AWARDS 2013 AND DFM CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS The Editing Award The Best Script Award The Best Series Award The Best 3D Film Award ** new category Best Newcomer Award Best African Production Award The Best of the Fest Award The closing date for all submissions is the 12th March 2013. To enter visit: www.wildtalkafrica.com or email roscars@wildtalkafrica.com for information.

DFM opens Call for Submission to Filmmakers for 2013 Take advantage of the opportunity to be part of the Durban Film Mart 2013 which is to take place alongside the 34th edition of the Durban International Film Festival in July next year. The partnership project between the Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) provides filmmakers from across Africa a valued opportunity to pitch projects to financiers, distributors, sales agents and potential co-producers.

ROSCAR AWARDS 2013: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS The Wild Talk Africa Film Festival is now calling on filmmakers around the world to submit their films to the prestigious ROSCAR Awards. The ROSCARS are the highlight of Wild Talk Africa, a biennial event recognised as Africa’s premiere wildlife and natural history film festival and conference. Judges for the ROSCAR Awards include highly qualified and wellknown local and international professionals in the filmmaking industry, with representation from leading natural history companies and broadcasters including National Geographic, Animal Planet, and BBC Natural History Unit to name a few. The ROSCARS, affectionately known as the rhino Oscars, are the ultimate recognition of wildlife and natural history filmmakers in Africa.

Calls for submissions of both feature-length fiction and documentary projects (including animation), is open from October 5 and closes on February 15 next year. Selected projects will be invited to pitch projects in one-on-one meetings with potential investors within the Finance Forum segment of the DFM programme.

Take note of the important critical information:

• • • • • • •

All submissions must be made in English; Full scripts brought to the Durban FilmMart in July 2013 may be in the original language of project; Fiction features with theatrical potential must be mini mum of 70 minutes; Animation features with theatrical potential must be a minimum of 70 minutes; Documentaries must be a minimum of 48 minutes; Entries are open to Africans wherein the producer, director or writer must be an African citizen; All projects must have a producer attached

For more information visit: www.durbanfilmmart.com

Films can be submitted to a number of categories, including the following: The Music Award The Sound Design Award The Cinematography Award The Limited Budget Award The Best Children’s Natural History Production Award The Best Environmental Production Award (Dedicated to the memory of Rick Lomba) The Expedition/Adventure Award The Short Film Award The Best Presenter Award The New Media Award

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DIRECTORY LISTINGS

ADVERTISERS COMPANY

REGION

TELEPHONE

WEBSITE

Aon

Nationwide

+27 11 944 7290

dani.ettridge@aon.co.za

ww.aon.co.za

Aquila Private Game

Western Cape

+27 21 430 87260

pa@aquilasafari.co.za

www.aquilasafari.co.za

Bidvest Premier Lounge

Nationwide

+27 86 124 3247

www.bidvestlounge.co.za

Capital Medical Services

Cape Town

+27 82 864 4982

capitalmedical@mweb.co.za www.falsebayrugby.co.za

7 Films

Cape Town

+27 21 447 4523

jason@7films.co.za

Jameson First Shot

Nationwide

+27 21 405 8800

Media Film Service

Nationwide

+27 21 511 3300

Media Gear

Cape Town

+27 21 802 0709

Roodebloem Studios

Cape Town

+27 21 447 6326

Sitewise

Cape Town

+27 21 447 3151

Sunshine Company

Cape Town

+27 21 465 8262

info@sunshinecompany.co.za

UVS

Nationwide

+27 21 686 2404

cape@uvsrent.co.za

www.uvsrent.co.za

Wizardz

Cape Town

+27 21 461 9334

copy@wizardz.co.za

www.wizardz.co.za

Lindbergh Lodge

Johannesburg

+27 11 884 8923/4

lindbergh@iafrica.com

False Bay Rugby Football Club NEED A BASE CAMP IN CONSTANTIA?? FALSE BAY RUGBY CLUB OFFERS: PARKING FOR LARGE UNITS NEAR BROMMERSVLEI RD CLUBHOUSE, KITCHEN AND TOILET FACILITIES SPORTS CLUB, BAR/PUB AND FIELD SHOOTING LOCATIONS PLUS YOU CAN CALL YOUR CREW EARLY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; PROVIDE BREAKFAST AND PREP ARTISTS ETC AND ENTER CONSTANTIA AT 7AM SHARP CALL BOB THE MEDIC FOR BOOKINGS + 27 82 8644 982 capitalmedical@mweb.co.za

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www.7films.co.za

clair.vandermescht@pernod-ricard.com www.jamesonfirstshot.com info@mediafilmservice.com info@pinnacleav.co.za info@roodebloemstudios.co.za action@sitwise.co.za

www.mediafilmservice.co.za www.pinnacleav.co.za www.roodebloemstudios.co.za www.sitewise.co.za www.sunshinecompany.co.za

www.lindberghlocations.co.za

DIRECTORY LISTINGS

POST PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT SALES COMPANY

REGION

TELEPHONE

WEBSITE

AVMARK Systems cc

Johannesburg

+27 11 463 3167

avmark@icon.co.za

www.avmarksystems.co.za

Pansolutions

Johannesburg

+27 11 313 1400

info@pansolutions.co.za

www.pansolutions.co.za

Prosales

Johannesburg

+27 11 462 0000

michelle@pro-sales.co.za

www.pro-sales.co.za

Telequip Pty Ltd

Johannesburg

+27 11 444 5178

admin@telequip.co.za

www.telequip.co.za

Touchvision

Cape Town

+27 21 421 5501

leigh@touchvision.co.za

www.touchvision.co.za

EDITING EQUIPMENT RENTALS/SALES/SERVICES COMPANY

REGION

TELEPHONE

WEBSITE

Visual Impact

Nationwide

+27 21 468 6001

juanne@visuals.tv

www.visuals.tv

HD HUB

Cape Town

+27 21 468 6003

hub@hdhub.co.za

www.hdhub.co.za

Matchframe

Cape Town

+27 72 277 2383

warren@matchframe.co.za

www.matchframe.co.za

Purple Pear Productions

Cape Town

+27 82 820 0351

izette@purplepear.tv

www.purplepear.tv

The Bridge cc

Cape Town

+27 21 424 1364

josh@thebridgesa.co.za

Left Post Production

Johannesburg

+27 11 788 5205

jacqui@left.co.za

www.left.co.za

Fourteen 10th Productions

Johannesburg

+27 11 322 3242

nelisa@fourteententh.co.za

www.fourteententh.co.za

POST PRODUCTION FACILITIES COMPANY

REGION

TELEPHONE

WEBSITE

Frameline Film & Television

Johannesburg

+27 11 917 3630

info@frameline.co.za

www.frameline.co.za

G-Vision Digital Post Production

Johannesburg

+27 11 803 5858

gvision@yesnet.co.za

Orchestra Blue Post Production

Johannesburg

+27 11 789 2961

rod@obpp.co.za

www.obpp.co.za

Black Ginger

Cape Town

+27 21 488 1188

info@blackginger.tv

www.blackginger.tv

Condor

Cape Town

+27 21 409 2000

info@condorcape.com

www.condorcape.com

The Video Lounge

Cape Town

+27 21 461 3929

debbie@thevideolounge.co.za www.thevideolounge.co.za

Rhubarb

Durban

+27 31 566 5995

marco@rhubarb.tv

www.rhubarb.tv

Clive Morris Productions

Johannesburg

+27 11 886 9366

info@cmproductions.co.za

www.cmproductions.co.za

POSTMASTERS

Johannesburg

+27 11 482 1155

francois@postmasters.co.za www.postmasters.co.za

Production Works

Johannesburg

+27 11 853 3700

The Wave Factory Facilities

Johannesburg

+27 11 789 8200

nicky@factory.co.za

www.factory.co.za

Winchester Special Effects

Johannesburg

+27 11 791 1398

ryan@wfxsa.com

www.wfxsa.com

VFXFILES

Cape Town

+27 73 374 5529

jeremy@vfxfiles.com

www.vfxfiles.com

zorana@productionworks.co.za

www.productionworks.co.za

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