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Friday

Jul132012

33rd Durban International Film Festival

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July 13, 2012

DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
19 - 29 July 2012

South Africa’s longest running film festival, the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), is just around the corner in its 33rd edition. DIFF 2012 is scheduled to take place from the 19 to 29 July at various locations in and around Durban and will present over 290 screenings of films from around the world with a strong focus on South African and African cinema.

The festival also runs extensive seminar and workshop programmes to stimulate industry capacity. This includes the participation of 50 filmmakers from Africa in Talent Campus Durban, a cooperation with the Berlin Film Festival, and the Durban FilmMart, a film financing initiative in partnership with Durban Film Office. DIFF is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (UKZN).

Speaking at the launch of DIFF 2012 in Johannesburg at the end of June, National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) CEO Zama Mkosi said: “We will be hosting a number of industry engagements as well as comprehensive workshops and training seminars for emerging filmmakers. Our view is that DIFF is a very important platform for us to further interact with the industry and contribute to the festival’s offering,” said Mkosi.

DIFF Director Peter Rorvik said that the festival is a proud platform to showcase the South African film products.

“This year we are showing a total of 66 South African projects which is the biggest number of local productions we have had ever, and most of these will premiere at the festival,” added Rorvik.

Local films to be screened include, among others, Elelwani, award-winning Man on Ground, Inside Story, Zambezia - a 3D animation, Cry of Love and Blitz Patrollie which is scheduled to be released on cinema later in the year.

The principal screening venues will be Suncoast Cinecentre, Ster Kinekor Musgrave, Cinema Nouveau Gateway, UKZN’s Elizabeth Sneddon theatre, Ekhaya Multi-Arts Centre in KwaMashu, Luthuli Museum, Bay of Plenty and the Blue Waters Hotel.

Screenings will be free of charge at Luthuli Museum, Blue Waters, Ekhaya and Bay of Plenty. For other venues, prices will range from R25 to R35 and R50 for 3D screenings.

For more information, please visit :

www.cca.ukzn.ac.za

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Friday

Jul222011

Matthew Bristowe keynote speaker at Durban FilmMart

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July 22, 2011

MATT BRISTOWE - PRIME FOCUS 3D
DURBAN FILMMART

The Durban FilmMart (DFM) is a joint initiative of the Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) and aims to provide selected African film-makers with the opportunity to pitch film projects to leading financiers as well as facilitating networking opportunities between African and international filmmakers in order to form alliances for future collaborations.

Matthew Bristowe, Head of Production for Prime Focus 3D in London, will be a keynote speaker at the 2011 Durban FilmMart. Toni Monty, acting CEO of the Durban Film Office (DFO) said, “this is an extremely exciting time for the film-making industry worldwide and to have somebody of the calibre of Matthew Bristowe as one of our key speakers is a massive coup for the DFM.”

Matthew Bristowe’s attendance, together with the other lead specialists Juliane Schulze, Peter Broderick, Helen Kuun, Don Edkins, Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich and Bruni Burres, brings the very latest in global film industry developments and trends to the continent’s premier film market.

Bristowe’s visit has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of Durban’s COA Group and Microsoft, who together have sponsored the Digital Focus stream of Durban FilmMart 2011. The Durban-based COA Group, provides customised audio visual and digital production pipeline solutions to the digital content creation markets.

Matthew Bristowe, one of London’s foremost 3D Producers, began his production career at MPC as a DI Producer where he worked on major feature film projects including ‘28 Days Later’, ‘Shaun of the Dead’, ‘Troy’ and ‘10,000BC’. His dedication and expert knowledge of issues both creative and technical, led him to assume the role of Senior DI Producer when MPC was taken over by Technicolor in 2009.

His essential input to feature films such as Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, Guy Ritchie’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and Wes Anderson’s ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’, reaffirmed his status in the industry. He has recently led the London arm of Prime Focus 3D in the 2D to 3D conversion of Lucasfilm’s ‘Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace’, which was completed across Prime Focus’ global facilities in LA, London and Mumbai.

“It’s fair to say that one of the key developments in the film Industry over the last 12-18 months is the dawn of a new era of 3D story telling,” comments Bristowe. “Prime Focus has, and continues to play a pivotal role in this through its global stereo conversion pipeline. We have enabled film makers to continue to shoot in 2D, but still create the highest quality 3D output in order to maximise the impact in theatres, not just from a creative perspective, but from a point of increased revenue as well.”

Prime Focus, through its worldwide facilities, is able to maximise time zone efficiencies by operating as a 24 hour a day production facility, enabling leading film studios to meet film deadlines without compromising on quality.

“Just over 12 months ago I was recruited to establish and lead the Prime Focus 3D London facility. What started out as a handful of VFX artists in a small rented space, has quickly grown to 100+ personnel, fully-trained and ready to compete for some of the largest stereo projects hitting the cinemas,” Bristowe continues.

“I’m pleased to say that our global operation has been extremely successful, with some significant projects being completed in the last 12 months, including ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two’, ‘Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace’, ‘Green Lantern’, ‘Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon’, ‘Shrek’, and ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’.

Bristowe’s presentations at Durban FilmMart 2011 will cover the Prime Focus journey from it’s 3D VFX work on ‘Avatar’ through to the successful delivery of the final instalment of the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise. He will also cover the building and development of the London studio, and the putting in place of a Global Pipeline and Infrastructure in order to meet demand. There will also be an overview of 3D as whole, covering broadcast, commercials, and live events… and everything in between!

For more information please visit :

www.durbanfilmmart.com

Durban International Film Festival,

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Monday

May022011

Multimedia feature film first for South Africa

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May 2, 2011

CODED - THE MOVIE

Coded - The Movie Imagine you as the viewer having an influence in how a film could actually pan out. Well, that is something that might not sound as far fetched in the near future, in terms of a collaborative initiative involving various leaders in the Durban media industry including iKind Media director, Matt Nefdt, producer Richard Green and Blue Fire Productions.

Latoya Newman writes for The Independent’s Tonight supplement that the multimedia feature film - Coded - would be a first for South Africa, according to producer Richard Green (Nothing but the Truth, Chikin Biznis, Red Dust, Taxi to Soweto).

Inspired by a Swedish TV series which augmented reality and fiction into a new genre of participation drama, Coded is a multiplatform experience designed to engage the audience as never before - promising to take interactive media to new levels.

It is still shrouded in secrecy, but Green said the project was the natural progression of convergent trends in media and would give audiences the ability to control their own experience, much like in a game.

“Media is going a really strange route but it is an interesting one,” he said. “With Coded, we’re collaborating with a broader mix of content specialists, like Blue Fire Productions, to give the audience a more intimate connection to the story,” he said, declining to give any further details.

Coded is one of several major projects set to cause a buzz on Durban’s film scene this year.

A second biggie, which we are allowed to reveal at this stage, is House of Shaka (the musical oratorio and the film).

Roland Mqwebu (who also starred as King Shaka’s friend Ngomane in the 1980s classic Shaka Zulu) said he had secured exclusive rights from the Zulu Royal Family to make the film, which is not a remake of or a sequel to Shaka Zulu (1987).

He explained: “The film will mostly be about how King Shaka died and what happened after he died. Gavin Wood (Tsotsi, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) will direct the movie. We are consulting Professor Musa Xulu (cultural researcher and adviser in the Office of the Premier of KZN) who is also doing a play by the same name,” he said. Mqwebu said the film was likely to be shot in Zululand and Northern KZN. The groundwork is already under way.

Acting chief executive of the Durban Film Office, Toni Monty, said 2011 looks set to be as much of a success as last year for the local film industry.

One of the most fruitful projects launched last year, and already fielding queries for this year’s leg, is the Durban Film Mart.

With this project the Durban Film Office and the Durban International Film Festival (Diff) provide film professionals from across Africa with the chance to pitch projects to financiers, distributors and sales agents.

They can also participate in a masterclass and workshop programme. “One of the projects pitched last year went into production and is now ready for the market… this year’s film mart will take place from July 22 to 25 during the Durban International Film Festival,” she said.

Monty said last year 17 feature films, 32 documentaries and 21 television shoots - among other projects - were filmed in Durban, adding that the boost to the local economy is priceless.

“The KZN film sector generates about R236million a year, and contributes about R348million to the provincial economy (once merchandising and hospitality spin-offs have been factored in).

“Information gleaned from permits issued by the Durban Film Office in 2006, in terms of actual economic impact, the average television commercial has a budget of R1.27m, feature films spend R37.2m (smaller films about R4.9m).

“Even the average stills shoot costs R314,000 a week during its production on location. The return on investment is immediately felt throughout the local economy.”

Deon du Preez, a private contractor and location scout/manager, has been in the business for 17 years and mostly works with international projects. He said the drawcard for Durban as a film site was its versatility.

“Durban is probably the only city in the country where you could easily do Pakistan, West African, Malaysia etcetera (scenes)… You can find the people, culture and texture you’re looking for. An added bonus is it is close to the Midlands and Drakensberg mountains where you would then find ‘European-looking’ locations.”

“Cape Town is very popular because of its large variety of architecture and landscapes, but Durban is a true African city with its own unique ‘look’, not easily found in any other citys in South Africa.”

“And the Durban Film Office offers full support and incentives, such as reduced rates for city council locations. In some cases, it even sets up a media campaign.”

Some of the biggest productions filmed in Durban and surrounds include Stander, Blood Diamond and more recently Spud: The Movie and Mr Bob. There had also been “massive interest” from Bollywood.

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