Mandla Langa and Hannelie Bekker have been appointed Joint Chairs for the 2009 judging panels of the third South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs). Judging commenced on 28 August, with the panels comprising over 50 industry practitioners who are specialists in their field and recognised in the industry.
Held under the auspices of the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), the SAFTAs is regarded as the highest accolade in the industry and aims to honour, celebrate and promote the creativity, quality and excellence of local film and television productions. It also serves to encourage entrepreneurship and the development of new talent.
The judging began with the filtration phase, where entries per section are whittled down to a maximum of 10 and a minimum of three. These then go through to the final judging phase set for October 2008.
Since the close of the call for entries which went out in April this year, some 180 titles have been received. To be eligible an entry must have been publicly exhibited or broadcast between 21 October 2006 and 31 March 2008.
Over 80 awards will be presented for the following categories: Feature films, Documentary, Student and Short Films as well as TV Dramas, Soapies, Comedies, Reality, Gameshows, Wildlife Shows, Talk Shows, Magazine Shows and News and Actuality Programmes at the SAFTAs 2009.
This year the SAFTAs introduces an additional award for Best Newcomer. Nominations for Best Newcomer are still open and close on October 31st 2008. The Best Newcomer award shall be presented to an individual who has recently entered the industry either in the technical or performance field and has displayed outstanding effort in their work as a newcomer. Nominations are to be made by production companies or casting directors.
Nominations for Lifetime achievement Award are also still open to the public to nominate individuals, who have made an outstanding contribution to the industry and are to also close on 31 October 2008.
