The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) will lead the South Africa delegation to the Cannes International Film Festival scheduled to take place from 11– 21 May in Cannes, France. The festival is the most prestigious event for the global film industry where the world’s filmmakers and key decision makers from across the globe assemble to conduct the business of film.
The NFVF’s main objectives are to promote South Africa as a premiere filmmaking destination, to position the country as a co-production partner of choice, to strengthen relations and to provide support to local filmmakers attending Cannes. This year the NFVF will sponsor nine South African filmmakers to conduct film business in Cannes.
During 2010 Cannes International Film Festival the Department of Arts and Culture and the NFVF signed a South African/French co-production treaty, which enables productions from both territories to qualify for the different incentives associated with home-grown content. This treaty agreement has produced the first South Africa / France co-production treaty film, Skoonheid an Afrikaans film that has been selected for the “Un Certain Regard’ section at Cannes film festival.
Skoonheid tells the story of Francois van Heerden, a mid-40s, white, Afrikaans-speaking family man living in Bloemfontein, who has become devoid of any care or concern for his own measure of happiness, and so convinced of his ill-fated existence, that he is wholly unprepared when a chance encounter unravels his clean, controlled life.
While in Cannes, the NFVF will host a Line-Up event on the 14th of May 2011, where South African projects will be presented to international sales agents, financiers, distributors, co-production partners, buyers, and festival programmers. The Line-Up projects include: Feature films :Makeba, Otelo Burning, Whiplash, Spoon, Retribution, Whale, Khabzela, Supermama, Saving Sunnyshore, De Jong and the Rustlers, Crossroads, Four Corners, Stockholm, Zululand, Tin of Paint, The Consequence, Zambezia, Zizi & Boondogle, Roepman, Documentaries :Surfing Soweto, Rebirth, Dear Mandela and Short Films: Dirty Laundry, Umkhungo. For more information on the projects visit www.nfvf.co.za/cannes-projects.
As a follow-up to the Line-Up presentation the NFVF will host a South African networking event. This event has steadily become one of the most sought after invites at Cannes. The networking event provides an opportunity for South African delegates to network with key international decision makers. South Africa’s DJ Switch will provide the guests with the best of home-brewed music.
The South Africa pavilion will be situated at the Village International. The pavilion provides a business environment for all South African delegates to host meetings, and also provides screening facilities for those who wish to showcase their films during their meetings.
