Five Afrikaans movies have their world premieres at the 2013 kykNET Silwerskermfees in
August 2013. They are Bakgat! 3, Die Ballade van Robbie de Wee, Faan se Trein (special
director’s first cut), Molly en Wors and Musiek vir die Agtergrond.
Durban Poison, which won Best South African Feature Film at the Durban International
Film Festival in July this year, will have a special screening at the festival.
According to the organisers of the kykNET Silwerskermfees, one of the most dynamic
aspects of this year’s festival has been the development of 13 short films that will be
showcased at the event. These short films were selected from 150 entries and comprise
a smorgasbord of different genres ranging from black comedy to drama, horror to
thriller and more.
As part of the development phase the scripts underwent an intensive three-week
development process under the mentorship of experienced and well-known scriptwriters
Henrietta Gryffenberg, Saartjie Botha, Helene Truter and Anneke Villet.
Thereafter the movies went into production under the mentorship of highly regarded
filmmakers Regardt van den Bergh, Gerrit Schoonhoven, Zaheer Goodman-Bhyat and
Danie Bester.
Another exciting initiative this year marks the introduction of the open section, which
includes the screening of English short- and full-length features. This initiative is
supported by DStv’s M-Net Movies Channel, headed by Pierre Cloete.
Karen Meiring, director of M-Net Afrikaans channels, regards this initiative as a
constructive effort to encourage the making of quality local films and television
programmes. “This is a conscious effort to develop and grow the industry in a
constructive and supportive way. Creating a platform for young filmmakers to showcase
their work and develop their creative voice is what this is all about. Honoring established
filmmakers and encouraging mentorship programmes also form an integral part of this
process.’
Afrikaans channel kykNET, owned by pay-TV operator M-Net, has audiovisual media, the
arts and television entertainment at its core. kykNET presents the fourth
Silwerskermfees to celebrate Afrikaans filmmaking talent, while providing a platform for
other South African productions as well.
The idea of an Afrikaans festival was conceived three years ago when screenwriter,
director and producer Jans Rautenbach and Meiring conceived the notion of an Afrikaans
Boere Riviera which led to the beginning of the kykNET Silwerskermfees.
From humble origins the festival is now a four-day event from 28 to 31 August in
Camps Bay in Cape Town. The programme comprises the screening of feature and short
films as well as documentaries, while 12 discussion panels will be held with topics ranging
from script development to the latest modern technology available to South African
filmmakers. The festival culminates when 15 Silwerskermfees Awards will be handed to
35 entrants.
Tickets are available to the public to attend the screenings of the six full-length features,
13 short films or the open section consisting of 10 entries ranging from full-length
features to short films.
