Pedro Pimenta, programme director of the 2015 Durban International Film Festival, announced at Cannes the launch of the brand new Joburg Film Festival. Scheduled to take place from 28 October to 5 November 2016, the week-long industry event will be run by the annual TV market, DISCOP Africa, along with Enabled Media.
According to the Financial Mail website, festival director Pimenta, who attended the Cannes Film Festival to promote the event, says the time is right for an addition to the African film festival circuit. “We’ve had stories of many film festivals in SA,’ he says. “Some still exist, some have disappeared, but at the end of the day, in Johannesburg, we’ve never had a relevant international film festival. And a lot of the SA film industry is happening in Johannesburg, particularly when we are dealing with SA content.’
Pimenta says the idea was initially to create a small film market through DISCOP Africa’s annual event, but it evolved to encompass a new vision for a film festival, with an association to DISCOP and taking place at the same time.
The National Film and Video Foundation has welcomed the new festival: “Each of the festivals offer something unique,’ says CEO Zama Mkosi. “It’s not about different cities competing, but each one should showcase their niche, their unique value proposition, and they should have a platform to do this.’
The Joburg Film Festival hub will be around the Maboneng and Braamfontein areas in Johannesburg’s CBD.
For more information visit the Joburg Film Festival website.
Source: Financial Mail
