Carly Barnes

The Writers Guild Awards, which takes place on 1 February 2014 in the US, does not include nominations for a number of films on African and diaspora themes expected to receive acclaim for skilled writing, due to the films exceeding the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) jurisdiction.

Films such as 12 Years A Slave; Fruitvale Station; Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom; God Loves Uganda; 20 Feet From Stardom; and The Square are excluded from the awards which pay tribute to outstanding writing across a number of mediums including film, television, new media, video games, news, radio, promotional, and graphic animation.

Only theatrical screenplays which were produced under the jurisdiction of the WGA or an affiliate Guild were allowed to be submitted for WGA consideration. According to The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), feature films eligible for an award had to have been exhibited theatrically for at least one week in Los Angeles during 2013.

Additionally, feature films needed to have been written under the WGA’s Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) or under a bona fide collective bargaining agreement of the Writers Guild of Canada, Writers Guild of Great Britain, Irish Playwrights & Screenwriters Guild, or the New Zealand Writers Guild.

Visit www.wga.org or www.wgaeast.org for more information about this year’s awards.

After its opening on Friday 3 January to 500 screens in the UK and Ireland, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom has been applauded by British critics and is expected to gain exponential success at the UK box office.

Critics applauded the film’s integrity and the outstanding performances from its lead actors. The Daily Telegraph said of the film: “achieved grandeur… comprehensive and convincing’; the Daily Mail wrote “Idris Elba and Naomie Harris dazzle as Nelson and Winnie’ while The Guardian stated the film was “powerfully portrayed… respectful without shying from the uglier truths’ and The Express said it was “handsomely made, absorbing and thought-provoking… tackles a huge subject with verve, pace and passion’.

A strong positive response to screenings has set predictions for the film to be placed in the top 10 performers at the box office and for earnings to gross over £1.5 million (R26 million) in the first three days of release.

Anant Singh, South African producer of the film, said: “This is indeed a formidable opening. The UK audience is a diverse one and the strong box office performance shows the wide appeal of the film, especially as it opened bigger than Ali, Munch and The Last King of Scotland.’

On Sunday 12 January at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom contends for three awards at the highly anticipated Golden Globes. Idris Elba is nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for his role as Nelson Mandela, Alex Heffes is in the run for Best Original Score; and U2 is nominated for the Best Original Song, Ordinary Love, which was written especially for the film.

Decca Records releases the soundtrack for Mandela: Long walk to Freedom worldwide on 6 December 2013, with a selection of music that follows Mandela’s journey from the 1940’s through to the abolishment of apartheid.

As well as featuring classic Afro-Jazz sounds of the Havana Swingsters, Art Blakely, The Special AKA’s classic song Nelson Mandela and a new song by U2 titled Ordinary Love, the soundtrack includes live cast recordings of traditional protest songs guided by South African musicians, Dizu Plaatjies and Blondie Makhene.

Producer Anant Singh says: “Music has always been ingrained in South African society and played a central role during the struggle years. The soundtrack of the film captures this, as well as the popular music of the various eras depicted in the film.’

Composer Alex Heffes, who has worked on a number of Hollywood scores, created an emotive soundtrack with both classical and African instruments, and the vocals of music legend Caiphus Semenya.

Says Heffes: “The film provided me with a vast emotional canvas. My aim was for the music to guide the audience through this emotional journey and come away with a joy for what this story can inspire in us.

“The score starts sparsely using African instruments and becomes more orchestral as the story darkens. As the years become more up to date, it adds electric guitars and synths to give the audience the subliminal feeling of the decades having passed,’ concludes Heffes.

A free digital release of Discovery Learning Alliance’s film, Inside Story airs on networks throughout Africa and the world, as part of an initiative to promote World Aids Day, on 1 December.

Aric Noboa, executive producer and president of Discovery Learning Alliance, said: “Today, more than 35 million people around the world live with HIV/AIDS. Inside Story is a great African movie and an incredible intervention tool in the fight against this global epidemic.’

Not only does the film tell a story about soccer and love, it is able to show HIV/AIDS in a way audiences have never seen before by portraying the unbelievable journey taken by virus through the human body.

Directed by Rolie Nikiwe (Tsha Tsha, The Lab, Intersexions), the movie stars Kevin Ndege Mamboleo (Changing Times), Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Hotel Rwanda, 24), Fana Mokoena (Blood Diamond, World War Z) and Kenyan TV host, Regina Re Gitao.

When a talented football player moves from rural Kenya to urban Johannesburg to follow his dream and support his family, his journey is interrupted when he falls in love with the coach’s daughter and finds out he is HIV-positive.

The film broadcasts in the following regions:

• Botswana in English on Botswana TV (BTV)
• Congo Brazzaville in French on MN CON Network
• Cote d’Ivoire in French on Radio Television International (RTI)
• England and Ireland in English on ABN
• Ghana in English on Ghana Broadcast Corporation (GTV)
• Kenya in English on Kenya Television Network (KTN)
• Madagascar in French on RTA
• Nigeria in English on Silverbird Broadcast
• Rwanda in French or English on TV10 Rwanda
• Zambia in English on Muvi TV

Inside Story is available in over 200 million homes and continues to make an impact and receive accolades for its unique storytelling and captivating animation.

Visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x15vl4ZvTM to view the trailer.

On Friday 6 December, Cinema Nouveau hosts the exclusive release of Young and Beautiful, a French film that provides an unprejudiced glimpse into the teenage female psyche.

Directed by François Ozon and part of the Official Selection for the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, the film follows the progression of a beautiful 17-year-old girl, Isabelle (Marine Vacth) who dangerously explores her sexuality, trying to figure out her unique place in the world through prostitution.

The film begins in the South of France during summer at the affluent family’s holiday villa. After losing her virginity to a German tourist, Isabelle returns to Paris and sets up a website to acquire “clients’ she meets for sex in upmarket hotel rooms.

Though able to handle herself professionally without becoming emotional, Isabelle is not immune to the effects of the sexual impulses of men, some of which involve rough treatment. After allowing herself to experience pleasure with only one regular client, the unthinkable happens and she is forced to deal with the consequences.

The film is divided into four seasons and this is characterised by iconic Françoise Hardy songs such as The Love of a Boy, Why Even Try?, First Encounter and I am Me.

View the trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzSJ5mijWyA.

The final deadline for this year’s submissions to the Natural History Unit of Africa (NHU Africa), an institution that commissions, co-produces and distributes wildlife documentaries on both international and local broadcasting platforms, is 31 January 2014. Though commissioning takes place all year round, filmmakers who submit earlier will benefit in having their pitch reviewed quickly.

The NHU Africa commissioning brief calls for unique, insightful and thought-provoking stories that portray a connection between people, animals and the natural world, based in Africa. The productions should display global appeal and align with the following themes:

Human and Animal interaction
Fresh story lines that say something new and different about needs and influences, which bring interesting and strong characters together.

Adventure, Exploration or Journey of Discovery
Aspirational stories of strong characters embarking on quests and journeys of discovery.

The Natural World and Pure Animal
Focusing on a species, stories which feature traditional behavior or behavior that has not been seen before using technical advancement to get special access to hard-to-reach areas.

Investigation of the Natural World
Presenting uncommon, challenging or controversial subjects that deliver genuine exposure or evoke revelation.

Vyv Simson, commissioning editor at NHU Africa says: “A successful pitch will contain some or all of the following: a strong story intriguingly told; engaging human and animal characters; a dramatic visual style; a sense of something we have not seen before; a fresh insight or approach to something we thought we’d seen before.”

Specials at 1 x 60 minutes and multi-part series with episode lengths of either 30 minutes or 60 minutes will be commissioned.

Every submission must include a one-page synopsis, a two- to four-page treatment, a fully itemised budget in ZAR and US dollars, the biographies of key creative, a showreel of the presenter or character to be used in the programme, a screener or showreel (if any) and a list of co-production, distribution or finance partners, if there are any already attached.

Email geta@nhuafrica.com to submit your idea for commission or co-production.

Visit www.nhuafrica.com/license-acquisition to view the current catalogue.

Visit www.nhuafrica.com for more information.