Carly Barnes

The 13th Produire au Sud takes place in Nantes, France from 18 to 24 November under the framework of The Festival of the 3 Continents.

This year will feature South African film, The Wound, as a potential selection for the workshops’ coaching programme aimed at giving guidance and tools to young filmmakers with projects in development.

Filmmakers from Africa, Black and Latin America and Asia will screen movies at the festival, allowing producers the opportunity to learn about co-production and other valuable techniques.

The Wound, directed by John Trengove and produced by Elias Ribeiro, explores themes of cultural taboo, homosexuality, circumcision and masculinity within the context of African culture.

Ribeiro remarks that he is motivated to develop films that challenge, enchant, captivate and stimulate audiences.

Other selected films projects include:

Bangladesh
Silence of the Seashell (Shonkhodhoni)directed by Kamar Ahmad Simon and produced by Sara Afreen

Chile
In the Shade of the Trees (A la Sombra de los Arboles)
directed by Matias Rojas Valencia and produced by Giancarlo Nasi

Haiti
Carmen
directed by Pierre Lucson Bellegarde and produced by Donald Charles

Kyrgystan
Drifting Snows
directed by Aygul Bakanova and produced by Erke Dzhumakmatova

Thailand
Beer Girl
directed by Wichanon Somumjarn and produced by Maenum Chagasik

For more information on the Festival of the 3 Continents and Produire Au Sud, visit http://www.3continents.com/en.

The South African coming-of-age crime thriller, Four Corners, is being considered as the official Best Foreign Film entry at the 86th Annual Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars.

On behalf of the South African Film Industry, the South African Academy Award Selection Committee and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) will select a local production, which, if chosen by the Academy Award Selection Committee in January, will be in competition at the 2014 Oscars.

Four Corners’ director Ian Gabriel remarks that being selected as the official SA Foreign Language candidate is a great honour.

Should the film be nominated, it will join award-winning Tsotsi (2006) and previously nominated Yesterday (2005) as South African movies that have been represented at the Oscars.

The South African Academy Award Selection Committee advocates the film stating that it holds strong performances, high production value and will be relevant and engaging for audiences.

Four Corners is South African prison slang for the four corners of a prison cell. In the movie, actors and non-actors tell the story of the long-standing gang culture in the country.

The Price of Sugar (Hoe Duur was de Suiker), shot and co-produced in South Africa, has been chosen to open the Netherlands Film Festival on 25 September.

This 18th-century epic, directed by Jean van de Velde, recounts personal stories from the time of the horror of slavery in the Dutch colony of Suriname.

The film was shot in Zinkwazi on the North Coast of Kwazulu-Natal, as well as at historic locations in Stellenbosch and at the Castle in Cape Town.

The Price of Sugar is a co-production between Cool Beans and PV Pictures (Netherlands), Comet Films (Germany), Spier Films (South Africa) and VARA, a Dutch broadcaster.

Producer Michael Auret of Spier Films says: “This is an extremely well-crafted film in the same vein as Django Unchained and the new Steve McQueen film, 12 Years a Slave.

“It is good that Europe and particularly the Netherlands are also now taking ownership of this part of their history.

“I want to congratulate Jean van de Velde and my fellow producers Richard Claus and Paul Voorthuysen who have invested so much time and energy in bringing this to the screen. I also want to thank all of our wonderful crew for their tireless efforts and amazing creativity and skill.’

The film was crewed by a number of Spier Films collaborators. It was shot by South African cinematographer, Giulio Biccari, (Luther, Black Butterflies, U-Carmen eKhayelitsha) while BAFTA award-winning Darryl Hammer (Black Butterflies, The Girl, The Heineken Kidnap) was in charge of production design.

Rae Donelly (Black Butterflies, Heineken Kidnap) was wardrobe designer, hair and makeup was provided by Raine Edwards (Black Butterflies, Safe House, Zulu) and Gail Overton (Verraaiers, Layla Fourie) was the line producer.

This is the third co-production between Spier Films and European producer Richard Claus of Comet Films.

Previous collaborations include the film The Heineken Kidnap and Black Butterflies (Best Film at the Netherlands Film Award, Best Film at the South African Film and Television Awards and Best Actress at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2011).

The Price of Sugar was created with the support of the Netherlands Film Fund, CoBO, Spier Arts Trust and Slavery Foundation.

Entertainment One Benelux will handle the theatrical distribution in the Netherlands.

The movie Of Good Report, also produced by Spier Films, will screen in competition at the BFI London Film Festival in October.

The Indie Fest, which celebrates and advocates filmmakers, actors, producers and creative teams that independently craft stand-out productions, is calling for submissions.

For creators of captivating content around the world, the virtual festival provides an opportunity to showcase unique films, documentaries, television shows and new media to over 25,000 industry insiders.

Entry for submissions close on 11 October and entry forms are available at http://www.theindiefest.com/EntryFormIndie081512.pdf.

The festival offers independent filmmakers the chance to win prizes, advance their careers and gain invaluable publicity as well as helping productions secure distribution.

Prizes include:
Annual Humanitarian Award
Fast Focus Short Film Award
$10,100 Post Production Award
$1,500 Studio Award
Best of Show / Award of Excellence / Award of Merit
Free Indie Fest Statuette

For more information visit http://www.theindiefest.com/index.html or email info@theindiefest.com.

The 11th Tri Continental Film Festival is screening films across South Africa, conveying compelling stories that shed light on worldwide social, political and human rights issues.

Running until 29 September, highlights for this week include the screening of 1⁄2 Revolution which is a personal story about a group of friends who try to face the chaotic eruption of the Egyptian Revolution together.

In The Ambassador, a transnational trade in blood diamonds is unearthed when filmmaker Mads Brugger goes undercover as a Liberian Ambassador to the Central African Republic and in the gripping documentary The Act of Killing, a group of small-time gangsters and movie house employees tell all as they re-enact horrors from their past in fictional scenes from their favourite film genres.

These, along with a selection of other powerful films featured at the festival, are aimed at encouraging conversations and initiating change by telling stories that challenge the current condition of the human spirit.

Film categories include: Sex Politics, The Arab Season, For Justice and Freedom, The Ends of War, Bad Company, Environmental Justice, South African Selection, A Focus on History, Big Fish Shorts and Filmmakers Against Woman Abuse.
Visit http://www.3continentsfestival.co.za/ for details on participating venues, screening times and selection of films.