Home Authors Posts by Carly Barnes

Carly Barnes

608 POSTS 0 JOBS

The GFC speaks out

Carly Barnes
-
0

The Gauteng Film Commission (GFC) has been through a tough time recently with budget cuts compromising some areas of their activities. They are, however, optimistic about their goals and objectives and say that two important projects will create benefits for the Gauteng industry. Andy Stead chats to GFC CEO Terry Tselane.

AS: Please comment on your current two big projects.

TT: Both the Film Partnership document and the Film City proposal are in advanced stages of development and we hope to release the reports shortly. Following that we will workshop both projects with the industry.

The Film City proposal is an internal document which seeks to establish sites and motivation for the development of a true film city within the Gauteng province. In fact we have already identified a site in Midvaal; the other option is to partner with Blue IQ around infrastructure they are developing near OR Tambo Airport. We are very excited about this initiative and need to develop a project plan and a costing exercise. Remember that the Cape Town Film Studios spent almost R350m on their “film city’. Ours is likely to require around R1bn, so it’s a huge project. We would like to have an anchor tenant broadcaster on board. Minister of Arts and Culture Paul Mashatile has stated that he is prepared to consider a partnership with us to push this ahead. The GFC also seeks private investment.

AS: An exciting project indeed. Are you involved with anything else?

TT: Our other projects are more run of the mill and we continue to support local productions. The Bang Bang Club is launching in South Africa on 13 July and we are involved in that project as we partnered with local production company Out of Africa and the Canadian co-producer Foundry Films.

AS: Please comment on last year and on the GFC’s prospects for 2011.

TT: Last year was tough and 2011 is proving to be the same. Budget cuts have forced us to compromise on quite a number of projects. Every year we try to take our projects to international markets but when budgets are reduced this is the first platform to be sacrificed. Consequently our presence at international events is now almost non-existent, which is sad as apart from taking filmmakers to these markets, we use them to find people who are interested in South African films.
Secondly our marketing budget has suffered greatly. We are trying to push our limited resources to support film projects and productions. The GFC is nevertheless still hopeful that the Provincial Government will see the importance of investing more and more in film.

AS: Your website and newsletter are always well received – any changes there?

TT: We used to have quite a number of publications to communicate with the industry but all we can do now is partner with various entities and organisations as we no longer have the capacity for in-house publications. We have decided to partner with Screen Africa in this regard as it has the reach and capacity and we have had a long standing relationship with the magazine.

AS: What were GFC’s highlights last year?

TT: The 2010 FIFA World Cup presented a huge opportunity and allowed us to showcase South Africa. Several foreign production companies that came here to do documentaries about the Soccer World Cup were very excited about our highly skilled and experienced crews. I had a number of interviews with international channels that were all very impressed with the local film infrastructure and talent that we have to offer. The World Cup was also a great platform for showcasing our locations.

We did in fact have quite a number of projects related to the World Cup; one was Ace The Movie, about a South African soccer icon. The World Cup enabled the producer to begin to work with us on that project.
We also had The Bang Bang Club which the GFC partly financed. When we were at the Toronto Film Festival in September last year everyone was impressed with the movie, which indicated that we had a good product.

AS: Your own plans for the future?

TT: I have been the Gauteng Film Commissioner for six years now. My term was extended after the first three years and now ends in December 2011. If need be I could make myself available for another term, but I think I would like to move on to other challenges. I have managed to establish the GFC as an independent organisation and am proud of the way it has developed and grown.

Be sure to see Audiosure’s select range

Carly Barnes
-
0

At Mediatech Africa Audiosure will showcase a selected range of pro-audio, DJ, lighting, projectors and conference products, taking two stands to split the themes. On the one side visitors will see new Vivitek and ProjectionDesign Projector models in action as well as Taiden conferencing and voting solutions, to name a few.

On the other stand Audiosure will demo the very latest in DJ gear from DenonDJ and Allen&Heath (with special celebrity endorsee appearances and performances throughout the show), as well as the iLive Digital mixing desk and the all new GSR24, 24Channel firewire DAW controller and mixer. There will also be a range of Chauvet Professional lighting, including their new LED PAR cans, washes, moving heads, software interfaces and more that will hang overhead.

Audiosure will also participate for the first time in Mediatech Africa’s outdoor area, reserved for “the big sound’. The world renowned Martin Audio (London) W8LM Mini Line Array (mini because of the size, not the power) will handle the mid-high array while the bass will come from 4 x WS218X (double 18′, 2000w RMS) high performance subs. The system will be driven by Martin Audio digital amps, designed for them by Powersoft, and managed by the Martin drive rack, custom designed by XTA. Although designed for 5 000 to 7 000 people, the system is impressive not for its power, but for its unmatched frequency and level dispersion across a large area, offering minimal dropout or ’dead spots’ in any given area. This is thanks to the sophisticated, yet simple to use and apply, software Martin Audio provides to determine the ideal configuration per venue. They will run the outside area off the baby iLive desk in the range, the R72 with an IDR 16 stage box.

Visiting Mediatech from the UK will be special guests Simon Bull and Peter Child from Martin Audio UK.

Audiosure stand numbers: B31 & B33

Durban’s big industry events

Carly Barnes
-
0

For two weeks in July Durban will host three of the most significant events on the South African film industry calendar – the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) and the two events run in conjunction with it, the 2nd Durban FilmMart (DFM) and the 4th Talent Campus Durban.

DIFF, the country’s biggest and longest running film festival, runs from 21 to 31 July and will open with South African filmmaker Sara Blecher’s debut feature film, Otelo Burning. Among the 10 other local feature films are Charlie Vundla’s How to Steal 2 Million, John Barker’s 31 Million Reasons and Oliver Hermanus’ Afrikaans-language film, Skoonheid.

At DFM (22-25 July) 10 feature film projects and 10 documentary projects by selected African filmmakers will be pitched to international financiers, sales agents and co-producers. DFM is a joint venture between the Durban Film Office (DFO) and DIFF.

Fifty emerging filmmakers from 16 African countries will take part in an intensive programme of workshops and master classes as part of the Talent Campus Durban (22-26 July).

DIFF has secured a number of titles from the recent Cannes Film Festival, including the Palme d’Or winner, Terence Malick’s Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, as well as other Cannes films including Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, Play, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, The Source, Skoonheid, and The Big Fix.

“We are also very excited to host the African premiere of Viva Riva! a co-production between the DRC, France, Belgium and South Africa that has generated a huge buzz on the festival circuit and sold internationally,’ says festival manager Nashen Moodley. “DIFF is also delighted to screen the Egyptian film,’ Hawi by Ebrahim El Batout, which first appeared in Durban as a project at the inaugural Durban FilmMart in 2010.’

According to assistant festival manager Monica Rorvik, the crop of documentaries at DIFF 2011 is outstanding. “Position Among the Stars, by Indonesian-born Netherlands-based Leonard Retel Helmrich, is a work of genius. It is the Sundance- and IDFA-winning third part of a trilogy about an Indonesian family, a microcosm for the political situation in post-Suharto Indonesia.

“The film is riveting because of the amazing camera technique that Retel Helmrich has used for the 12 years it took to film the trilogy. He films each scene in a long, very carefully planned single shot and then edits other shots into that. Consequently, you engage more closely with what’s on the screen and you can’t take your eyes off it. Retel Helmrich works with the documentary format as if it’s literature. He will present a master class at Talent Campus Durban.’

Among the other big international documentary titles at DIFF is the Canadian production, Prosecutor, directed by Barry Stevens and produced by Peter Raymont. “This film is about the president of the International Criminal Court, Luis Morinho-Ocampo, who is trying the make the world accountable for its crimes. One of the prosecutors featured in the film is from South Africa,’ explains Rorvik.

Local documentaries include Ryley Grunenwald’s The Dawn of A New Day, Dear Mandela, by Dara Kell and Christopher Nizza and Mama Africa, about the late, legendary South Africa singer and anti-apartheid activist, Miriam Makeba.

Last year 24 900 people attended DIFF screenings. Festival director Peter Rorvik notes that audience figures increase incrementally every year. “In addition to a large number of screening venues around Durban, DIFF is committed to making our films accessible outside the city centre. We are pleased to present screenings every weekday at the Luthuli Museum in Groutville, North Coast, and daily at the Ekhaya Multi Arts Centre in KwaMashu.’

Documentaries at DIFF

Carly Barnes
-
0

COUNTDOWN TO ZERO
By Lucy Walker, United Kingdom
Countdown to Zero traces the history of the atomic bomb from its origins to the present state of global affairs. Walker (Waste Land, Blindsight) makes a compelling case for worldwide nuclear disarmament. Filmmaker in attendance.

THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY
By Ryley Grunenwald, South Africa
This film tackles Africa’s healthcare problem through the eyes of three West Africans in need of specialised surgery. Meanwhile, a South African plastic surgeon leaves his successful private practice to volunteer on a hospital ship sailing to Benin. World Premiere. Filmmaker in attendance.

DEAR MANDELA
By Dara Kell, Christopher Nizza, South Africa, United States
When the South African government begins evicting shack dwellers from their homes, three friends living in Durban’s shantytowns refuse to be moved. They invoke Mandela’s example by becoming leaders in an inspiring social movement. World Premiere.
Filmmakers in attendance.

MAMA AFRICA
By Mika Kaurismaki, Finland, Germany,South Africa
Mama Africa is an inspirational tribute to the late, legendary Grammy Award-winning South African singer and activist Miriam Makeba, affectionately known to fans as “Mama Africa’. A film packed with five decades of rare archival footage, interviews and excerpts from the performances that exhilarated millions and inspired musicians like Harry Belafonte, Hugh Masekela and Paul Simon. African Premiere. Filmmaker in attendance.

POSITION AMONG THE STARS
By Leonard Retel Helmrich, The Netherlands
This film is the final part of a trilogy that took 12 years to make. It took the top prizes at both Sundance and IDFA as did its predecessor. Retel Hemrich uses incredible single-shot camera work to reveal underlying political, social, economic and religious patterns of life in Indonesia, through the life of one family. Filmmakers in attendance.

PUNK IN AFRICA
By Keith Jones, Deon Maas,Czech Republic, South Africa
In Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa, punk represented a genuinely radical political impulse. The film traces this story from the underground rock music of 1970s Johannesburg to the first multi-racial punk bands formed after the Soweto Uprising and the militant anti-apartheid hardcore/post-punk bands of the 1980s, to the African-inspired ska bands of the 1990s. World Premiere. Filmmakers in attendance.

THE SACRIFICE
By Moussa Sene Absa, Senegal
Created By Silver Bear-winning Moussa Sene Absa, this poetic documentary is a call for respect. When a boat is found washed up in the Bahamas (where Absa teaches film) with 11 bodies on board, Absa returns home to learn about their dreams, and of their betrayal.
Filmmaker in attendance.

SING YOUR SONG
By Susanne Rostock, USA
Although best known as a Grammy, Tony and Emmy Award-winning singer from Jamaica and a movie star who broke colour barriers in the 1960s, Harry Belafonte’s greatest legacy is his tenacious human rights activism in the civil rights and anti-apartheid movements. This film traces Belafonte’s relationships with such greats as Martin Luther King, Eleanor Roosevelt and Nelson Mandela.

SOBUKWE, A GREAT SOUL
By Mickey Madoda Dube, South Africa
Robert Sobukwe, founder of the Pan Africanist Congress, lit the fire for anti-apartheid protests such as Sharpeville, an historic moment that led to his arrest and subsequent nine-year long detainment under a special amendment that became known as the Sobukwe Clause. World Premiere. Filmmaker in attendance.

STREET KIDS UNITED
By Tim Pritchard, South Africa, United Kingdom
Shot in Durban during the months leading up to last year’s FIFA World Cup, this film explores how a simple sporting event, the Street Child World Cup, can empower people both on and off the field. African Premiere. Filmmaker in attendance.

Vision Cases has a good case

Carly Barnes
-
0

Vision Cases cc is a Gauteng based company established to make South African custom designed flight cases. Its core business is the manufacture of aluminium, wooden, polyethylene fabricated flight cases, tripod tubes, cordura, nylon padded bags and covers especially designed to protect movie and broadcast equipment while in transit.

Vision Cases’ Andrew Moyo will be manning the company’s stand at Mediatech Africa. “I will be displaying a variety of flight cases including wooden, aluminium and polyethylene examples as well as light cases and cordura nylon padded bags.
“We have been extremely busy since we opened in January and even work on Saturdays, and we are looking forward to being a part of Mediatech,’ says Moyo.
Catherine M Nyaumwe and Faith Mpofu will also be present on the stand and will assist visitors with information.

Vision Cases stand number: D4

DTT latest

Carly Barnes
-
0

In preparation for next year’s commercial launch of South Africa’s migration from analogue broadcasting to digital terrestrial television (DTT), which has been subject to many delays since it was first mooted by Cabinet in 2005, the Department of Communications (DOC) is amending the Broadcast Digital Migration Policy and reviewing the role of the Digital Dzonga.

Screen Africa readers will recall that the Digital Dzonga was set up in 2009 to oversee the country’s smooth migration to digital broadcasting. In April 2010, the then Minister of Communications, Siphiwe Nyanda, dissolved the Dzonga’s Advisory Council (made up of industry experts) on the grounds of possible conflict of interests.

Nyanda’s successor, Roy Padayachie announced April 2012 as a possible DTT launch date in his recent Budget Vote Speech.

Says Ministerial spokesperson Tiyani Rikhotso: “In the meantime we are in the process of establishing the Digital Migration Project Office, which is located within the department. We foresee that the Digital Dzonga shall play an advisory role to the Minister.’

Rikhotso notes that the strategy for the local manufacture of the set top boxes (STBs) required to decode the DTT signal has been finalised, subject to Cabinet’s approval.

“We are presently setting up an STB conformance scheme and have already finalised the tender for the conformance hardware. Going forward we will issue a tender for the conformance software,’ he explains.

With the price of DTT STBs likely to be around the R700 mark, Cabinet has approved 4.5 million of South Africa’s poorer households for possible subsidies. “Of course this figure might increase or decrease given the continuous changes in the socio-economic profile of the poor households,’ comments Rikhotso. “The subsidy scheme is meant to go to Cabinet soon for finalisation. In the meantime the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) is putting in place systems to implement the subsidy scheme. We believe subsidies should include aerials for these households but this issue is still under consideration.’

The DOC has an Implementation Plan for DTT which talks to the activities that must be undertaken by the Department, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), parastatal signal distributor Sentech, broadcasters, USAASA, etc. This plan was developed through consultation with key stakeholders.
According to Rikhotso, parastatal signal distributor Sentech has already achieved 60% coverage on the DVB-T2 DTT standard.

The SOS: Support Public Broadcasting Coalition and Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) held a workshop on 24 June at Cosatu House in Johannesburg to explore the progress of the country’s digital migration.

A DOC representative was scheduled to address the workshop but cancelled on the morning of the event. DTT stakeholders were addressed by SOS’ Kate Skinner, as well as e.tv group executive of Regualtory Affairs, Lara Kantor (also the former chairperson of the Digital Dzonga Advisory Council) and Gerhard Petrick of the Southern African Digital Broadcasting Association (SADIBA).

Among the issues discussed were challenges with regard to sourcing enough content to fill the new digital channels and concerns about ensuring that the market isn’t flooded with cheap STBs of inferior quality.

Petrick emphasised that digital migration is a “huge exercise’, with a need for all parties to work together to ensure the country is ready. “Digital migration is only going to happen if homes migrate, and they will only do so if they think it is sensible and valuable.’

Wayne Samson, Ellies CEO, raised the concern that many South Africans, possibly between 30% and 50%, will have to replace their aerials because digital television will be broadcast on new frequencies. He maintained that this could be “one of the biggest potential failures’ of digital migration if the public wasn’t made aware of this, and if government subsidies did not include new aerials.

DIFF at work

Carly Barnes
-
0

Along with showcasing the best in world cinema, the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) has always been committed to the development and growth of the South African film industry. To this end it runs a comprehensive programme of workshops, seminars and panel discussions about all aspects of filmmaking.
DIFF assistant manager Monica Rorvik is proud to report that for the 10th year running, the festival will partner with the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) Audio Visual Division to present an audio-visual workshop for entry-level filmmakers from community organisations. “It’s very encouraging to hear that students who have done the course over the years have been absorbed into the industry.’

Rorvik explains that the workshop component has grown enormously in recent years, particularly with the inclusion of Talent Campus Durban (TCD), now in its 4th edition (in co-operation with Berlinale Talent Campus), and, with the partnership of Durban Film Office, the Durban FilmMart (DFM) goes into its 2nd year. “This year sees the addition of Doc Station Durban to TCD, where three selected talents will receive mentoring before pitching projects in DFM’s Doc Circle Day.

“TCD will run two Master Classes. Award-winning documentary filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich (Position Among the Stars) will talk on single-shot cinema, while Gaston Kabore, the renowned filmmaker and head of Imagine Institute in Burkina Faso, will present a master class on the challenges that face African filmmakers.’ DFM delegates may also attend these sessions as part of the Doc Circle exchange.
Panel discussion topics in the open-to-public Africa in Focus programme include distribution; funding; pre-production and post-production issues; documentary ethics; co-producing with Hong Kong, North America and Europe; and a session on animation in India.

The Request For Proposals session will include an RFP from Don Edkins for the global documentary series, Why Poverty?, a follow-up to the documentary series, Why Democracy?

Panel participants will include 3 Continents (Nantes), BRITDOC Foundation, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), Berlinale Film Festival, Dubai, The Good Pitch, Goteborg Film Festival, Sundance and a range of industry experts and filmmakers, local and international.

The festival also highlights African initiatives such as the Mokolo Network, along with Mobi CINE, PUMA Creative, People2People, and the NFVF’s Sediba programmes for scriptwriting and producing. DIFF will be the site of the launch of the KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, which is anticipated to boost filmmaking opportunities in the province.

DIFF’s partner for the past 11 years has been the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF). Rorvik continues: “DIFF would not be complete without the NFVF’s session for the industry about their plans for the year. The NFVF will also address emerging filmmakers and present their bursary opportunities. They will also present a prize to one of the Durban Short Film Challenge winners.’

Panasonic’s world first

Carly Barnes
-
0

Among the products to be showcased by Panasonic at Mediatech Africa is the AG-3DA1, the world’s first integrated twin-lens full HD 3D camera recorder. The AG-3DA1 features a camera section with two integrated lens systems that are configured to resemble the human eyes, and a recorder section that records left-channel and right-channel full-HD images using the high quality PH mode of the file-based AVCHD format. With the same approximate weight and size of a 2D camera recorder, the AG-3DA1 doesn’t require any adjustment of the left and right lens alignment such as vertical gap, size difference, rotation and luminance difference. Data files recorded onto a memory card are readily processed using a nonlinear editing system.

Newly added to the Panasonic AVCCAM lineup, the AG-AC160 and AG-AC130 Memory Card Camera Recorders offer a host of advanced functions. The lens, camera section and recorder section of these models have been significantly revamped by incorporating cutting-edge technologies. The new 22x zoom lens boasts wide coverage, from wide-angle to telephoto, while cam-type zoom, focus, and iris rings let the camera operator make manual adjustments just like with an interchangeable lens. The high-sensitivity, low-noise, high resolution 1/3-type 2.2-megapixel U.L.T. (Ultra Luminance Technology) MOS image sensor and professional AVCHD PH mode ensure high-quality Full-HD (1920 x 1080) recording.
The AJ-HPX3100 memory card camera recorder, weighing just 3.9kg, incorporates a 2.2 megapixel 2/3 type 3CCD, a high performance DSP and an AVC-Intra codec LSI to record broadcast quality HD video with full pixel (1920 x 1080) resolution using 10 bit / 4:2:2 sampling.

Also to be showcased at Mediatech Africa are the AG-AF101E 4/3 inch camera and the AG-HMX100E 8-channel switcher.

These Panasonic products will be on the Timbre Broadcast stand numbers: C9, C11 & D8

Feature Films at DIFF

Carly Barnes
-
0

31 MILLION REASONS
By John Barker, South Africa
Bollywood meets South African cinema in this stylish, pacy film about a corrupt cop who, desperate to clean up his act, is given the opportunity to go legit by doing one last job. Set in Durban’s Indian community, 31 Millions Reasons was inspired by a massive heist that took place in 1997, for which 14 people were arrested. World Premiere. Filmmaker in attendance

ASSHOLE (GANDU)
By Kaushik Mukherjee, India
Gandu – whose self-adopted nickname means asshole – is an angry and aimless young man who finds meaning only in freestyle rap and beatboxing. When Gandu meets a Bruce Lee-obsessed rickshaw driver named Ricksha, they descend into a rap-infused world of sex, drugs and darkness. Filmmaker in attendance

BLACK BUTTERFLIES
By Paula van der Oest, Germany, The Netherlands, South Africa
Black Butterflies tells the story of the life of South African poet Ingrid Jonker, her love affairs, complex relationships with her father and country, and her suicide in 1965. With an award-winning performance from Dutch actress Carice van Houten as Jonker, the film is a tribute to the power of her words and the contradictory nature of human existence. Filmmaker in attendance

CIRCUMSTANCE
By Maryam Keshavarz, Iran, Lebanon, United States
This exquisitely rendered study of the links between sexuality, modernity and tradition in modern-day Tehran is a striking and moving debut by Maryam Keshavarz. Sixteen-year-old Atafeh, the daughter of a wealthy liberal family, and Shireen, her best friend whose deceased parents were anti-government activists, have a closeness that is forbidden in Iran.

ELENA
By Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia
This third masterpiece from director Andrei Zvyagintsev (The Return, The Banishment, both of which played at DIFF) tells the story of Elena, a middle-aged wife and mother who has remarried a wealthy new husband, who decides to write a new will and leave nearly everything to his spoilt daughter. Elena was the winner of a special jury prize in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes this year.

ELITE SQUAD 2 – THE ENEMY WITHIN (TROPA DE ELITE 2 – O INIMIGO AGORA E OUTRO)
By Jose Padilha, Brazil
A box office hit in Brazil, the action-filled Elite Squad 2 tells of Nascimento, the leader of a military police unit in Rio de Janeiro. After he mismanages a prison riot, Nascimento is reassigned to an intelligence post where he uncovers a massive web of corruption leading to the highest levels of government.

THE FIRST GRADER
By Justin Chadwick, United Kingdom, South Africa, Kenya
This moving and uplifting drama tells the true story of Maruge, an 84-year-old Kenyan villager and former freedom fighter who fights for his right to go to school for the first time to get the education he could never afford. Maruge ends up joining a class of six-year-olds. Filmmaker in attendance

HOW TO STEAL 2 MILLION
By Charlie Vundla, South Africa
This engaging debut feature from young South African director, Charlie Vundla, follows an ex-con named Jack, who desperately wants to go straight but is presented with an opportunity for a job with a R2m take. The cast includes Menzi Ngubane, Rapulana Seiphemo, Terry Pheto, Hlubi Mboya and John Kani. World Premiere. Filmmaker in attendance

INCENDIES
By Denis Villeneuve, Canada,
This provocative Oscar-nominated Canadian film follows a twin brother and sister in their quest to uncover the truth about their family history. Following the death of their mother, Jeanne and Simon learn that their absentee father is still alive, and that they have a brother they have never met. The two travel to the Middle East to unravel the tangled strands of their mysterious past.

NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPARATION (JODAEIYE NADER AZ SIMIN)
By Asghar Farhadi, Iran, 2011
This beautifully made film traces the breakup of an Iranian family set against the political tensions of life in contemporary Tehran. Nader and Simin have decided to get divorced, ostensibly because Simin wants to emigrate overseas to ensure a better future for their daughter. While not overtly political, the film is starkly critical of life in Iran, particularly the massive class divide. Winner of the Golden Bear at Berlin this year. Filmmaker in attendance

RESTLESS CITY
By Andrew Dosunmu, Nigeria, United States
Restless City tells the story of Djibril, a young Senegalese immigrant and musician struggling to survive on the margins of New York City. When Djibril falls in love with a prostitute who works for a local small-time loan shark, his previously aimless existence is suddenly given fresh purpose and he is forced to make some difficult decisions. Filmmaker in attendance

RETRIBUTION
By Mukunda Michael Dewil, South Africa
This impressive first film from young South African director, Mukunda Michael Dewil, tells the story of a retired judge who is sent by his editor to write his memoirs in an isolated cabin in the wilderness, where he encounters a lost hiker. With great performances from Jeremy Crutchley and Joe Mafela, Retribution is a terse thriller. Filmmaker in attendance

SKOONHEID
By Oliver Hermanus, France, South Africa
This is is the second outing from young South African director Oliver Hermanus, whose Shirley Adams was a DIFF 2009 highlight. Skoonheid tells the story of a closeted married man who finds himself deeply attracted to the handsome adult son of old family friends. This beautifully controlled film took the Queer Palm award at Cannes this year for the best film dealing with gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender issues. Filmmaker in attendance

TAKA TAKATA
By Damir Radonic, South Africa
Kabelo owns and captains a soccer team. With a string of losses, and half the members walking out on him, he feels he’s destroying the team’s legacy. Challenged to a match by an old rival who heads the winning local soccer team, Kabelo’s brother-in-law, Rasta, steps in to help him, but this might not be what he needs. The film features hilarious performances from Kagiso Lediga and Trevor Noah. Filmmaker in attendance

TOAST
By SJ Clarkson, United Kingdom
Toast is a beautifully modulated account of famous British chef Nigel Slater’s childhood romance with cookery and his ongoing battle for the affection of his father. When his mother dies and his dad begins to takes an interest in Mrs Potter (Helena Bonham Carter), their working-class maid, Nigel finds himself in fierce competition for his father’s loyalty and control of the household’s domestic life.

THE TREE OF LIFE
By Terrence Malick, United States
From American master Terrence Malick comes this gripping drama starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain. It chronicles the origins and meaning of life as seen from the eyes of a 1950s Texas family growing up in the birth of the space age. Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year.

VIVA RIVA!
By Djo Tunda Wa Munga, Congo-Kinshasa, France, Belgium
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, petrol is in extremely short supply – fantastic news for Riva, who has just arrived from Angola with the only shipment of petrol around for miles. Riva starts to live the high life and finds himself attracted to a mysterious woman with links to a local gangster. This sexy action drama signals a brave new direction for African cinema.
Filmmaker in attendance

Musical Distributors is a sound choice

Carly Barnes
-
0

Cape Town-based Musical Distributors (MD) will have a wide variety of products on display at Mediatech Africa including microphones, professional recording and mixing equipment.

Marketing manager Newton Wetter is enthusiastic. “We will feature some of the latest products from Akai Professional, including the Akai EIE Electromusic interface expander. MD will also have the RMP3 production monitors with built-in audio interface and the Synthstation49 49-key keyboard controller for iPad, as well as some new Alesis products. These include the iO Dock Pro Audio dock for iPad, the iO4 four-channel, 24-bit recording interface and the Microtube Solo microphone tube pre-amp.

“On the microphone front we will have a variety of Rode microphones including the Videomic Pro, NTG-3 precision broadcast-grade shotgun microphone, NTG-2 dual-powered directional condenser microphone and the NTG-1 directional condenser microphone.’

Roland Systems Group products include the M-480 48-channel live digital mixing console, and the VR-5 AV mixer / recorder. Proel professional audio products will be showcased as will the NET series speakers and the Xenia series speakers.

“We will have a full complement of technical staff on hand to provide in-depth information on all our products and urge Mediatech visitors to visit our stand and see the latest innovations from these leading brands,’ concludes Wetter.

Musical Distributors stand number: E34

1...58596061Page 59 of 61
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
© Copyright 2017

Pin It on Pinterest