Home Authors Posts by Lara Utian-Preston

Lara Utian-Preston

76 POSTS 0 JOBS
Lara Utian-Preston is a passionately committed marketer and strategist with a focus on promoting African content and events. Two decades of working across Africa have provided her with insights and experience that she puts to work for the projects she manages. In 2006, Lara founded, and still personally manages, Red Flag Content Relations, a full service below-the-line agency that also focuses on African entertainment and lifestyle brand marketing, strategy, and publicity.

The Ladima Foundation launches The A-List

Lara Utian-Preston
-
0
The Ladima Foundation launches The A-List

On 30 July, the Ladima Foundation launched a new initiative, a database of women professionals in film, TV and content across Africa. Dubbed ‘The A-List’, in less than 24 hours since its launch, the list saw 115 women submit their details.

“We are sure that this list will become the most comprehensive database of professional women in Africa,” said Lara Preston, co-founder of the Ladima Foundation. “The aim of compiling and sharing this list is to encourage companies to hire women, especially in technical roles, and so that there will never be the excuse that they couldn’t find any skilled women in their region.”

The list will be open and accessible to all – shared widely especially with companies and agencies who may be looking for talented women to work on various productions and projects.

The Ladima Foundation invites all women working across the various disciplines within the industry – from those just starting out to seasoned professionals – to share their details in the form via the link below and also share this link with as many women professionals as possible.

Ladima Foundation Women in Media: Africa Resource List

DISCOP Johannesburg 2018’s Next Gen programme places a special focus on animation

Lara Utian-Preston
-
0
DISCOP Johannesburg 2018’s Next Gen programme places a special focus on animation

Organisers of the next Johannesburg edition of the DISCOP film, television, digital and video gaming content market and co-production forum announced a parallel Next Gen development and pitching programme with a special focus on animation.

Slated from 14 to 16 November, DISCOP Johannesburg 2018 is expecting 1,500+ delegates from 90 countries representing 1,000+ companies – including 200 global and regional distributors, 500 independent producers and 350 acquisition and co-production executives representing broadcasters, pay-TV networks, mobile operators, telecoms and streaming platforms.

Designed to help independent production companies achieve their full potential, Next Gen is specifically tailored to meet the demand of a rapidly changing audiovisual landscape under the influence of a marked preference for home-grown content, the emergence of local talents, viewers’ migration to on-demand streaming and mobile screens, increased mobility and faster internet.

Developed in partnership with the African Animation Network this year’s Next Gen agenda will place a special focus on Africa’s thriving animation industry. The programme will ensure animators have access to prime information and capture the attention of key players who could set them on a rapid upward trajectory.

Dubbed DISComics a pilot festival designed for animators will feature works in progress to be pitched in front of broadcasters, content distribution platforms, producers, distributors and advertisers seeking fresh talent.

“The factors which influence the emergence of a booming animation sector in Africa are numerous and the most obvious is talent,” says Nick Wilson, president of the African Animation Network, who adds, “However, the pressing challenge for these talents is how to accelerate their development and help them be ready for progression more quickly.”

In addition, the Next Gen agenda will put under the spotlight new mobile distribution models, the vital relationship between content and music, the disrupting effect of the blockchain technology, licensing and merchandising opportunities, Nigeria’s fast-rising entertainment and media sector, and the rapid emergence of the video-gaming sector. Producers will also be able to explore partnership opportunities with Egypt, Canada, France and Morocco.

Producers will also benefit from strategic networking opportunities with key players representing the South African media ecosystem who will plug them into relationships and information sources that will help them move forward.

“This year’s Next Gen agenda is a ‘must attend’ event that will once again create value and opportunities for independent producers attending DISCOP Johannesburg,” says Tim Mangwedi, DISCOP’s director for Sub-Saharan Africa, who adds, “As a platform focused on content business, our mandate is to help future generations of creators weigh their options, measure the challenges that lie ahead of them, and assess the risk landscape.”

A 50 per cent early bird discount is available until 17 September for non-exhibiting delegates registering online using EBDJ17SEPT as a promo code.

The Next Gen programme will be finalised by Monday, 17 September 2018. Requests for animation submission forms must be forwarded to info@discop.com.

The Cape Town International Film Market and Festival drives audience engagement

Lara Utian-Preston
-
0
The Cape Town International Film Market and Festival drives audience engagement

In the exciting build-up to the industry focused Market programme of the Cape Town International Film Market and Festival (CTIFMF), a host of interventions such as the Works in Progress (WIP) programme have already been announced.

Another key component of this year’s CTIFMF Market will be the Audience Development programme – entitled ENGAGE, with the specific aim of improving the capacity within the film industry to identify and develop markets for African films.

The CTIFMF realises that one of the most challenging and pressing issues for local films is to earn the trust of local audiences that translates into box office success, as Elias Ribeiro explains, “CTIFMF in its commitment to harness and develop wider audiences will host a number free public screenings as part of the Festival programme in 2018. We hope to engage the local community and learn from these experiments. These, as well as the box office will inform the audience engagement strategy exercise that we will have to go through with the two winners of the cash prize.”

In order to address this challenge and ensure tangible outcomes, the CTIFMF will convene a group of marketing and industry experts with an understanding of these challenges. A three-day outcome-based workshop, under the guidance of Valeria Richter, will equip these professionals with the most current and powerful tools designed to assist film teams in identifying their target market and core focus.

Richter mainly works as creative producer, scriptwriter and script consultant. She works in her own company, Nordic Factory Copenhagen, and has co-produced a host of features including Granny’s Dancing on the Table – Sweden 2015, Cora – Brazil 2018, The Feminist – Sweden 2018, and shorts, Nordic Factory at Directors’ Fortnight – DK/Finland 2014. She has won over 50 awards and was project manager for the Nordic Film & TV Fund led development initiative, Nordic Genre Boost (2015-17), and has worked for TorinoFilmLab (TFL) and the Baltic Event (BE) co-production market since 2008.

She developed the Audience Design approach and workshop programme for TFL and has developed several concepts and formats for training for them and other clients. Additionally, both South Africa’s The Wound and Senegal’s Felicite, both of which received Oscar entries for their regions, went through Richter’s audience development program.

Richter is currently writing and show-running a TV series in collaboration with the Finnish production company Bufo. She holds an MA in Film and Media Science, is a graduate producer from the Danish Super16 Film Collective, and since 2009 she has been a member of the European Film Academy.

Richter has this to say about her participation in the CTIFMF, “As with any form of marketing, there is never a guarantee that it leads to a film’s success in the market, the early audience engagement focus does however guarantee a strong platform to develop the marketing approach on, and it has a significant impact on the quality of the choices you make for your film as it meets the market, short term and long term.”

At the end of the workshop, each participant will be assigned a project from the WIP and will be expected to deliver an Audience Design Strategy with a cash prize awarded to the most prolific two of the lot, to craft an Audience Design Strategy in collaboration with the Festival Board for CTIFMF 2019.

Aimed at publicists, marketing and sales professionals, distributors and others within the field, applications are open until 17 August.  More details on the programme, outcomes and prize can be found on the CTIFMF website or by emailing zahrah@filmfest.capetown.

The overall programme of the CTIFMF will also be made of four days of industry panels and workshops that will include experts from South Africa, the rest of Africa, and from across the globe. There will be a variety of relevant topics covered, all aimed at inclusive and constructive dialogues that foster the development of a cohesive and continually developing film industry. These topics include mentorship, financing, AR/VR, blockchain and crypto currency and animation.

CTIFMF: Works in Progress programme entries now open

Lara Utian-Preston
-
0
CTIFMF: Works in Progress programme entries now open

The Cape Town International Film Market and Festival (CTIFMF) will take place from 9 to 19 October 2018. While the festival promises to be a feast of film screenings designed to celebrate the best in regional and international cinema, the Market programme, taking place from 10 to 13 October is squarely focused on providing tangible opportunities for filmmakers from across Africa.

In order to focus strongly on content, CTIFMF has developed a programme that aims to raise the bar for African films in terms of quality and innovation. The CTIFMF will run a Works in Progress programme that will see a maximum of six works in progress will be selected from the African continent to show to international industry experts.

High caliber decision makers and experts, as mentioned below, will be hand-picked to screen the selected films to give detailed feedback on with the goal to increase the artistic quality and challenge the core creative teams think about audiences, beyond their own territory.

This initial viewing will be followed by a screening of a segment of the same works to a wider audience of invited industry stakeholders comprising of festival programmers, sales companies, distributors and post-production financiers. The WIP programme will disburse finishing awards to the most promising projects: grading, final sound mix, VFX, online editing, subtitling and DCPs, with the generous support of South African post production facilities such as Priest Post, Rhapsody, The Refinery, The Work Room Audio Post, and and Post Production South Africa.

In order to deliver the most value as possible to attendees, the CTIFM has secured participation from a range of top industry experts from home and abroad. Experts from the Berlinale’s European Film Market and Berlinale Africa Hub, Tribeca, Cannes Director’s Fortnight, TIFF, London BFI; international sales companies such as Pyramide International, Flourishing Films, Talent Agents Casarotto and Curtis Brown, Mnet, Indigenous Films, and Ster-Kinekor will all contribute to this programme.

CTIFMF market director Elias Ribeiro explains further, “We are honoured to welcome a range of carefully considered experts that can all tangibly assist producers to improve the overall quality of their works in progress. Amongst the professionals who will take part in the works in progress sessions are Cynthia Okoye from Curtis Brown, David Kayser from Casarotto & Ramsay Associates, Eric Lagesse, head of Acquisitions from Pyramide International, South African producer and story consultant Mmabatho Kau, and Themba Bhebhe, sales executive at Flourishing Films. This programme will prove to be a unique and invaluable opportunity and we encourage filmmakers from across Africa and the rest of the continent to apply.”

Cynthia Okoye joined Curtis Brown in 2008 having freshly graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in Law (LLB). In 2013 she began to build her own list of writers, directors and filmmakers from the ground up. 

Curtis Brown is one of the world’s leading literary and talent agencies. They represent authors, playwrights, film and television writers and directors, theatre directors and designers, television and radio presenters and actors. Their film portfolio includes – Broken, London Road and The Ones Below, all for BBC Films.

David Kayser is South African himself is a talent agent at Casarotto Ramsay & Associates – one of the world’s leading creative agencies, representing writers, directors, dramatic rights to books & estates across film, TV and theatre. Casarotto clients include Steve McQueen, Hope Dickson-Leach, Jack Thorne, Lenny Abrahamson, Lucy Kirkwood, Sibs Shongwe-La Mer, Caryl Churchill, Joachim Trier, Sarah Gavron, Phyllis Nagy, David Yates, Kelly Marcel, Terry Gilliam, and the estates of JG Ballard, Roald Dahl, Joe Orton, and Tennessee Williams, to name a few.

David explains his reason for getting involved, “I’m extremely passionate about African storytelling – the voices that are coming out of South Africa and beyond at the moment are hugely exciting for the industry-at-large. I am incredibly honoured to be a part of the forums at this year’s festival and look forward to taking part and immersing myself in what promises to be a fantastic platform for South African talent.”

Eric Lagesse, head of Acquisitions from Pyramide International, will serve as a mentor to the works in progress selected projects. He will work with the director and producer on the current edits and hopefully help them find an even better version of their film still in the making.

Eric will be joined in those feedback sessions by Mmabatho Kau, one of the most prolific story consultants in South Africa, Mmabatho has worked as a producer, broadcaster, development executive and script consultant for over 15 years. She has produced a wide variety of shows in public service and commercial pay for various broadcasters in South Africa. She was recently selected to participate as a script editor in the Torino Script Lab 2018 and, in the past two years, facilitated Realness a Pan African Screenwriters Residency alongside Selina Ukwuoma.

Drawing on almost a decade of experience in international sales, Themba Bhebhe is a British-born international sales executive for L.A-based sales agency, Flourishing Films, a boutique international sales agent, production company and North American distributor specialising in global filmed content with a particular focus on Black content from across the African diaspora. Themba also works seasonally for the Berlinale’s European Film Market as Diversity Liaison Officer.

Themba is particularly excited to take part in this programme, “As a sales agent that foregrounds African and African-diaspora content, I am delighted to attend CTIFMF’s upcoming Market and Industry programme. In an extremely pragmatic way, the programme not only focusses on fostering the emergence of rising talent through its work in progress scheme, but also explores how best we can engage African audiences and harness the continent’s intellectual property through the adaptation of its literary works.”

Filmmakers with fiction or documentary feature length works currently in progress are encouraged to submit before the closing deadline of August 10th 2018.

For more information, submissions material list and to download application forms: www.filmfestival.capetown

 

CTIFM&F 2018 initial market programme announced

Lara Utian-Preston
-
0
CTIFM&F 2018 initial market programme announced

The 2018 edition of the Cape Town International Film Market and Festival (CTIFM&F) will take place from 9 to 19 October 2018 at venues across the V & A Waterfront in Cape Town. This year’s edition will feature an expanded and content focused market, led by the recently appointed market director Elias Ribeiro.

The CTIFMF has reached out to various industry stakeholders in a collaborative effort in keeping with its theme of Create, Collaborate, Celebrate, to develop a programme with tangible outcomes and a view to the long term growth of the industry both regionally and across the continent.

A number of key programmes have been finalised, all designed to maximise opportunities for emerging talent and to establish long term inclusive programmes.

Elias Ribeiro explains further, “As the CTIFMF, learning from many who have paved the way, we have taken great care in crafting an offering that is complementary to current industry offerings. We hope to strengthen our bonds with partners such as the Durban Film Mart and together foster a dynamic and vibrant ecosystem that will contribute to assertive impact in film projects, our financial instruments and funders, policy designers and audiovisual makers at large. We also have prioritised an audience development programme called Engage, with the faith we will in the long term make local films more sustainable in the domestic market.”

Marketing director of the CTIFMF Jehad Kasu has this to say about the programme, “It is the vision of the CTIFMF to reposition South Africa’s film industry offering through meaningful industry collaboration. If we harness our collective resources we can achieve an infinite amount of collective growth and success. This will of course take a reasonable amount of time and commitment to achieve. So we implore all film industry stakeholders new, established, private and state owned to support one another and become active participants in elevating the presence and contribution of the South African film industry within the global ecosystem.

WIP (Works in Progress)

As the most important element of a market is its content, the CTIFMF has developed a programme that aims to elevate the bar for African content in terms of quality and innovation. A maximum of six works in progress will be selected from the African continent to show to international industry experts. High calibre decision-makers and experts will be hand-picked to view the selected films and then give detailed feedback, with the goal of increasing the artistic quality and challenging the core creative teams to think about audiences beyond their own territories.

This initial viewing will be followed by a screening of a segment of the same works to a wider audience of invited industry stakeholders comprising of festival programmers, sales companies, distributors and post production financiers. The WIP programme will disburse finishing awards to the most promising projects: grading, final sound mix, VFX, online editing, subtitling and DCPs, with the generous support of South African post-production facilities such as Priest Post, Rhapsody, The Refinery and The Work Room Audio Post.

We have confirmed attendance from Berlinale’s European Film Market and Berlinale Africa Hub, Tribeca, TIFF, London BFI; international sales companies such as Pyramide International, Flourishing Films, Talent Agents Casarotto and Curtis Brown, Mnet, Indigenous Films, Ster Kinekor, and Post Production South Africa.

Entries are due no later than 10 August 2018. For full details visit the CTIFMF website or email zahrah@filmfest.capetown.

ENGAGE

Considering that one of the most challenging and pressing issues for local films is to earn the trust of local audiences that then translates into box office success, the CTIFMF will have a special focus on audience design and development.

A group of marketing and industry experts with an understanding of these challenges will be convened for a three-day workshop under the guidance of Valeria Richter. This outcome based workshop will equip these professionals with the most current and powerful tools designed to assist films in finding their target market and core following.

At the end of the workshop, each participant will be assigned a project from the WIP and will be expected to deliver an Audience Design Strategy, with a cash prize awarded to the most prolific two of the lot to craft an Audience Design Strategy in collaboration with the Festival Board for CTIFMF 2019.

Aimed at publicists, marketing and sales professionals, distributors and others within the field, applications are open until 17 August 2018.  More details on the programme, outcomes and prize can be found on the CTIFMF website, or by emailing zahrah@filmfest.capetown.

 ADAPT

CTIFMF’s Adapt programme will bring together creatives, producers, and rights holders from the publishing and film industries to explore the possibilities of cinematic book adaptations as well as to develop an economic model and business practice around this that accounts for our African realities.

A number of toolbox sessions and workshops will be led by Selina Ukwuoma on translating from book to screen. She is no newcomer to South Africa as she has been working closely with Realness as well as Talents Durban over the past three years.

Selina is a freelance script consultant who began her career at literary agency Curtis Brown working on a number of adaptations including 2008 BAFTA winner Boy A. She has since gone on to advise on award-winning indie films such as 2014 Teddy winner The Way He Looks and this year’s Goyas triumph Summer 1993, both Foreign Language Oscars entries from their respective countries.

The industry programme of the CTIFMF will see four days of panel discussions, keynote speeches and workshops with participation from experts from South Africa, the rest of Africa, and across the globe. There will be a variety of relevant topics covered, all aimed at inclusive and constructive dialogues that foster the development of a cohesive and continually developing film industry. These topics include mentorship, financing, AR/VR, animation, blockchain and crypto currency.

For more information, submissions material list and to download application forms visit the CTIFMF website.

US-based Inter-Continental Interpretations Film Competition launching in SA by CTIFMF and partners

Lara Utian-Preston
-
0
US-based Inter-Continental Interpretations Film Competition launching in SA by CTIFMF and partners

After nearly a year of strategic planning and development behind the scenes, the CTIFMF, in partnership with Snake Nation and the YOMYOMF Foundation is proud to announce the Interpretations Inter-Continental Film Competition in South Africa.

Interpretations is a short film contest, an initiative from the USA-based YOMYOMF Foundation, a non-profit arm of the digital production company YOMYOMF (YouOffendMeYouOffendMyFamily) that is devoted to fostering and developing Asian American and other underrepresented voices in film and entertainment.

This innovative competition sees filmmakers invited to submit a short film of no more than three minutes, all using the same four-line script:

“So here is what happened”
“Let me see”
“It’s about that time”
“What’s my option”

Snake Nation, one of the partners of the CTIFMF in 2017, is once again working with the festival to promote young and emerging talent. Founder and CEO Karl Carter had this to say about the competition: “The objective of this competition is to encourage aspiring South African filmmakers to develop their own original and unique voice and to encourage filmmakers to find their own take on the material and be as creative with it as they can. The script is broad and fluid enough so that one director could craft a comedy from it, another a stylish music video, another an action film, etc.”

Once the films are submitted, a distinguished panel of judges from both the studio and independent filmmaking worlds will review the submissions and narrow them down to fifteen semi-finalists. From those fifteen, three finalists or winners will be selected—two decided by the judges and one by online audience voting.

The winning filmmakers will have an opportunity to work on a full production of their project with the Snake Nation team at Georgia State University Creative Media Industries Institute under the mentorship of seasoned industry professionals.
Snake Nation, YOMYOMF Foundation and the CTIFMF will also make an effort to introduce promising filmmakers, whether they are a finalist or not, to appropriate industry mentors to help create more focused opportunities for growth and networking.

CTIFMF spokesperson Jehad Kasu explains further: “The CTIFMF is leading the way in applying existing local and national policies and partnerships to benefit and accelerate growth of the film industry. We have successfully done this by using the people-to-people exchange mechanism between China and South Africa to establish the first film industry partnership between South Africa and China, and now with Interpretations, we are successfully doing the same with the sister-cities collaboration between the City of Cape Town and the City of Atlanta committed to by their respective Mayors between October 2016 and May 2017, that seeks to strengthen cultural and economic relations between them. This is another demonstration of the CTIFMF practicing its theme to ‘Create. Collaborate. Celebrate.’”

YOMYOMF Foundation founder and director Justin Lin (Fast & Furious franchise, Star Trek Beyond) expressed that “It’s been amazing to experience the depth of the talent in the Asian American community here in the U.S through the previous Interpretations initiatives and it’s exciting to see it expand to Southern Africa. I look forward to seeing what these filmmakers on the other side of the world create and have no doubt we will be as equally successful in finding unique and talented voices.”

Submissions are to be made via the Snake Nation website. Deadline for submissions is on 2 September, midnight SAST.

For more information about the Interpretations competition, visit the CTIFMF website as well as Snake Nation.

Women shine at ZIFF 2018

Lara Utian-Preston
-
0
Women shine at ZIFF 2018

The Zanzibar International Film Festival announced its awards on Saturday night, 14 July 2018, and African women topped the lists, dominating many of the top categories. The development and recognition of women within the film industry was a re-occurring theme throughout both ZIFF and the inaugural DISCOP Zanzibar.

Amongst a record number of over 4 000 entries across all all categories and from over 140 countries, East African filmmakers also featured prominently with the stunning Kenyan film Supa Modo taking home the coveted Golden Dhow for Best Feature Film.

The films in selection crossed a broad spectrum of topics and genres and represented over 40 countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda South Africa, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Western Sahara, Niger, Iran, The United States, France, Ghana, Belgium, Tunisa, Swaziland, India, United Kingdom and many more.

Women filmmakers took home a total of ten awards, with the documentary Silas directed by Anjali Nayar, Hawa Essuman taking home two awards; Best Documentary and Best International Film.

The Chairman’s Bi Kidude Award, named after the legendary Zanzibar musician, was awarded to Rahmatou Keita from Niger for her moving and romantic plea for cultural preservation in the film The Wedding Ring.

The Emerson Foundation’s Award for Best Film from Zanzibar was also awarded to a woman, Barke Ali, while the SIGNIS East African Talent Award went to a Ugandan woman, Kemiyondo Coutinho for Kyenvu.

In the inaugural version of the category for Best TV Series, South African Lucilla Blankenberg for her series Jab.

The Ousmane Sembene Awards for Short Film went both went to women, with Tanzania’s Esther Mndeme and South Africa’s Rea Moeti taking home the honours for their films Leah and Mma Moeketsi respectively.

Best Short Film overall was won by Tunisia’s Moufida Fedhila for Aya, while the Best Short Swahili Film was won by Faith Musembi for her film Pendo.

Additionally, women were in the spotlight throughout the event with the Ladima Foundation hosting two events and also awarding the Adaiaha Award for Best Documentary from an African Woman to New Moon, from Philippa Ndisi-Herrmann.

The Ladima Women of Influence Panel was especially well received with its focus on tangible steps to be taken to assist the development and recognition within the film and media industries. The panel included Bikiya Graham-Douglas, a Nigerian actress, singer, entrepreneur and the founder of Beeta Universal Arts Foundation; Biola Alabi, an African media expert with over 25 years of local and global media experience; Theresa Hill from South Africa, a general manager of STEPS and an acquisition manager for AfriDocs, Dr. Mzuri Issa Ali from Zanzibar, the director of TAMWA; Giselle Portenier, a Candian award-winning journalist and filmmaker; and Farida Nyamachumbe a filmmaker from Zanzibar.

Women from across Africa and the globe were in strong attendance, with a marked increase from previous years. Their success in the awards rooster is testament to the hard work and persistence of many, both men and women, who continue to focus on creating gender parity within the industry. ZIFF has made a concerted effort over the past few years to include and promote women filmmakers and this year the results can be seen.

For all the winners, visit the ZIFF website.

Shine on east African film

Lara Utian-Preston
-
0
Shine on east African film

The East African film and TV industries are riding high these days, and this year’s Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) and DISCOP Zanzibar, while both internationally focused events, will have a strong focus on the high quality productions coming out of the region.

This year’s 21st annual Zanzibar International Film Festival will take place from 7 to 15 July in venues in and around Stone Town, Zanzibar. This year, ZIFF has partnered with Africa’s largest content markets, DISCOP Markets, to present the first annual DISCOP Zanzibar, that will take place from 11 to 13 July at the Hotel Verde Azam Luxury Resort.

A remarkable array of East African, African and international films will be on display at this year’s event which saw a record number of entries across all categories with over 4 000 films submitted across the various entry platforms.

This year also saw a marked increase in the amount of documentaries submitted, with over 800 being entered for consideration. With nearly 400 features being submitted, the selection process for 2018 was extremely difficult.

Entries were also received from all over the world with submissions coming from over 140 countries, with the USA and India leading the number of submissions. East African filmmakers have also shown amazing interest in ZIFF with Ugandan filmmakers submitting 55 films, 54 from Kenya, and 31 from Tanzania

The films in selection cross a broad spectrum of topics and genres and represent over 40 countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda South Africa, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Western Sahara, Niger, Iran, The United States, France, Ghana, Belgium, Tunisa, Swaziland, India, United Kingdom and many more.

East African films and TV content feature strongly in this year’s line-up, with key films being included in high profile screenings.

Every year the Zanzibar International Film Festival bestows the honour of the Opening Night film on a new and noteworthy African film, and this year is no different. For ZIFF’s Opening Night 2018, the festival will present the world premiere of the Tanzanian film Bahasha.

The film was the directed by Jordan Riber and featured some of Tanzania’s most talented actors including Ayoub Bombwe, Godliver Gordian, Omary Mrisho and Catherine Credo.

Another film to be screened, with generous support from the Kenya Film Commission, is the inspiring new Kenyan film, Supa Modo. The film which had its much acclaimed world premiere at Berlinale in February this year, has been heralded as a stunning debut for director Likarion Wainaina and its young cast. The Kenya Film Commission will be hosting the screening of the film on Wednesday, 11 July, at ZIFF’s main venue of the Old Fort Amphitheatre with various members of the cast and production team in attendance.

As one of the new editions for this year’s event, ZIFF in partnership with DISCOP Zanzibar, the Zanzibar TV Series Festival will unfold its first edition from 12 to 14 July 2018. The event aims to highlight series from all over the world and to give an international voice to this increasingly popular and fiercely creative new art form.

Open to the public, the Zanzibar TV Series Festival will celebrate excellence. Striving to create a stage on which the foremost creators in the world of TV series come together, where tomorrow’s talents are showcased, and a prestigious international competition for a wide range of genres and for series of all shapes and forms is presented. Over 9 different East African TV series will be screened during the two-day event.

Once again, ZIFF will also focus on Zanzibari filmmakers with the Emerson’s Zanzibar Foundation Film Award, whose mission is to recognise the unique and significant nature of the local film talent. The award aims to inspire and promote Zanzibari film artists, who are pursuing their artistic vision in the archipelago, as well as promoting the culture and history of Zanzibar.

It is exciting to see the impact that the Emerson’s Award has had on the recipients’ professional lives and what they used the award money for. Salum Stika, the first recipient for his short film Daladala went on to direct Binti Zanzibar, a Kiswahili feature film, which scooped four trophies, and 4 000 000 TSH from the Azam TV Sinema Zetu Award.

Mbarouk Mussa, a forester and the second recipient for his inspiring documentary about Kokota island in Pemba, has used the award to increase awareness of the important work he is doing on the island. Mussa was nominated for the prestigious BBC Outlook Inspiration Award.

DISCOP Zanzibar’s NEXT Gen programme will also feature a range of East African industry experts looking at topics ranging from Animation to eSports – the fastest growing spectator sport in the world, with an estimated global audience of more than 380 million in 2017, and successful competitive video gamers now making millions of dollars annually.

Animation Africa will run its Animation Unites Africa programme and the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and its market, MIFA – the world’s top reference for animation films and industry – returns to Africa to scout for the best talents for Animation du Monde 2019.

Also featured is a focus on Ethiopia, with a journey through the last 30 years of broadcast media in Ethiopia. Experts will look at the state monopoly on broadcasting and the birth of new radio and TV stations, censorship of the media space, how the internet has changed access to information, the rise of new radio and TV stations and the type of content they are focusing on.

East Africa’s thriving music industry will also be in focus with both the Trace Mziki and ZIFF East African Music Video Award. Additionally, DISCOP Zanzibar will host its DISOCRE programme on the growing global recognition of African music in film, TV, gaming and advertising.

Ladima Foundation hosts Women Achieving Influence panel discussion at DISCOP Zanzibar

Lara Utian-Preston
-
0
Ladima Foundation hosts Women Achieving Influence panel discussion at DISCOP Zanzibar

Established as a mechanism to support worthy women filmmakers from across Africa in order to contribute to correcting the major imbalances within the industry; the Ladima Foundation, in partnership with ZIFF, DISCOP Zanzibar will present the ‘Achieving Influence: Women and Film in Africa’ event.

The Ladima Foundation will host a panel discussion with the aim of initiating a dialogue and developing tangible ways forward for women within the film and media industries in Africa. The event will take place on Thursday, 12 July at 14h00 at the DISCOP Zanzibar in Hotel Verde.

The discussions will include women from a diversity of backgrounds whose success and influence can be part of collectively building and strengthening the space that women occupy in the industries The essence of this panel is to develop a framework on how women in African Film can achieve influence through improving individual and collective competence and quality of output in the different fields of filmmaking and related areas.

Moderator: Edima Otuokon: Nigeria: co-founder of Ladima Foundation: Otuokon is an entrepreneur and civil society activist with years of experience in media, marketing, events, policy and advocacy.

Bikiya Graham-Douglas: Nigeria: Bikiya Graham-Douglas is an actress, singer, entrepreneur and the founder of Beeta Universal Arts Foundation (BUAF).  She has been passionate about the creative sector from childhood and has starred in a number of soap operas, movies and stage productions.

Biola Alabi: Nigeria: Alabi is an African media expert with over 25 years of local and global media experience, she is currently the CEO at Biola Alabi Media

Theresa Hill: South Africa: general manager at STEPS as well as acquisition manager of AfriDocs: As general manager of STEPS she has managed the ‘Steps for the Future’, ‘Why Democracy?’ and ‘Why Poverty?’ projects over the last 18 years. Her work with AfriDocs includes acquisitions, programming, marketing and planning. Hill is also the acquisitions manager of AfriDocs, Africa’s only free streaming platform for documentary films.

Dr. Mzuri Issa Ali: Zanzibar: director of TAMWA after a Bachelors’ Degree in Mass Communication from Saint Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT), Ali completed her auditing course, Masters and PhD in Political Science and International Relations at the University of Dar Es Salaam (UDSM). Her career is all about promoting rights of marginalised groups especially women through the use of media and other effective channels of communication.

Giselle Portenier: Canada: Portenier is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker, who has consistently focused on human rights, especially the human rights of women and children.

Her work has been instrumental in changing minds, changing lives, and changing laws.

Farida Nyamachumbe: Zanzibar: Nyamachumbe is a well known and respected filmmaker with many years in the industry.

These projects reflect the core mission of the Ladima Foundation and its stated key interventions, which include: professional training, educational support, recognition, and networking and community.

For more information visit the Ladima, ZIFF and DISCOP websites.

Don Edkins amongst African filmmakers invited to join the Academy

Lara Utian-Preston
-
0
Don Edkins amongst African filmmakers invited to join the Academy

Don Edkins, the well-known and respected South African documentary filmmaker and producer based in Cape Town and founder of STEPS, is one of the Africans that were invited this week to become members of the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organisation that votes on the Academy Awards.

Edkins has been invited into the documentary branch of the Academy based on his many years of work in the field. He has produced documentary projects that have been broadcast and screened to audiences around the world, such as Steps for the Future, Why Democracy? and Why Poverty? He is currently executive producer of AfriDocs, the first documentary strand across sub-Saharan Africa, and of Dare to Dream, a new project in conjunction with Asian filmmakers.

This week saw a number of African filmmakers and industry professionals invited to join, fulfilling a promise made by the Academy to diversify their member base to include members from around the world. This year they have invited 928 new members, and if all the 2018 invitees accept, the overall membership would be 9 226.

Additionally, if these invitations are accepted, it will mean that 38 per cent of the Oscars’ governing body’s new class will be comprised of people of colour, increasing their representation from 13 per cent in 2017 to 16 per cent.

Joining Edkins in this honour are Steven Markovitz from South Africa; Pedro Pimenta from Mozambique; Dora Bouchoucha, the founder of Africa’s longest running film festival The Carthage Film Festival; Nigerian filmmaker Femi Odugbemi; and Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu amongst others.

Edkins is excited about the amount of African professionals that were included in this batch of invitations, saying, “I’m extremely honoured to be invited to join the Academy in the documentary branch, and hope that it will allow for a greater focus on the African film industry as well as a respect for African filmmakers. The invitees from across Africa are all well respected and their inclusion will rightfully put African cinema in its place on the global stage.”

These new members will be able to cast their votes for various categories in the Academy Awards to be presented next year.

1...456...8Page 5 of 8
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
© Copyright 2017

Pin It on Pinterest