Sundance TV Press

Documentary Okavango: River of Dreams by Botswana-based wildlife filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert, has been selected to screen in the Documentary Premieres programme at the Sundance Film festival – set to take place from 23 January to 2 February 2020. Okavango is the first film from Botswana selected to screen at the prestigious festival.

Dereck and Beverly Joubert are National Geographic explorers, filmmakers and founders of the Great Plains Foundation, a wildlife conservation organisation operating in Botswana, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

The documentary received rave reviews from the Sundance community and the board. “In over 35 years of filmmaking, this is our first to be accepted into Sundance, a huge milestone for us in our careers,” comment Dereck and Beverly.

Okavango; River of Dreams – based on the Okavango River in Botswana – is an exploration into finding the soul of the Okavango River. It investigates the different aspects of the river and how it affects wildlife and the ecosystems that surround it, but most of all it is a celebration of this unique and pristine wonder if the world.

“The Okavango is a special place, the diversity of life that interacts and survives by virtue of this river is spectacular. It is a depiction of the circle of life in its truest sense and it has been such an honour to be able to spend time understanding and interacting with nature in its raw, rugged and beautifully bare form,” said Dereck. “But as a symbol of the everything that is right, and precious about nature, the film is also a dire warning that if we get this wrong and destroy this jewel, we lose much more than just one more landscape, we lose a part of ourselves.”

The iconic festival which runs annually in the United States and will take place in Park City, Utah. Sundance, started by Robert Redford, is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious independent film festivals in the world. It draws record-high numbers of over 15 000 submissions a year and the final 118 feature-length films that made the cut this year represent 27 countries, but Okavango is the only natural history biopic selected.

“This is an exhibition of the most pristine places on our precious planet, and its beautiful creatures, and how it impacts lives and nature. We hope that it will inspire people to protect the planet and preserve its nature for generations to come,” Beverly said.  

The Sundance screenings of Okavango: River of Dreams (Director’s Cut) are as follows:

Kate D’hotman won the second SundanceTV Shorts Competition this year with her zombie comedy Life’s a Drag. She spoke to Fiona Walsh about seeing her film premiere in London and shared some advice for other young filmmakers.

As part of your competition prize you travelled to London with actor Damon Berry for the Life’s a Drag premiere – what did that mean for you and the film?

Being at the Sundance Film Festival: London, was a surreal experience, but it was a great validation for both the film and me as a filmmaker. Seeing the film on the big screen for the first time was totally surreal and completely exhilarating at the same time! SundanceTV Shorts was the first competition we entered, so it was a huge surprise to win, and it inspired me to really take the marketing of the film to the next level and enter more festivals.

I met some really wonderful people at the festival and got inspired by what other filmmakers are doing on an international scale. This industry is all about relationships, investing in authentic connections and nurturing those – when you see these festivals as an opportunity to connect with people on a real level, rather than looking for a big cheque or a quick deal, you’re really investing in your long-term career as a filmmaker.

Presumably you had a limited budget when shooting; what did you prioritise?

Yes, absolutely, budget is always a problem when making passion projects – you’re essentially drawing from your own bank account and maxing out your credit cards to get it made, and then calling in favours everywhere you can and asking people to come on board for free. You’re asking them to believe in your idea as much as you do.

As someone who’s worked in production on TV commercials for several years, I prioritised two things: the safety and security of the cast and crew by insuring the shoot through GIB (public liability, personal accident and equipment insurance), and then feeding everyone properly, with real caterers and meal options. I learned that lesson long ago: if you don’t feed your crew well, they might turn into blood-thirsty zombies and come for you! 

I think it’s just a matter of treating your team well, and letting them know that you value their well-being. On that note, I’d like to thank everybody who worked on Life’s a Drag – cast, crew, post production and all the generous donors and sponsors. None of this would have been possible without you!

What did you have to compromise on?

Time was a definite challenge – I wish we’d had another half-day to shoot the office scenes. We had to move on pretty quickly without doing as many takes as I might have liked, not getting the time to really light the way the DOP, William Collinson, would’ve liked to. We also had to leave out shots I’d planned on getting, so sometimes I wish we’d got more coverage. 

We had to borrow all of our props and set dressing and Propstars very generously donated all of that free of charge – but we couldn’t get working computers, so of course we had to do a lot of compositing in post-production to fill in the screens.

Tell us a bit about the zombie prosthetics and make-up on Life’s a Drag.

I got really lucky with Dreamsmith letting us use their human arm for free, and they added all sorts of string and bits and pieces to the end of it so that once we soaked it in fake blood, Hlubi [Mboya] could take a big bite out of it and it really looked like she was tearing at muscles and tendons! Even I have to look away for some of that scene! Plus, Matthew Howard Tripp actually made a prosthetic finger for Damon [Berry], which was great because I really wanted it to be falling off in a few scenes, and we got it to do that, which is really funny on screen. Matthew also came on set and was a life-saver with makeup and special effects.

Our other two makeup artists were Courtney Jane Larkin and Jurine Erwee, and they worked really hard at creating wounds and makeup for Damon and Joe [Vaz]. Altogether, I think it turned out pretty great, but it was definitely a challenge.

Describe the film’s journey since the London premiere.

It’s still pretty early in the game – a good festival run usually takes about a year to hit all the major ones – but it’s already doing well. We were at Shnit International Film Festival in Cape Town in October. We also made Official Selection at Atlanta Shortsfest, the Jozi Film Festival, Seoul International Film Festival in South Korea and the Women’s Comedy Film Festival, Atlanta, where I was lucky enough to be nominated for Best International Director.

We made Official Selection at HollyShorts Film Festival in Hollywood, Los Angeles. I decided to bite the bullet and make the 27-hour trip, and I’m so glad I did! Attending HollyShorts has definitely been a worthwhile experience. I’ve met a bunch of great filmmakers, writers from major US TV shows and feature films, managers, agents, producers and studio executives, so it’s been an invaluable experience. I’ve been talking to a few studios and producers about Life’s a Drag being developed into a TV series, which is really exciting.

You’re a member of SWIFT; how does the organisation help female filmmakers?

Sisters Working in Film and Television was launched by some female powerhouses in the industry, including filmmaker Sara Blecher, in 2017 at DIFF, which is where I came into contact with them for the first time. They’re a really great organisation, focused on fighting sexual harassment against women in the film industry, as well as advocating for the success of female filmmakers. We believe in women supporting one another and building each other up. Our trip to Berlinale last year, supported by the DTI, was the first test of this, and I was lucky enough to be one of the filmmakers to attend. It was a totally eye-opening experience, and really brought us together as women and as creatives.

After the success of that trip, SWIFT really took off and membership has grown exponentially. Members are part of a SWIFT WhatsApp group, where we post questions and provide information and job opportunities for one another. Producers in the group are encouraged to give women in SWIFT the opportunity to work on their projects first, so we can address the imbalance in the industry and try to reach equal representation. 

What’s your advice for others breaking into film?

Whew! I’m hardly the authority on this, but I’d say the biggest lesson I’m learning from my exposure to international filmmaking and film festivals and markets is this: stop doubting yourself. Women, especially, are incredibly hard on themselves and are too self-deprecating. As young South African filmmakers, we need to be pushing harder, dreaming bigger and claiming our place in the world. We have great ideas, original stories and tons of talent in our country. All we need to do is start believing in ourselves and stop waiting for someone else to make our dreams come true. As Oprah said, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”

Write, write, write. Get your talented friends together and make something. Film it on your phone, or if you’ve worked in the industry for a while, don’t be afraid to ask for favours from gear houses or friends with proper cameras. Ask for advice, tell people what you’re trying to do. Start a crowdfunding campaign; if you have savings, use them! You are worth the investment. Be prepared for sacrifices – this isn’t a get-rich-quick game. But above all, don’t be afraid. 

SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE:

In an exciting development for African producers, a long-hinted-at collaboration is finally official.

Realness founders and film producers Elias Ribeiro and Bongiwe Selane teased the announcement during the Realness Residency that took place recently at Cannes, but it is now confirmed that Realness Institute, EAVE and the International Film Festival Rotterdam are further partnering with the Sundance Institute to create the Creative Producers Indaba, a professional training programme designed to support emerging African producers on a global stage.

The confirmation of the partnership with the Sundance Institute, which took place at the Durban FilmMart in July, means that North American professionals and networks will now be included in this global professional training and development initiative.

The Creative Producers Indaba will bring together 15 participants to develop the capacity of producers on the continent and to create a global network of producing talent with the ability to bring African projects to the international market, as well as to grow local African creative economies.

Ten of the selected participants will be from Africa – with the organisers selecting five African producers with projects currently in development, who will be joined by five African participants drawn from government, institutions, sales companies and other bodies from across the continent – and five participants will comprise European or North American partners looking to co-produce in Africa.

Ribeiro explained the key aims of the Creative Producers Indaba during the announcement in Durban: “We decided to launch Creative Producers Indaba to make sure we have more producers that understand the international financing game, international distribution,  and who can help…African projects to move closer from the page to the screen.”

Realness Institute has recognised that, despite the recent global festival success and accolades for a number of creative and innovative films by African filmmakers, there is a need for support, specifically when it comes to development financing, infrastructure, distribution and marketing.

Realness is aimed at empowering producers across these various skill-sets not just to see a film through production, but also to become active developers of their local creative economies as both practitioners, policy activists and leaders within their fields.

Unlike many other short-term interventions and workshops, Realness participants work together for a full year in order to emerge as strategic-thinking professionals capable of enabling the entire creative economies of their regions.

As a producer-centric programme, Realness aims for more than simply packaging productions for the international market – although all participants will develop a thorough and marketable package ready to take to market.

Participants will attend a variety of workshops over the year-long period focused on script development, packaging, finance, distribution and ultimately pitching to the marketplace. With sessions led by industry professionals from across Africa, Europe and now North America, participants have an unparalleled opportunity to learn and engage with the global film community.

Realness has a collaborative approach that has successfully created global partnerships with key European institutions such as the International Film Festival Rotterdam and EAVE, the

European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs initiative, a well-established training programme that has been in existence for over 30 years.

The inclusion of the Sundance Institute as a Realness partner brings a number of obvious benefits to the project. The stamp of approval that such a partnership conveys will assist Realness as it continues to secure funding for its various programmes. As an African-based organisation in the film industry, funding is always a challenge, and the inclusion of these new partners will hopefully lead to increased funding opportunities and exposure for the project and its graduates.

Organisations such as Realness, as well as filmmakers themselves, often have to look to the global north, and primarily to Europe, for funding, an ultimately unsustainable approach. Projects like the Creative Producers Indaba will hopefully lead to a more independently sustainable African creative film economy.

Realness’ Elias Ribeiro explains further: “It is our intention to form leaders, producers, activists, who can go back home and engage with local government and institutions, lobbying for better policies for the audiovisual industry as well as implementation of new financial instruments which will enable international and Pan-African cooperation.”

Realness also confirmed that the first call for submissions is expected to be made in October, with a build-up to the first workshop in Kenya in September 2020, followed by a second workshop to take place at the Rotterdam Film Festival in January 2021.

There are just three weeks left to enter the 2018 SundanceTV Short Film competition. Entries close on 15 April with the winner set to be announced in May.

The winning film will not only premiere at an event during the Sundance Film Festival in London, which takes place 31 May to 3 June but will also be broadcast on SundanceTV (DStv channel 108) later this year. MultiChoice, SundanceTV’s exclusive affiliate partner in South Africa, is supporting the competition with a representative joining the panel of jurors alongside SundanceTV and Sundance Institute.

Geraud Alazard, senior vice president of Marketing at AMC Networks International says: “The SundanceTV Shorts competition reflects the very essence of the channel.

“It encapsulates SundanceTV’s unique energy and passion, shining a spotlight on independent storytelling and emerging talent.”

Submissions to the 2018 SundanceTV Shorts Competition can be made here. Entries must be submitted by 15 April and must be made by the producer or director of the film who can provide proof of residency in South Africa. Films should be no longer than 15 minutes and must be delivered with English subtitles if English is not the language spoken in the film.

Entries will be judged on a number of criteria, including creativity, entertainment value, original storytelling and production values. The jury, presided by Mike Plante of Sundance Institute, will include Harold Gronenthal from SundanceTV Global, Aletta Alberts, executive head: Content and 3rd Party Channels at MultiChoice and Helen Kuun of Indigenous Film. The winner will receive a trip for two to London and their film will be screened during Sundance Film Festival, London, at a SundanceTV event in June. The winning film will also be broadcast on SundanceTV (DStv channel 108) later in the year.

Entries must also meet SundanceTV’s official rules and technical requirements which are available on the SundanceTV website.