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SA filmmaker Paul Emmauel has won the 2nd annual Africa in Motion (AiM) short film competition with his silent and visually stunning experimental documentary 3SAI: A Rite of Passage.

The South African feature documentary, The Manuscripts of Timbuktu, directed by Zola Maseko and produced by David Max Brown, is the official selection for IDFA (International Documentary Festival Amsterdam). The film is screening in the Best of Fests section - a selection of the best from festivals around the world, most of which are having their European premiere.

Despite this year introducing a five-year $500m tax credit, the state of California is still losing film shoots to other American states with more attractive incentive programmes.

The children's services of the BBC will receive an additional £25.5 million (R306m approx) over the next three years. This funding will be used partly towards bigger budget shows.

For the seventh year running, the South African public supported the Annual Tri Continental Film Festival which took place through September and October in Soweto, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban. Tri Continental screens engaging and thought provoking films that encourage dialogue and debate amongst the audience.

As one might expect, Quentin Tarantino’s new film, the oddly spelt Inglourious Basterds, went straight to the top of the South African box office when it opened on the weekend of 23 to 25 October. It made just over R1m.

South Africa’s entry into the foreign language film category of the Oscars, White Wedding, won the Audience Award for World Cinema at the 32nd Mill Valley Film Festival in San Raphael, US, on 18 October.

The Czech government has approved an incentive plan for foreign film shoots that would refund 20% of their expenses.

The Gauteng Film Commission (GFC) is to undertake a survey to assess current trends in employment creation within the wider film and TV industry in Gauteng.

Winners of the 2nd Annual University of Johannesburg’s Flare Awards for 3rd year and honours Audiovisual Communications students were announced on 20 October at a function at Catz Pyjamas in Melville.