Technology

In a keynote address given by Dr Rob Davies, Minister of Trade & Industry at the Cape Film Commission (CFC) annual general meeting, the Minister affirmed government’s commitment to support the film industry as a key sector of the South African economy.

Whether it’s the recession or competition from Netflix, video-on-demand and kiosk operators, some 1,000 Blockbuster DVD, Blu-ray and video game rental stores will be closed by the end of 2010.

Both Quebec (Montreal) and Ontario (Toronto) have raised their tax credits to cover 25% on all local spending for film and TV productions, causing great concern for British Columbia (Vancouver), the current hot Canadian location for visiting filmmakers.

Up to 5,000 people die each year on Lake Victoria as a result of piracy, drowning and other accidents. Now the 200,000 fishermen who earn their living on Lake Victoria can now use cell phones to call for help free-of-charge should they run into trouble on the 69,000 km² body of water...

Social networking website Facebook, which has seen rampant growth during its five years of existence and now has 300 million users worldwide, is officially "cash-positive'.

Holding firm against shortcutting regulation, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has refused the immediate granting of both service and network licences to state-owned company Broadband Infraco.

A suite of five mobile phone applications was launched by search engine giant Google, in partnership with the Grameen Foundation and cell phone service provider MTN Uganda in June.

Lebanon, a story about Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon told almost entirely from inside a tank, won the top award at the Venice Film Festival. Colin Firth and Ksenia Rappoport won the prizes for best actor and actress, respectively.Lebanon, a story about Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon told almost entirely from inside a tank, won the top award at the Venice Film Festival. Colin Firth and Ksenia Rappoport won the prizes for best actor and actress, respectively.

Al Jazeera Network and A24 Media have announced a new partnership that widens worldwide access to Al Jazeera’s award winning Africa-focused programming.

The 39th International Film Festival Rotterdam has announced a first major focus - "Where is Africa?’