The Callsheet Issue 9

Issue 09 | 2013

Callsheet Africa’s Leading Film Industry Magazine

+ Commercials Industry Adapts to a Changing Landscape

+ Loeries Creative Week Exclusive Interview with Andrew Human

+ Rwanda

On the Move

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14 www.filmmakerafrica.co.za Publisher: Lance Gibbons lance@filmeventmedia.co.za Executive Editor: Maya Kulycky maya@filmeventmedia.co.za Business Manager: Taryn Fowler taryn@filmeventmedia.co.za Advertising Sales: Jennifer Dianez jennifer@filmeventmedia.co.za Head of Design: Jess Novotna jess@filmeventmedia.co.za Editorial and Design Co-ordinator: Danielle Illman danielle@filmeventmedia.co.za 57 2nd Avenue, Harfield Village, Claremont 7708, Cape Town, South Africa Telephone: +27 21 674 0646 www.filmeventmedia.co.za

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Contents It’s Time for the Loeries

02

A Closer Look at South Africa’s Co-Production Treaties

04

Tri Continental Film Festival Focuses on Women

06

A Talk with Format Expert Justin Scroggie

08

South Africans Win Big at Film Festival in L.A.

09

‘Khumba’ First 3D Animated Feature Film Released in Afrikaans 10 First Legal Film Download Site for African Film

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Nedbank Digital Edge Live

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South Africa’s SABC Launches 24 Hour News Channel

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Africa’s Commercials Industry Adapts to a Changing Landscape 18 DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in The Callsheet do not necessarily represent the official viewpoint of the editor or the publisher, while inclusion of adverts/advertising features does not imply endorsement of any business, product or service. Copyright of this material is reserved. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, The Callsheet and/or its employees may not be held liable or responsible for any act or ommission committed by any person, including a juristic person, referred to in this publication. It and they furthermore accept(s) no responsibility for any liability arising out of any reliance that a reader of this publication places on the contents of this publication.

Join us Facebook: www.facebook.com/thecallsheetsa Twitter: @FilmmakerAfrica Youtube: www.youtube.com/thecallsheet Linked In: Filmmaker Africa

Rwanda: Land of a Thousand Hills

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In Production

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Industry Moves

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i did that ad

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Events

34

Opportunities

36

Associations

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Directory

40 www.f i l mma kera f r i ca .co.za T HE C A L L SHEET

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NEWS

It’s Time For

The Loeries

The Loeries, which recognise, reward, and foster creative excellence in brand communications, is back for the 35th year. From 16-22 September, international leaders in the creative industry will gather in Cape Town, South Africa to share knowledge and recognise the best work from Africa and the Middle East. The Callsheet spoke exclusively with Andrew Human, Chief Executive Office of the Loeries, about what makes Loeries Creative Week one of the hottest events on the African calendar.

Andrew Human

The primary role of the Loeries is to recognise creative excellence. Right from the start that is misunderstood. What separates an award winning commercial from the rest? It is innovation. You’re not talking about pretty pictures, it is about ideas. So when it comes to the judging criteria we are not looking at presentation, we are looking at innovation. What we are looking for are ideas that are pushing the boundaries - that are doing something new, ideas that are standing out. We have five basic judging criteria. The first is innovation. The second is execution –

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What we are looking for are ideas that are pushing the boundaries that are doing something new, ideas that are standing out.

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What separates an awardwinning commercial from the rest?

how well have you carried out your idea?

The third is relevance to the brand, the fourth is relevance to the target audience, and the fifth is relevance to the chosen medium. The point being, if you have a billboard, you should be using a billboard for what a billboard does. And equally so for a mobile application – you can’t just take a print ad and put it on a mobile.

Understanding what the medium is you are using is important. So an award-winning entry excels in all five of those areas.

That is what great communication is. An award-winning entry is what any brand and any client would want. As a client, these five criteria should be what you want – you should say I want innovation, great execution, and relevance.

NEWS judges will grow. It’s also about awareness.

It is new to a lot of African countries, the idea of being measured and to be part of an award system. So there needs to be an awareness of why enter, what is the value. There is a lot of data now showing that award winning work generates more results. So what you really want to do is to raise the quality of work. It’s saying how do we continually work on the process so annually we are raising the bar? I think that is one of the most important roles of the Loeries. In South Africa I can go to almost anyone, not just anyone in the industry but consumers, and they know what the Loeries are. But you go to Kenya or Ghana, people in the industry might not have any awareness of the Loeries. The awareness gap in the rest of the continent is significant so there is work to be done to raise the awareness of the Loeries.

How do you think African advertising compares with what is being created globally?

There are probably areas in which more developed regions are showing a greater use of new and non-traditional media.

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is the best global benchmark. I would first talk about Sub-Saharan Africa.

The region hasn’t done tremendously well at Cannes as a whole. However, South Africa has done very well in recent years.

In 2006 South Africa won its first Cannes Grand Prix. And prior to 2006 no-one on the whole continent had ever won a grand prix. So in 60 years Sub-Saharan Africa got its first Grand Prix in 2006. Since then, South Africa has done quite well. They won a Grand Prix in 2007, in 2008, two in 2009, and a Grand Prix in 2011. So South Africa has won six Grand Prixs since 2006 - it has done very well in recent years as a country.

African continent, and we will see a lot of new ideas coming through. You need to look for innovations in the market – there are definite economic pressures in Africa but it’s not that people are saying “we don’t have big budgets so we don’t do good work”. What we are looking for in this region primarily is innovation. And you find that within this region there are an enormous number of outdoor ads.

There are a lot of people commuting, driving slowly, and walking outdoors. What you don’t see are big budget television commercials, so you can’t compete with American Nike or Adidas big budget television commercials, in most of Africa.

In South Africa even, we’ve won Grands Prix outside of television but not in television, so our television production is weak compared to developed markets.

Our radio is exceptional, best in the world, but our television is not exceptional.

But outside of South Africa?

What is the Loeries doing to attract more content from across Africa and the Middle East?

Outside of South Africa I think the interesting thing is that we only started our Africa and Middle East categories in the last few years but we’ve had 20% growth in that category over the last year.

And I would say the quality that we got last year for the entries was very good, and I think it is a very exciting time for the

First, we included two regional judges this year. We have a regional judge from Kenya and another from Dubai. It is important that if we are judging work from these regions that we have regional representation on the panel. I think as we increase the ads from different regions our regional representation on the panel of

What are some of the changes in store for the Loeries this year?

One of the big changes that started from last year is with the Loeries Creative Week.

We’ve integrated judging into the same week of the awards. We literally start judging on Monday the 16th of September and the first award is on the 21st of September and the second set on the 22nd.

One of the biggest benefits is that this allows us to have the International Seminar on Creativity on that Friday. All of these international judges and international superstars will be speaking. We have the head of Google Creative Labs coming out from California, we have the head of Unilever, and we’ve also got the four international jury chairmen all in one place.

You are hearing the global perspective of thought leaders in this seminar. These are advertisers that work with all media.

So really what you are getting is what today’s innovation involves globally. We have speakers from USA to Australia and everything in-between represented in that seminar. We got feedback last year saying the seminar is the most impressive thing people went to all week.

Anything to add?

If you’re working in any area of brand communications and you’re sitting anywhere else during Creative Week you need to ask yourself why is that?

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NEWS

A Closer Look at South Africa’s

Co-Production Treaties

By Terrence Khumalo, NFVF Manager: Film Certification

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One of the main advantages of coproduction treaties is that of exposing South African films to the international markets, offering local producers opportunities to create networks beyond South African borders.

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co-production is a general term which is applicable in an arrangement where two or more production companies are working together in a film production. In the case of an international co-production, such an arrangement is between production companies from different countries.

There are two types of co-productions; one involves the sharing of creative control and the second is purely financial in which one partner provides partial funding while another undertakes the actual production.

In terms of co-production treaties, the South African government has for the past 15 years signed a number of international bilateral co-production treaties with an aim of promoting cultural and economic exchanges between South African producers and their counterparts from signatory countries. To date, South Africa has signed a total of 8 coproduction treaties with, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and United Kingdom.

One of the main advantages of coproduction treaties is that of exposing South African films to the international markets, offering local producers opportunities to create networks beyond South African borders.

These treaty agreements mean that local producers, and their international counterparts from the above mentioned treaty countries, have access to financial instruments that exists in their respective countries to finance their productions.

Official co-produced content is also classified as local content in both countries. The treaty arrangement also enables co-produced content to gain access to the domestic markets of the respective producers.

All co-production treaties that SA has signed cater for both film and television productions except for UK and France treaties.

However the UK treaty is currently being revised to include television production as well.

The biggest co-production activity has been on feature films with a total number of 54 feature films produced via treaties since

1997. Germany has been the most active treaty partner with a total number of 45 films produced under the treaty since it was signed in 2004. In terms of TV productions, a total of 23 TV series and 2 TV movies have been produced via treaties.

Co-productions present their own challenges and in the South African context there is a belief amongst some producers that co-productions are difficult to understand and sometimes very cumbersome and to a certain extent creative integrity is compromised.

Some of the challenges involved in coproduction arrangements include the loss of creative control by one of the partners, allocation of crew members, cultural dilution in a story and in some instances co-producing partners might have different work ethics.

Another contributing factor that results in co-productions not being adequately utilized by local filmmakers in general is the lack of understanding on how co-productions work especially when it comes to elements such as key creative roles on co-produced projects. Within a South African context, there have been

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some instances where there has been limited participation of SA creative and cast on most co-productions even when a project is based on a South African story.

The main reason for this is the fact that creative participation in co-productions is highly influenced by financial contribution of the producing partners into the budget.

Currently, the treaty provisions for partners’ financial contribution require a minimum of 20% and a maximum of 80% between partners. However different co-productions will have different funding structures and the extent to which the financial contribution translates into creative control is all subject to negotiations between coproducing partners.

Such factors lead to a certain level of resistance by most local producers to go the co-production route when making films as they feel that their creative integrity is being compromised.

To a greater extent, there is a strong need for additional financial support for local producers in order for them to be able to be more firm on their creative position than currently the case when they enter into co-productions.

Such support would be critical in unlocking growth opportunities that co-productions present to local producers. This will also ensure that the creative integrity and artistic expression of local producers is not compromised. With the proper infrastructure and support systems in place, co-production partnerships have a great potential to play an important role in putting the local film and television sector on the international map.

NEWS

Tri Continental Film Festival Focuses on Women

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We like to use cinema as a space for conversation and partnership to try to make the films active things that can influence social change so we are hoping to get a lot of women’s groups and organisations that work in gender into the theatres this year.

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rom 13-29 September, the Tri Continental Film Festival (TCFF), Africa’s longest-running human rights film festival, will put women in the spotlight.

Anita Khanna, Director of the TCFF, says the festival, which showcases outstanding cinema that deals with socio/political and human rights themes, selected the plight of women as the theme because of the attack on South African Anene Booysen.

Anene, a woman from a disadvantaged area in South Africa, was gang raped and died from her injuries. “It highlighted the fact that we have a serious crisis, it shook us into thinking that there is almost a war on women,” Anita told The Callsheet. “We like to use cinema as a space for conversation and partnership to try to make the films active things that can influence social change so we are hoping to get a lot of women’s groups and organisations that work in gender into the theatres this year.”

As part of preparation for TCFF this year, organisers have held several screenings at cinemas at Wits University about women. “We are trying to get students interested in these films. People do studies, they don’t get read. You make a film, research it, tell a good story and you get immediate reaction. These films are great tools,” says Anita.

Through partnership with various stakeholders and funding bodies, TCFF

offers a film program to audiences across South Africa and an opportunity for them to attend seminars and discussions to exchange ideas and information. The Festival also creates the opportunity for an exchange between International and local filmmakers regarding issues developing both in society and filmmaking.

The Festival also brings cinema to communities that have limited access to it through national partnership with

universities and community organizations and through outreach screenings. “We have a bit of an approach this year that South Africa has a lot of problems, and we are looking at films that are international that can inspire people to take action here.

There are a lot of international films that are relevant to what is happening here,” says Anita.

The broader objective of the Festival is to contribute to the building of a mass local audience for films that matter and to remain a credible platform for local and international stories from regions that are frequently marginalized in mainstream media and cinema. “You are constantly showing people things that have happened a couple of years ago, but the world is a very small place. We are all dealing with the same issues. We almost feel like the desperation people are feeling is having a direct effect on sex politics – people taking out their frustrations on the people nearest to them that they should actually be uniting with,” says Anita.

TCFF originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina with the Movement de Documentalistas. In 2003, for the first time, the festival was brought to South Africa by a group of partnership organizations including Uhuru Productions, Lawyers for Human Rights, and SACOD. For more information on TCFF visit: www.3continentsfestival.co.za

NEWS what your mates think. This habit is slowly but surely crossing over into many areas of TV, for example in the UK’s “The Audience”, where a person with a life-changing decision to make is followed around for a week by 50 strangers who offer their opinions.”

Another trend is shows that carry over viewers’ habits or skillet from one platform to another, like Nissan GT Academy on Spike.

And of course branded entertainment.

I read recently that you’re on the Advisory Board of the South African School of Media Arts. Are you particularly passionate about promoting media arts to young people in SA? And do you feel a career in the TV production industry is a viable one?

Justin Scroggie

A Talk with Format Expert

Justin Scroggie

J

ustin Scroggie, Chief Creative Officer & Partner of the UK-based consultancy The Format People Group, is an expert consultant with both broadcasters and production companies around the world. He diagnoses and solves issues with their formats, from development to pilot to post-production. Justin also creates formats to order, and runs Format Development Units within broadcasters. His client list spans the globe, and includes Okhule Media, the South African producer of local and international broadcast content. Okhule shared the following conversation they had with Justin in Durban, South Africa, with The Callsheet.

In your opinion, what’s the common mistake that people in the industry – development teams and broadcasters alike – make when creating a show?

The most common mistake I see is to develop - and indeed shoot - a show before you have really worked out the core narrative. I spend more time helping programme makers do that

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than anything else. If the central emotional and dramatic narrative is strong and can be expressed clearly and briefly - and if the broadcaster and production company agree on that narrative - then you can develop, pilot and shoot the series with far greater confidence and freedom. If it is ill-defined, and everyone has ignored the elephant in the room, then you can be sure the elephant will come after you later!

A lot of your work obviously involves staying on top of industry trends. What would you say are some of the biggest global trends in TV production at the moment? Any predictions on what we can expect in the near future?

One of the key trends I see across media platforms is peer-to-peer advice. Younger people increasingly bypass or ignore the ‘wisdom’ of authority figures, from parents to police to TV experts, in favour of their peer group’s opinion. Thinking of getting a piercing or a car or a divorce? Put it on Facebook, see

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It is essentially to bring young people forwards in the media business. Of course, they are our future producers, directors and broadcasters.

But also young people have a different way of storytelling, and whilst we can and must teach them the craft of media production, they have a lot to teach us about how they see the world, the stories they want to tell, and the innovative ways they choose to tell those stories.

As a career path, TV is never easy or reliable, whatever level you work at. I would never discourage anyone from going into TV. But I would advise them to expect to work long hours for moderate pay, especially to begin with, to learn all the time from everyone around you, to show initiative, to be flexible (!), and to work in as many different genres as possible before choosing a path. And to have fun! It’s only TV.

Do you think SA development teams have what it takes to create content/formats that are globally strong/relevant?

Of course. There is a tremendous amount of creativity in SA, and a fine tradition of making great TV in the face of adversity, from low budgets to political upheaval. Other smaller territories such as Israel have turned lower budget into an art form and created fantastic formats that can always scale up. The important thing is to get out there, see the wider marketplace, and above all make contacts and friends, be they producers, distributors or broadcasters. This is a people business.

NEWS

South Africans Win Big at Film Festival in LA

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Matthew Roberts and Anele Matoti in Freedom Road

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t was a big night for South Africa at the 11th Annual 168 Film Festival in Los Angeles, California. Out of the 22 awards given, two South African films won eight, a coup for South African filmmakers.

‘Freedom Road’, produced by Media Village, won six awards, more than any of the other best picture contenders. ‘Scapegoat’ won Best Comedy and Best Comedy Screenplay.

One hundred and fifty-two films from across the globe were submitted, and both South African films made the top 22.

‘Freedom Road’ recieved an unprecedented 14 nominations including Best Picture, Best International Film, Best Director (Shane Vermooten), Best Actor (Matthew Dylan Roberts), Best Actress (Sylvia Ncediwe Mdunyelwa-Kobus), Best Supporting Actor (Anele Matoti), Best Cinematography and Editing (Chris Van Der Burgh) and Best Drama Screenplay (Diane Vermooten).

‘Freedom Road’ beat competition from Australia and Canada to win Best International film.

‘Scapegoat’ Writer/Director John DeVries said, “From the beginning of the writing process we decided we wanted to tell a real African story in an African way. Not trying to emulate a Hollywood style narrative but really something unique. I think this is what really helped us stand out. Africa is still intriguing to the rest of the world. We are the exotic unknown and this works to our advantage.

At the festival we must have had at least 70 people come up to us and rave about the film comparing it to the likes of ‘The Gods Must Be Crazy’. Not the comparison I would make but I’ll take it!”

“It was a tremendous night for South Africa” said Best Actor nominee, Matthew Dylan Roberts. “It’s a surreal thing to find oneself in Los Angeles representing one’s country at a Film Festival. We were cheering like mad when ‘Scapegoat’ won the first award for South Africa. I was disappointed not to win but given the quality of performances I saw and being up against the likes of Steven Baldwin and Nate Parker for Best Actor, it was an incredible honour

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Production Still

From the beginning of the writing process we decided we wanted to tell a real African story in an African way. Not trying to emulate a Hollywood style narrative but really something unique.

I think this is what really helped us stand out.

to be nominated. I’m so proud of Shane and Diane Vermooten, John Devries, Kyle Peters and all the guys for what we’ve achieved.”

Matthew continued, “South Africans have a tremendous amount of talent to share with the world. We can stand on our own two feet as filmmakers on the world stage. We have great stories to tell, world class crew, writers and actors. Everyone I spoke to has great respect for South Africans, for their work ethic, and their commitment to their art. I’m sure there will be many more films coming out of this country that will make waves overseas, and open doors for many talented filmmakers.”

Matthew reflected, “Many people were deeply touched by ‘Freedom Road’ and also found ‘Scapegoat’ incredibly funny. It struck me just how unique our local stories are. It was almost eerie when the lights went down and our films were screened. They really do transport overseas audiences into another world. That is our strength as South Africans – our identity and individuality – and we should never lose that.”

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NEWS

Khumba First 3D Animated Feature Film Released in Afrikaans

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n an exciting first for South Africa, ‘Khumba’, the South Africa film about a halfstriped zebra that is blamed for the drought by his superstitious herd and forced to go in search of a magic waterhole, will be released in Afrikaans in cinemas when it opens on 25 October, 2013.

‘Khumba’ is the second animated feature produced by Cape Town-based Triggerfish Animation Studios, following the successful global release of ‘Adventures in Zambezia’.

It features the voice of Liam Neeson as a malicious leopard, as well as the voices of Jake T Austin, AnnaSophia Robb, Lawrence Fishburn and Steve Buscemi. The film is directed by Anthony Silverston. “‘Khumba’ tells a story which is universal,

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so we are delighted to be able to release it in both English and Afrikaans as it will appeal to a wider audience,” says director, Anthony Silverstone. “It’s a great family story about the struggle to feel comfortable in your own skin and learning to fit in.”

The film tells the story of Khumba, a zebra who has only half his stripes. When he is blamed for the lack of rain by the rest of his insular, superstitious herd, he embarks on a daring quest. In his search for the legendary waterhole where the first zebras got their stripes, Khumba meets a quirky range of characters and teams up with an unlikely duo: Mama V, an overprotective wildebeest, and Bradley, a self-obsessed, flamboyant ostrich. But before he can

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To be able to release a 3D animated film of this quality in Afrikaans is a major achievement for the industry and it’s sure to delight audiences.

reunite with his herd, Khumba has to come face to face with Phango, a sadistic leopard who controls the waterholes and terrorizes all the animals in the Great Karoo. The original story was penned by Triggerfish writers Raffaella Delle Donne and Anthony Silverston in consultation with Jonathan Roberts (‘The Lion King’) and has been picked up by Millennium Entertainment for North American distribution.

“It’s a delightful story that is beautifully told,” says Helen Kuun, CEO of Indigenous Film Distribution, which is releasing the film locally. “To be able to release a 3D animated film of this quality in Afrikaans is a major achievement for the industry and it’s sure to delight audiences.”

Silver Lining Pictures Creates Projects with Flair

By Viva Entertainment

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ape Town-based production company, Silver Lining Pictures, have spearheaded fresh, exciting projects since 2011. Executive Producer and CEO, Renier Ridgeway, has worked in the industry for several years, experience that has undoubtedly aided in forming the firm’s unique style and flair.

Ridgeway completed a business degree in Johannesburg before heading off to work at London’s Moving Pictures Company. He soon ascended the ranks of the intercontinental film industry and went on to found the Romanian division of Moonlighting Films. He eventually returned home to form the Cape Town branch of Frieze Films. However, it is Silver Lining Pictures, as his own personal creation, that

he has developed and nurtured into a force to be reckoned with within the South African film industry.

Focused on enriching and uplifting the local market, Silver Lining Pictures utilizes homegrown talent to cater to an international, as well as local, client base. The company has made use of the burgeoning South African music scene to produce music videos for emerging talent, such as Third World Spectator, whose recently released single, ‘Once more with feeling’, was the directing debut of Jennifer Pack.

Silver Lining Pictures has enjoyed much success from the short film, ‘The First Time’, which is a uniquely South African ten-minute film set in the late 1400’s and tells the story of a first time encounter between the indigenous Khoi San and the lone survivor of an explorer shipwreck. The film has been screened at various international festivals and won Honours at this year’s Jakarta International Cultural Film Festival.

In March this year, Ridgeway and Co. worked alongside Fortune Promo Seven Cairo to create, during a three day long shoot, a musical extravaganza to launch Unionaire’s new Artify cooling unit. Silver Lining Pictures contracted British director, Harvey B. Brown, to add his own flamboyance to the project.

Up-and-coming South African director, Matshepo Maja, acted as Second Unit Director. Priest Post Production completed the offline edit, while Searle Street Post completed the online edit.

Silver Lining Pictures combined forces once more with Fortune Promo Seven Cairo to re-launch the Egyptian Sprite brand through a series of spots that were filmed over five consecutive days at twenty different locations with the use of over three hundred extras and featured cast members. Ali Ali, one of the most prominent contemporary directors in Egypt, was brought in following the immense success of his ‘Don’t say ‘No’ to Panda’ advertisements (the first online campaign to reach over a hundred million hits on YouTube in the Middle East). Two ninety-second films were also shot featuring popular Egyptian celebrities.

303Lowe Perth contracted Silver Lining Pictures in April to re-launch Australian cleaning brand, Enjo, with an enticing television commercial, stills and interactive online campaign. Michael Matthews, who has been newly signed by Silver Lining Pictures, skilfully directed the advertisement, which was filmed over two days in a villa filled with priceless art and involved the additional challenges of working with stunts, children and various animals, including an alpaca. Dan Mitchell did editing and all post effects were completed by Searle Street Post, with Sound FX provided by Sound Surgeon Studios and the original music composition executed by Cape Town based Pressure Cooker Studios. Marguerite Oelofse shot the captivating stills campaign.

Silver Lining Pictures plans to continue to support and develop the local film industry and aims to become a force in the production of home-grown projects.

NEWS

First Legal Film Download Site for African Film

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ollowing in the footsteps of Amazon’s LOVEFiLM and the recent launch of YouTube’s online movie rental service, AfricaFilms.tv has launched the first legal download site for films from and about Africa and the diaspora.

This initiative, created by the Senegalese company SOON, manages its entire e-store from Africa. It is based upon the co-operation between AfricaFilms.tv and the African producers, directors and film owners. Feature films, documentaries, live events and series (most available with subtitles) are all available for download from anywhere in the world.

The South Africa Online Film Festival, in partnership with Encounters South African International Documentary Film Festival, and the South African Season in France 2013, is running until the 22 September. It offers an international audience a chance to rent or buy 150 entirely South African films and TV series episodes divided into 4 genres which best represent the most well-known film events in the country: Cinema & Fiction, Documentary, LGBT and Human Rights.

AfricaFilms.tv has partnerships with the African Film Festival of Cordoba (Spain), Festival Vérone Verona African Film Festival (Italy), Africa in Motion, Scotland African Film Festival (Edinburgh), DFA Documentary Filmmakers Association (South Africa), Africultures, Africiné, and WikiAfrica.

Members will receive a Free Film Rent Offer in which each visitor can get a free film for 48 hours. This opportunity is available from 13-22 September. This is a documentary special, as a partnership between Encounters and People2people.

For more information visit: www.africafilms.tv/en/south-african-onlinefilm-festival

The Village Under The Forest

Sweetheart

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NEWS

Nedbank Digital Edge Live to Feature Obama’s Online Campaign Head

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arper Reed, the man behind U.S. President Barack Obama’s online campaign, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Nedbank Digital Edge Live in Johannesburg on 3 October, 2013.

“Harper Reed is a unique draw card.

As Chief Technology Officer of the highly successful Obama for America online campaign, he engineered perhaps the most sophisticated political campaign of all time. He is a crowd-sourcing and social media pioneer as well as an expert on the future of big data. We have no doubt he will bring something inspiring and original to the event,” says Ben Wagner, Chief Marketing Warrior of NATIVE, which is behind the event.

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The Digital Edge Live is a “thought leadership event” and forum for marketing, advertising and communications professionals. As one of the most prominent banks in the financial services sector, Nedbank has actively moved into the digital marketing arena, and by coming on board as title partner saw the opportunity to showcase its thought-leadership support.

The theme of this year’s event, the fifth anniversary, is “ICE – Intuitive Customer Experiences”. Musa Kalenga, Head: Group Digital Marketing at Nedbank Integrated Marketing, explains that the focus will be on amplifying the global trend of showcasing how marketing and IT need to work in tandem to co-design intuitive customer experiences,” he says.

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Harper Reed

Harper Reed is a unique draw card.

As Chief Technology Officer of the highly successful Obama for America online campaign, he engineered perhaps the most sophisticated political campaign of all time.

This year’s speakers include advertising and digital marketing heavyweights together with leading chief marketing and chief technology officers including Chris Gotz (Ogilvy Cape Town), Pepe Marais (Joe Public), Jason Xenopoulos (NATIVE), Fran Luckin (Quirk), Pete Case (Gloo), Alistair Fairweather (Mail & Guardian), Heidi Brauer (Hollard), and Fred Baumhardt (Microsoft).

Kalenga says, “One of the biggest barriers to creating a truly customer-centred offering is the lack of integration between marketing and IT. Most CMO’s today understand the challenges involved in winning business in a consumer-led marketplace. Unfortunately, the IT systems and processes that govern their customers’ paths-to-purchase are often unable to facilitate the growing demands of the empowered consumer.” “We will be bringing insights from forward thinking brands and agencies that have identified this problem and who are starting to break down the silos that exist within their businesses – particularly in the areas of marketing and IT,” he says.

Spit+Polish Makes Grading Available to All

By Lance Petersen

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We’re making grading to an international broadcast standard possible for companies who didn’t think they could afford it,” says Sean Rogers, head of post at Cape Town-based Spit+Polish Post Production. “We want to deliver international standards at local, indie prices.”

Aimed at the local TV, documentaries, short films and independent feature film markets, the post-production, on-line and grading house has become renowned for its ability to meet and exceed its clients’ expectations.

With UK-based colourist Matthys Pretorius and freelancers Charlie Britz and Donovan Bush grading in Smoke or Resolve, Spit+Polish is able to deliver to international broadcast standards at about half the traditional cost of grading.

“We also have a different billing structure, where we charge a creative project fee, rather

than a daily rate,” says Sean. “This removes the risk of unpleasant surprises for our clients.”

Spit+Polish has focused on keeping its overheads low. “We don’t have a Baselight or a luxury client viewing room with 14 flavours of muffins,” admits Sean. “But we’ve focused on creating an innovative pipeline that’s able to deliver to international standards.”

Most recently, Spit+Polish graded ‘Bitten’, Sarah Graham’s cooking show for Sunrise Productions and Okuhle Media. Loft London – the BBC, Discovery and National Geographicapproved quality control house handling the final deliveries – passed the grade first time, with no comebacks.

“Spit+Polish was the obvious choice for us, given Sean and Matthys’ long-term experience in long-form television post production,” says Louise McClelland (Van Hoff), Okuhle Media’s joint CEO. “Working

with them was a fantastic experience. They were extremely professional, with top quality work, and their understanding of international delivery requirements made for a smooth post-production process and a beautifully finished product that was loved by both our local broadcaster and international distributor.

As producers, we need to be able to deliver content to international broadcast standards and Spit+Polish is able to deliver, especially with their connections with Loft London.”

Spit+Polish is now busy on the pilot for Okuhle’s new international co-production series, as well as on three episodes of e.tv’s ‘EKasi: Our Stories’, being produced by Bubblegum.

Spit+Polish also offers a variety of other post production services, including 4K, 2K, HD, Digital Intermediate, online, offline, beauty retouching and age regression.

NEWS

South Africa’s SABC Launches 24 Hour News Channel

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go a great deal in building the South African nation,” says Kiviet.

The SABC signed a multi-channel agreement with MultiChoice to flight the 24-hour news channel from 1 August. The channel’s focus is on extending coverage of provincial stories and the different official languages. It is also meant to ensure that there’s current news updates beyond the bulletins on the national broadcaster’s three channels and allow the broadcaster to enhance its public service mandate.

SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago says, “It will also help us to broadcast to the public live most of the things that we deem fit are necessary for the public to see which are important like press conferences and events of

www. f ilmmak eraf r ic a. c o . za

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R

ecently, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) launched a new 24 hour news channel. Reportedly, the channel has been met with mixed reviews, with some lauding the move and others calling the channel’s launch premature.

The launch coincided with the SABC’s 77th anniversary.

According to the SABC, Eastern Cape Premier, Noxolo Kiviet welcomed the SABC’s move to launch a 24 hour news channel. Kiviet said she hopes the channel will contribute to nation-building. “That is necessary for any country to progress and to progress to a point where it is recognized as a country of note amongst the nations of the world. And therefore this platform indeed will

The channel’s focus is on extending coverage of provincial stories and the different official languages. It is also meant to ensure that there’s current news updates beyond the bulletins on the national broadcaster’s three channels and allow the broadcaster to enhance its public service mandate.

national importance. And that is very important for us.” Shortly after the deal was signed with MultiChoice the SABC undertook a recruitment drive for journalists for the channel.

However, skeptics reportedly say the launch of the new channel by SABC was premature.

The Mail & Guardian reported that the Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo) criticised the launch of the public broadcaster’s 24-hour news channel, saying, “Azapo calls on our people not to support this channel because it is our taxes that will be used in bailing it out when it sinks.” However, the paper also cited supporters like the Media Workers Association of South Africa (Mwasa), “which lauded the launch of the channel as a ‘welcome change’.”

The Mail & Guardian reports that the new contract the SABC has signed with MultiChoice states that MultiChoice Africa will pay the SABC a fee of R553-million over five years.

FEATURE

Africa’s Commercials Industry Adapts to a Changing Landscape

By Kevin Kreidemann

“

“

Bon Prix - The Shooting Gallery

he commercials landscape has shifted continuously over the past two decades, with more changes on the horizon. Here are some of the driving factors:

T

only because of the exchange rate.

The Shooting Gallery’s Brian Pyle says an average shoot day is approximately R500 000 (aprox. USD $50 000) without talent, as verified by the 2012 CPA audit.

The European Recession

Shorter Shoots

Skinny Films’ Anton Rollino says that the European recession has had a mixed impact so far. “Some territories have said, ‘It’s a recession, so we can’t travel.’ While others, like Germany, have said, ‘It’s a recession, so we have to travel.’”

To keep their key service market coming to South Africa, local production companies have learned to stretch budgets.

Anton says asking what an average shoot days costs is like asking how long a piece of string is, and particularly tricky to answer when the exchange rate is swinging by 20-30 cents a day.

But he estimates that average budgets per day are around USD $75 000 (aprox. R7 500), although this can still rise as high as USD $200 000 (aprox. R 20 000). He says this compares well with five years ago, if

“South Africa’s combination of longer daylight hours and less rainfall than most competing countries converts to longer shooting hours per day, which often converts to less shooting days and money saved,” says Brian.

He says The Shooting Gallery is currently shooting a commercial in twothree days on average, with prep taking between one week to a month and wrap another week or two, depending on the scale of the project.

“Producers are pushing to get more done in less time,” says Brian. “A recent shoot we serviced involved 16 set-ups over two days, including fireballs, crocodiles, jetpacks and laboratories. Five years ago this would have been a three-day shoot.”

It’s not just budgetary requirements that

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A recent shoot we serviced involved 16 set-ups over two days, including fireballs, crocodiles, jetpacks and laboratories.

Five years ago this would have been a three-day shoot.

www. f ilmmak eraf r ic a. c o . z a

are speeding things up: the move to digital is also playing a role. “The digital era has brought a different mentality to the industry in terms of speed but sometimes to the detriment of having time to stop and evaluate the creative process,” says Ken McKenzie from McKenzie Rudolphe Film Services.

What the Client Wants vs. What the Online Audience Wants “Clients are really driving the ship these days,” says Anton. “The client’s influence is growing more and more, and they are often not taking the advice of agencies and production companies. The work is much more product and brand-driven rather than creative-driven; the bean-counters are taking over the world.”

This trend is countered by the growing role of the web as a platform for commercials. “It’s all about the creative in the digital space,” says Groundglass’ Janette De Villiers. “You can flight a bad ad to death on TV and people are forced to watch it – but online only the good stuff gets viewed and shared.”

FEATURE

“

To keep their key service market coming to South Africa, local production companies have learned to stretch budgets.

“

Completely Digital Anton says Skinny Films hasn’t shot on film in the last year, while Brian says, “Almost 100% of ads shot this past season used digital as opposed to film.”

“Digital has been overwhelming,” says Anton. “Now, when film does come in, it’s really hard to find a loader comfortable loading film, because they haven’t done it enough, so people are almost

Cremissimo - The Shooting Gallery

uncomfortable with film.”

Brian says that digital is constantly changing, so requires “constant learning and financial investment.”

From Commercials to Content TV commercials aren’t going anywhere; even Facebook has just announced plans to sell 15-second versions as part of their news feed.

Brian says, “The amount of TV advertising in Europe has remained constant and all indications are that it will continue to do so in the future. “ He points to a recent Thinkbox article, which said that the number of TV ads watched at normal speed during 2012 was the same as in 2011 and had grown by 44% over the last ten years to this record high. The average viewer watched 47 ads a

FEATURE

Hungry Man’s Coca-Cola ‘Chase’ advert, Egg Films © Melanie Cleary Photography, www.melaniephoto.com

day during 2012, while collectively the UK watched an average of 2.7 billion ads a day in 2012. Contrary to expectations, despite increasing video-on-demand options, the article claimed that in the UK 89.9% of linear TV in 2012 was watched live, as it was broadcast, compared to 90.3% in 2011.

“Traditional commercials are intrinsically a part of people’s lives,” says Anton. “That’s not going to change.

But media spend that was directed to commercials is being directed to other media. We now create content, no matter what form it is.”

He says one challenge this brings is that clients won’t spend the same per second on 10-minutes of branded content as they will on a thirty-second commercial.

Another is that you’re no longer shooting for one channel anymore, so you can’t be as tailored or bespoke as previously, especially as many ads are now targeted globally and cut into multiple lengths.

Beyond Cape Town During Season Anton visited Argentina last year, where he was struck by how fragmented the South

American service industry was.

He admits the same could be said of Southern Africa. “We’re still quite individualistic – Cape Town versus Joburg. We’ve really missed a trick. When we started marketing as service companies, everybody went to London and sold Cape Town from October – March. Yes, it built a great industry. But we never went out and said, ‘We are Southern Africa any time of the year. We did ourselves a disservice and created a mindset that is now very hard to change.”

Neighbouring countries offer not just fresh locations and alternate weather patterns; they’re increasingly become markets themselves.

Santam, Real Mccoy - Bouant

Playboy, Hair Through the Ages - Egg Films

Chicken Licken - Egg Films

FEATURE The Historical Overview Skinny Films’ Anton Rollino says, “From [19]92-[19]94, people came to South Africa as a new location and an exciting, brilliant new country. As a value-driven location, we saw a tremendous upsurge from a zero-base until about 2001.

Those were the heydays.”

While he says South Africa quickly developed a strong expertise base, international clients started to “discover new locations and possibly got a bit tired of Cape Town, of the same locations and the same restaurants.”

Combined with the recessions, there was a significant fall off, but Anton says this has now come full circle.

“People are coming back to South Africa and Southern Africa, but it’s now because they know what they’re going to get. It’s return work – from people who came here, went elsewhere, and have now come back.”

Janette De Villiers from Groundglass agrees. “We are without a doubt one of the most respected service industries in the world, and with our weak rand, we are back in the mix cost wise.”

After a few tough years, people are sounding more positive than I’m used to. As Ken McKenzie from McKenzie Rudolphe Film Services says, “Generally the film industry is in a good state, with very little bad about it at the moment.”

Elelwani - Refinery

“Africa as a continent is starting to enjoy more confidence,” says Anton.

“It’s not going to become a superpower overnight, but there’s an awakening interest in the larger Africa. If you look at West or North or East Africa, there is more work happening. We’ve had approaches from multinational companies who are more open to shooting in Nigeria, or at least casting there to shoot here.”

Nandos, Diversity - Bouffant

“As Africa emerges, television ownership and consumerism in general will increase very rapidly,” says Brian. “This is already starting. With this will come the need for more African-based television commercials and films, which will need to be up to worldclass standards. This will offer South African based production companies a new market and may require restructuring for many existing production companies.”

FEATURE South Africa’s Sales Pitch

FNB, Dog - Velocity Films

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The digital era has brought a different mentality to the industry in terms of speed but sometimes to the detriment of having time to stop and evaluate the creative process.

“

While South Africa is no longer an emerging market, the sales pitch has stayed consistent.

“People still shoot in South Africa for three main reasons,” says Ken McKenzie from McKenzie Rudolphe Film Services. “Firstly, the climate – we have beautiful summers when filming can’t take place in our client’s winters.

Secondly, costs: South Africa is still economically-competitive. And thirdly, our brilliant infrastructure and crews.”

The Shooting Gallery’s Brian Pyle also highlights Cape Town’s diversity.

“Cape Town is many cities – and indeed many countries,” he says.

“The neighbouring environs provide a breathtaking backdrop of green mountainsides, beautiful beaches, vast wheat fields, and dense forests, all within one-two hour’s drive.”

He also says part of the appeal is the “great lifestyle” and “memorable stays” that come with our advanced tourism industry.

Nates Audio Visual Offers Top Service Delivery

N

ates Audio Visual started from humble beginnings in September 2008. Since then, the company has grown by leaps and bounds.

This exponential growth precipitated the move to new premises on Main Avenue, Ferndale (Randburg). The company has been transformed since its founding from a sound bias rental house into a one-stop-shop servicing all facets of the production industry as well as all budgets.

The fairytale story has not been without its Grinch. We did experience some teething problems early on, leading us to adapt and find our niche as well as putting in a new management team. Besides for our full complement of gear, our company’s service delivery, attention to detail and uncanny ability to bend over backwards for clients are the hallmarks we pride ourselves on and what we believe sets us apart from our competitors.

By Martin Smookler

This year has been a particularly exciting one as we have gone on a shopping spree to ensure our treasure chest is replete with the latest goodies to satisfy our loyal clients and inspired DOP’s.

Some of the items purchased are: • Sony F55 4K Raw Camera • Sony 4K Prime Lens Set (6 piece) • Sony 25” HD OLED monitor • Sony 7” OLED monitor • Sony FS700 Camcorder (specialist slow mo 240 frames in full HD) with Metabones adapter (allows usage of Canon EF lenses) & range of Zeiss Primes • Canon 5D Mark 3’s • Bon 7”OLED on-board monitors (due to overwhelming demand) • 500w & 1000w LED Light Panels All this to compliment our usual one-stop shop offering of: • Camera

•

Lighting: Cinepar HMI to Fresnels, Kino flos, Redhead kits and Blondes • Full range of flags, yashmaks and butterfly kits • Grips • Dollies • Vehicles: Toyota Quantum Panel Van & VW Crafter (4ton) • Consumables We are currently eyeing the New Blackmagic 4k camera as well as some new lighting gear.

So call on us, we are ready and waiting to smother you with our unprecedented service.

COUNTRY SPOTLIGHT

Rwanda Land of a Thousand Hills

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www. f ilmmak eraf r ic a. c o . z a

© Shutterstock

R

wanda is filled with picturesque gardens, tea plantations and valleys waiting to be captured on film.

Bordering Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda is home to one third of Africa’s bird species and is also one of the only places in the world where mountain gorillas can be observed in their natural habitat. The mountainous terrain in northwest of Rwanda near the Virunga Volcanoes is often referred to as the “Switzerland of Africa”. In recent years, the Rwandan government has tried to move beyond its troubled past. The tourism board aims to transform Rwanda into a top destination in Africa where nature is the focus.

© Derek Keats

© Shutterstock

COUNTRY SPOTLIGHT

What’s Happening Now

Population

The Rwanda Fashion Festival is scheduled to take place from 26-30 September, 2013. The festival will bring talent and up-and-coming designs together to celebrate creativity and embrace Afro contemporary trends. It is a five day event that showcases local designs to international trends. It is Rwanda’s premier fashion festival and has become internationally recognized.

12,012,589 in July 2013, according to the CIA World Factbook.

Key Venues Virunga Mountains The Virunga Mountains, situated in the Northern Province of Rwanda, consists of six volcanoes, 125 km2 of mountain forest, and are the home of Rwanda’s gorillas. The Volcanoes National Park was first gazetted in 1925 to protect the gorillas from poaching.

It was the first National Park to be created in Africa. The area also boasts caves, a number of Cultural and Community Tourism initiatives, and bird watching.

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Actors including Danny Glover, Clive Owen, Sigourney Weaver, Don Cheadle and Jay O. Sanders have all worked on productions in Rwanda or support the local film industry.

Butare Considered the intellectual and cultural pulse of Rwanda, Butare is a city in the Southern Province of Rwanda and capital of the Huye district. It was the formal colonial capital of Rwanda and is home to several academic institutions, including the country’s largest university, the University of Rwanda, the Rwandan National Institute of Scientific Research, and the Ruhande Arboretum.

Getting to Rwanda by Air Kigali International Airport (formerly known as Gregoire Kayibanda International Airport) is the primary airport serving Rwanda. It is the main air gateway for all destinations in the country. There are three terminals at Kigali.

The airport also serves as a transit airport for Goma and Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Climate Because Rwanda is located in close proximity to the equator, high altitudes keep temperatures moderate throughout the year.

There are two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January) and average temperatures range from 16-22 degrees Celsius. The dry season from mid-May to mid-October is easier for tracking mountain gorillas, but the hills are barren, a contrast to the green of the wet season. Peak season for gorilla tracking is July and August. It rains more frequently and heavily in the northeast, where the volcanoes are covered by rainforest. The summit of Karisimbi, the highest peak in Rwanda, is often covered with sleet or snow.

You Need to Know About Rwanda’s film economy is growing rapidly.

Successful international productions filmed on location in Rwanda with local film crews include: ‘Sometimes in April’ (2005), ‘Shake Hands with the Devil’ (2007) and ‘Operation Turquoise’ (2007).

Actors including Danny Glover, Clive Owen, Sigourney Weaver, Don Cheadle and Jay O. Sanders have all worked on productions in Rwanda or support the local film industry.

Did you know?

According to the World Bank, Rwanda is one of the easiest countries in Africa to do business in. Zero tolerance on corruption and ease of starting a business makes Rwanda attractive to international investors and entrepreneurs, including those in the film industry.

www.f i l mma kera f r i ca .co.za T HE C A L L S HEET

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IN PRODUCTION

In Production September 2013 Thanks to ever-present confidentiality clauses, no one is ever allowed to officially talk about what’s in production in Africa, so this monthly section is an unofficial overview of the industry’s worst-kept secrets. While the exact timing is unclear, all of the projects listed below are expected to shoot in the near future.

‘SAF3’ Kalahari Pictures has begun filming in Cape Town on ‘SAF3,’ (previously called ‘Rescue 3’) a heroic new TV series from Gregory J. Bonann, the creator of ‘Baywatch.’

Starring action legend Dolph Lundgren (‘The Expendables’), the series follows an elite multi-agency task force dedicated to saving human life. The team consists of the cream-of-the-crop of Los Angeles’ lifeguard, firefighter and coast guard agencies; heroes who form a highly-specialised rescue unit to answer the most challenging calls in the most dangerous elements on earth – air, fire and water.

Dolph Lundgren in ‘The Expendables’

‘Book of Negroes’ Conquering Lion Pictures, Out Of Africa Entertainment and Entertainment One are prepping a mini-series adaptation of ‘The Book of Negroes,’ based on Lawrence Hill’s Commonwealth Writer’s Prize winning novel about a resolute African woman who survives slavery, the American revolution, and the jungles of Sierra Leone to secure her freedom. Director Clement Virgo (‘The Wire,’ ‘Poor Baby’s Game’) co-wrote the screenplay with Lawrence.

‘Chappie’

Dev Patel in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

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‘District 9’ and ‘Elysium’ director Neill Blomkamp is prepping ‘Chappie’, a robot science fiction comedy based on his short film ‘Tetra Vaal.’ It’s expected to shoot in Johannesburg with Uncle Morris. Sharlto Copley stars as a police robot, while IMDB lists Dev Patel (‘Slumdog Millionaire’ & ‘Newsroom’) and Die Antwoord’s Ninja and Yolandi Vi$$er among the cast.

www. f ilmmak eraf r ic a. c o . za

‘Shuga’ After filming the first two series in Kenya, MTV Base has moved its award-winning drama series ‘Shuga’ to Nigeria, where it will be filming in Lagos in September. Biyi Bandele (‘Half of a Yellow Sun’) directs the eight-part series, which is written by Kemi Adesoye (‘The Figurine’, ‘Phone Swap’).

Beat FM DJ and ‘Morning Rush’ host Maria Okanrende stars.

IN PRODUCTION

‘Northmen: A Viking Saga’ Two Oceans Productions are prepping the feature ‘Northmen: A Viking Saga.’ ‘Sniper Reloaded’’s Claudio Faeh is directing, while Ken Duken (‘Inglorious Bastards’) stars.

The synopsis on Salt’s website talks about ‘viking marauders,’ ‘intent on pillaging,’ who ‘mercilessly decimate their pursuers one by one…’ It also mentions ‘a monk who preaches with his sword.’

Ken Duken at ‘Inglorious Bastards’

‘The Giver’ In August, Deadline reported that triple-Oscar winner Meryl Streep was poised to join Oscar-winner Jeff Bridges in ‘The Giver,’ the adaptation of Lois Lowry’s Newbery-winning dystopian children’s book. Philip Noyce, who shot ‘Mary & Martha’ and ‘Catch a Fire’ in South Africa, is directing The Weinstein Company and Walden Media co-production, which is expected to shoot for eight weeks, beginning in October 2013.

Meryl Streep in ‘Iron Lady’

Peter Sarsgaard in ‘An Education’

‘Lady Grey’ Peter Sarsgaard is starring in ‘Lady Grey,’ a French-South Africa co-production directed

by Alain Choquart (‘Julie Lescaut’), which is expected to start shooting in November in KwaZulu Natal. The story revolves around a Catholic Mission station dealing with its past as it transitions into the new South Africa.

‘The Englishman’

‘One’ Enigma Pictures is prepping ‘One’ for Australian director Murali Krishna Thalluri. Deadline describes it as “racially fueled post-apocalyptic adventure as seen through the eyes of a 26-year old girl. She is the hope of her world, yet holds fundamental doubts about whether she can live up to this daunting task.”

In August, ‘Variety’ reported that John Moore (‘A Good Day To Die Hard’, ‘Behind Enemy Lines’) is expected to direct ‘The Englishman’ in South Africa in early-2014. The screenplay

by William Wisher (‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’) is based on Will Scully’s book ‘Once a Pilgrim: The True Story Of One Man’s Coverage Under Rebel Fire,’ about a Special Air Service regiment evacuating civilians during a military coup in Sierra Leone.

www.f i l mma kera f r i ca .co.za T HE C A L L S HEET

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INDUSTRY MOVES

New Managing Director at Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town (O&M CT), the Cape’s biggest marketing services agency has announced that Luca Gallarelli has been named Managing Director, moving up from the Deputy Managing Director position he has held for 18 months. Gallarelli replaces Gavin Levinsohn who is leaving for Australia after five successful years in charge. Ogilvy & Mather SA CEO Abey Mokgwatsane said “Luca is both superbly qualified and prepared for the position of MD after outstanding work as Business Director on some of the agency’s biggest clients and four years on the board”.

O&M CT recently won AdReview Cape

VWV Appoints Koo Govender as its First Female CEO The VWV Group, South Africa’s leading brand experience agency, has announced Koo Govender’s appointment as the first female CEO in its thirty-year history. Govender who is currently the M-Net director: corporate marketing and communications, will take over the reins in September.

Founder and chairman of the Group, Mark Steinhobel says: “Koo’s combination of business and marketing acumen coupled with her experience with high profile events and stakeholder relationship management is unrivalled. She has all the right credentials to lead a strong organization like VWV, and brings a unique perspective at a time when we are expanding into new markets and

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launching new platforms like those offered

by VWV Massive,” says Steinhobel.

VWV says Govender, who has worked at the MultiChoice Group for 22 years, developed a real sensitivity to different markets during her tenure, and has an unqualified depth of understanding when it comes to holisitic marketing and consumer market segmentation.

“I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to lead a company that has carved its niche in the industry over the last 30 years; an organisation that is highly awarded and respected. I am confident I can bring my experience, strengths, and positive energy to drive the business forward to even greater levels of achievement,” says Govender.

w ww. f ilmmak eraf r ic a. c o . za

Agency of the Year. Mokgwatsane believes Gallarelli can build on that impressive record because “he has the complete confidence of everyone in the building and among our key clients”. Port Elizabeth-born Gallarelli studied computer sciences at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and then attended the AAA School of Advertising before joining, what was then called, Ogilvy & Mather Rightford SearleTripp & Makin in 2002.

Aside from a two year stint at the Jupiter Drawing Room, he has been at the agency ever since and recently has primarily been responsible for the SAB accounts portfolio.

He joined the board in 2009 and was appointed deputy MD in 2012.

O&M CT says a hallmark of Levinsohn’s tenure at O&M CT has been restless innovation and Gallarelli promises even more of that; “in keeping with David Ogilvy’s famous habit of divine discontent we must continue pushing, challenging and changing ourselves, our methods and our work.”

Gallarelli officially takes over as MD of O&M CT on December 1, 2013.

African Director’s Film a Box Office Leader South African-born director Neill Blomkamp’s science-fiction thriller ‘Elysium’ led at the box office in mid-August with one week worth USD $29.8 million, according to the Associated Press.

‘Elysium’ beat the comedy ‘We’re the Millers’, ‘Planes’, and ‘Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters’.

However, the film fell short of Blomkamp’s debut, 2009’s Oscar-nominated ‘District 9’.

For Advertising Please Contact Hanlie Mylo 021 674 0646 or hanlie@filmeventmedia.co.za

INDUSTRY MOVES

MetropolitanRepublic Names New Board Members

Mischal Naradh

MetropolitanRepublic has announced two new members to the board of directors, Samantha Condon – Operations Director and Nischal Naradh – Financial Director.

Both Samantha and Nischal joined MetropolitanRepublic this year and were

recently appointed to the board.

MetropolitanRepublic says, having spent over 13 years with advertising agency Draftfcb, Samantha comes with a solid and consistent career in advertising and is a key addition to the team. She is responsible for the daily operation of MetropolitanRepublic, with the vision of producing an agile, innovative and focused high-performance agency.

Nischal Naradh, who has over 14 years of financial experience, is responsible for the financial management of the group and a fundamental contributor to the overall success of the agency.

MetropolitanRepublic is a leading, integrated creative advertising agency with offices situated in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Uganda, Rwanda and Swaziland. The

Samantha Condon

organisation’s purpose is to instil cultural relevance on brands, their products, and their services, unlocking multi-market, multi-cultural growth opportunities on the African continent. MetropolitanRepublic services a number of client accounts, such as MTN, FNB, Sanlam, Hippo, SAB, Environ, World Design Capital 2014, The Fish & Chip Co, Nando’s and Aveng.

‘MINESH’ Selected Into Orizzonti Competition at 70th Venice Film Festival

SABC Reality Television Show ‘The Big Break’ Going International Entrepreneurial reality TV show ‘The Big Break Legacy’ is going international. Two episodes of the show, which culminates with the winner receiving a R5-million investment into their business, will be filmed in The Netherlands and one episode in London.

Explains the show’s creator and one of the judges Ezra Ndwandwe,“We are thrilled to announce this Dutch/South African connection which takes The Big Break Legacy to a whole new level. It has given us an international platform and foot-print and access to European business markets and investors that are

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keen to invest in the developing world!

Of course, it also makes for exciting television for viewers and will be both aspirational and inspirational.”

Says SABC2’s Publicity Manager, Zandile Nkonyeni, “We are delighted that episodes of the Big Break Legacy will now be filmed overseas. The programmes has seen a lot of anticipation from the local audience and the international connection gives it extra gravitas. It will make for thrilling television for our viewers while still ensuring that they can learn something meaningful about the business of business.”

www. f ilmmak eraf r ic a. c o . za

Short film ‘MINESH’, written and directed

by Shalin Sirkar of Chalia Films, has been selected into the Orizzonti Short Films Competition of the 70th Venice Film Festival.

It is the only South African film in the official selection of this year’s Venice Film festival.

Lensed in Kylemore, near Stellenbosch, the 12 minute film tells the story of six yearold who runs away from home. Minesh, played by Tristan De La Cruz (six), is an introverted boy, hanging about in the garden while his father landscapes. When he walks in on a violent scene of his parents, he is shocked, afraid and runs away. When he emerges from the overgrowth, he finds himself sucked into the world of a few street children. The film highlights the psychological plight of children who are exposed to domestic violence.

‘MINESH’ is a South African, German, Danish co-production, with producers Karl Baumgartner and Thanassis Karathanos of Pallas Film, Germany; Peter Aalbæk Jensen of Zentropa Entertainment, Denmark and Shalin Sirkar of Chalia Films.

I DID THAT AD

Creative Circle

June Winning Work ididthatad.com has announced the Creative Circle June Winning Work. The following are the winners in the film and experiential categories. Congratulations to all of the Winners!

FILM WINNERS

Mercedes-Benz Attention Assist Colleague Net#Work Bbdo Exec Creative Director | Jenny Glover / Brent Singer Art Director | Brent Singer Writer | Jenny Glover Production Company | Egg Films Director | Bruno Bossi Editor | Matthew Swanepoel Audio Eng | David Law

Kalahari.Com On Line Retail Taken & Aweigh / Speed & Napoleon Jwt Ct Creative Director | Jonathan Lang Art Director | Graeme Bettles Writer | Roderick Mccall Production Company | Platypus Productions Editor | Ian Chuter & Ric Shields Audio Eng & Audio Des | Stephen Webster Voice Artist | Adam Behr

Bosch Power Tools Drills Women Problems Ireland Davenport Exec Creative Director | Phil Ireland/John Davenport Art Director | Bruce Murphy Writer | Eric Wittstock Production Company | Velocity Africa Director | Mpho Twala Editor | Deep End Audio Eng | Earworm

EXPERIENTIAL WINNERS

Stoprhinopoaching.Com The Rhino Stamp Project Tbwa Hunt Lascaris Jhb Exec Creative Director | Adam Livesey Art Director | Shane Forbes Writer | Charles Pantland Photographer | Des Ellis

Safety Lab & Blikkiesdorp4hope Hope Soap Y&R Sa Chief Creative Officer | Graham Lang Exec Creative Director | Rui Alves Art Director | Justin Joshua (Creative Group Head) / Rowan Foxcroft / Gareth Owen / Ayesh Mukadam Writer | Nkanyezi Masango (Creative Group Head) / Graham Krige Production Company | The Fraternity (Case Study) Photographer | Aimee Pozniak Editor | Paul Charles Cinematographer | Gareth Place Production Manager | Rory Bonnes Producer | Ashleigh Hamilton

Galderma Pharmaceuticals Benzac Ac5 Stop Zits Before They Get Out Of Hand The Jupiter Drawing Room (South Africa) Jhb Creative Director | Jacques Shalom Writer | Tracey-Lauren Milne / Jacques Shalom / Prudence Mahlanya Art Director | John Withers / Natalie Le Roux / Mpumi Guliwe Production Company | Bynry Photographer | Merwelene Van Der Merwe Illustrator | Freddy Petersen / Tami Michi

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EVENTS

September TRI CONTINENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL 13 - 29 Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Pretoria, South Africa

LOERIES 16 - 22 Cape Town, South Africa

NIGERIA COM 17 - 18 Lagos, Nigeria

October NEDBANK DIGITAL EDGE LIVE 03 Johannesburg, South Africa

DOCKANEMA 13 - 22 Maputo, Mozambique

PHOTO & FILM EXPO 31 Oct - 03 Nov Johannesburg, South Africa MTN Africa. Directed by Bryan Little (Fly On The Wall). Photo by Filipa Domingues.

November CAPE TOWN AND WINELANDS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 01 - 10 Nov Cape Town, South Africa

DISCOP AFRICA 06 - 08 Nov Johannesburg, South Africa

CAIRO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 19 - 26 Nov Cairo, Egypt

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EVENTS

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OPPORTUNITIES

MUSE Awards Call for Entries The MUSE Awards are an initiative of the Writers’ Guild of South Africa (WGSA). The primary objective is to honour, celebrate and promote the creativity, quality and writing excellence of the members of the Writers’ Guild of South Africa.

Established in 2013, these awards are only open to Members of the Guild.

In the first year it has been decided to only run six categories:

Eko International Film Festival Call for Entries The Eko International Film Festival (EKOIFF) will return for its fourth edition in 2013 from 18-23 November. The Film Festival contributes to the Nigeria being positioned as a creative hub through its focus on high quality, Nigerian cinema. EKOIFF is accepting entries to the 4th EKOIFF edition.

Applications for submitting films are being accepted on the official EKOIFF website: www.ekoiff.org – the deadline is 15 October, 2013).

For a summary of the regulations for the 2013 edition, please visit the EKOIFF website: www.ekoiff.org, or contact us by e-mail at submissions@ekoiff.org.

The Festival accepts films in nine sections including: •

Feature Film

•

Short Film

•

Fiction

•

Comedy

•

Drama

•

Horror

•

Documentaries

•

Student Film

•

One minute short films

More information on the programme will be released in the lead up to the event at: www.ekoiff.org.

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•

Feature Film

•

TV Drama

•

TV Comedy

•

Documentary

•

Stage Plays

•

Unproduced scripts in any genre

Entries for 2013 close at midnight on the last day of October 2013.

For more information visit: www.wgsamuseawards.co.za

AfricaCom Awards 2013 Promoting Digital Excellence in Africa Now in their 6th year, the Africa Com Awards are recognised as the premier accolade for anyone operating in Africa’s digital market.

View last year’s lucky recipients in the 2012 Hall of Fame...

The Africa Com Awards are open to any Operator, Vendor and Regulator, of any size and any location who offers solutions or products anywhere within Africa.

Deadline for entries in 2013 is Friday 6th September.

HOW TO ENTER Each entry has a specified word count that must be adhered to. Failure to keep to the word count could result in your entry being rejected by the judges.

Once submitted, entries cannot be edited using this site: please contact us if you need to make changes.

Please ensure that your entry is submitted with unformatted text.

We recommend you finalise your entry offline and copy and paste it into the entry form.

Please note that because the text is not formatted, there is no need to use special fonts and styles. Your entry will appear

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simply as paragraphs of continuous text. If you wish to indicate bulleted text, please use a symbol such as ~ or *. You may consider using upper case text for headings and emphasis.

If required, you can provide supporting documentation in PDF format.

For more details visit: www.africacomawards.com For assistance, please contact melissa.willock@informa.com.

OPPORTUNITIES

New Generation Social and Digital Media Awards Lavello Marketing Solutions has announced that The New Generation Social and Digital Media Awards will be taking place on 26 November at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.

This new award is aimed at recognising both corporates and agencies for innovative, strategic as well as ground-breaking social and digital media campaigns.

“Brands throughout the country are taking huge strides in the online media arena,” says Stephen Paxton, CEO of Lavello Marketing Solutions. “Corporates as well as agencies are combining traditional marketing strategies with new and exciting digital media techniques resulting in creative content that engages consumers.”

With 40 categories including Outstanding Customer Care using Social Media, Best Corporate Web Site and the Excellence in Content Marketing Award, The New Generation Social and Digital Media Awards will not only recognise leading brands but also individuals in categories such as Best Graphic Designer and academics in categories such as Best Master’s Thesis.

“The awards are open to corporates, agencies, associations, NGOs, institutions and individuals in the fields of online communications,” explains Paxton. “The panel of judges, who represents some of the most successful businesses in the country, will be looking for innovation, creativity, results and efficiency.”

Entries are open and the closing date for submission is 20 September. For more information and the entry form visit www. lavello.co.za/awards or call 011 462 9963.

Movies That Matter Call for Submissions Committed to the promotion and a wider circulation of human rights film screenings worldwide, Movies that Matter has initiated an extra stimulus for the circulation of human rights films in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Movies that Matter has two selection rounds per year. The next deadline for applications 15 September 2013 Movies that Matter offers modest financial assistance up to € 5.000 of subsidy to organise various types of human rights film events in countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America,

Middle East and Eastern Europe.

This may take various forms, such as human rights film festivals, mobile cinema programmes, film and debate programmes, small-scale screenings for specific target groups, rotation within a network of film houses, school and university screenings, and distribution through multimedia platforms.

For more information contact: Matthea de Jong or Mira Zeehandelaar on 0031(0)20-7733627 or international@moviesthatmatter.nl.

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OPPORTUNITIES

Pan African Film Festival Now Taking Submissions The Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is ready to take movie goers on a cinematic journey with international film screenings from around the globe with the announcement of its call for submissions. The 22nd annual PAFF will be held on February 6-17, 2014 in Los Angeles. The film festival is the nation’s largest and most prestigious Black film festival. Over the years, it has showcased films from all parts of the world, representing such countries as Angola, Austria, England, Bermuda, Canada, Egypt, Ethiopia, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, Nigeria, and of course, the United States. With the pulse on the international film market, PAFF has opened the minds of its audiences, and transported them to lands far away and back home again.

“Over the years, the filmmakers from around the world have become more sophisticated in telling their stories,” says Asantewa Olatunji, the director of programming for PAFF. This year, PAFF has been feted with several awards, including aLifetime Achievement Awards from the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) and the first ever Special Achievement Award in the Film Festival Category by African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) for its contribution to cinematic arts. In February, the festival screened a total of 154 films, representing 34 countries — that is, 23 documentaries, 13 short documentaries, 67 narrative features, and 51 narrative shorts.

Currently, PAFF is accepting submissions of independent features, shorts, narratives and documentary films made by or about people of African descent. Applications are available via the PAFF website at www.paff. org, by emailing ao@paff.org or calling (310) 337-4737.

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ELIGIBILITY: The PAFF is currently accepting applications for films and videos made by and/or about people of African descent. (Please note: the filmmaker(s) need not be of African or African American descent.) Films should preferably depict positive and realistic images and can be of any genre — drama, comedy, horror, adventure, animation, romance, science fiction, experimental, etc. PAFF accepts features and shorts both narrative and documentary. The film festival will accept submissions of works in progress; however, the final version of the film must be completed no later than January 2, 2014.

COMPETITION: The PAFF competition categories are: Best Narrative Feature,Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary, Best Director — First Feature, plus, Audience Favorite Awards for Narrative Featureand Favorite Documentary. Films in competition must be copyrighted no earlier than 2013. With the exception of Audience Favorite Awards, all films are judged by industry

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professionals, selected by PAFF. In addition to competition awards, other programming and festival special prizes will be awarded.

SUBMISSION: For information about the festival, submission procedures, fees and registration, visit www. paff.org or call 310. 337-4737. Submissions will be accepted from now through October 19, 2013. Late submissions will be accepted until November 16, 2013. Official selection announcements will be made beginning December 16, 2013.

ASSOCIATIONS

NFVF The NFVF congratulates ‘Adventures in Zambezia’ on Winning the Best Feature for Children in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) congratulates ‘Adventures in Zambezia’ for winning the best Feature film for Children at the ANIMA MUNDI 2013 which took place from the 2nd to the 11th August 2013.

The film’s achievement comes after its successful run at the 2012 Durban International Film Festival where it won the award for Best South African Feature Film. Other awards that the animated feature has won include Best Animation at the South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) and Best Animation at the African Movie Academy Awards.

Directed by Wayne Thornley and written

by Andrew Cook, Raffaella Delle Donne, Anthony Silverston and Thornley, the film tells the story of a young falcon bird that leaves the desolate desert where he lives with his father to discover action and

SAGE Showcase with SAFTA Winning Editors adventure in the big city of Zambezia.

‘Adventures in Zambezia’ was the first African 3D animated feature animation to be nominated at the Annie Awards last year. The Hollywood-based awards are the most prestigious awards in the animation industry and are coveted by all the major studios. The film has been sold to over 40 territories and within 12 weeks of its release in 5 territories the film had sold over 1 million tickets, notably reaching number 2 at the box office in Russia and Germany. The film will also be released in other markets by its French distributor from Wednesday the 14th of August across 477 screens.

The South African Guild of Editors will have a SAFTA award winning editor showcase with Ronelle Loots and Tanja Hagen on the 19th of September. Ronelle Loots is an award winning feature film and documentary editor. She has worked on several renowned films including: ‘Die Wonderwerker’ (2012), ‘Faith Like Potatoes’ (2006), ‘Forgiveness’ (2006) and ‘Promised Land’ (2002). Tanja Hagan is an award winning film and TV drama editor with years of experience. Productions she’s worked on include ‘Paradise Stop’ (2009), ‘White Wedding’ (2008), ‘Blitzpatrolie’ (2013) and the TV drama 90 Plein Street. The venue is to be confirmed. For more information visit: www.editorsguildsa.org

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DIRECTORY LISTINGS

Advertisers COMPANY

TELEPHONE

EMAIL

WEBSITE

Aon

+27 11 944 7290

dani.ettridge@aon.co.za

www.aon.co.za

Aquila Private Game

+27 861 737 3783

res@aquilasafari.com

www.aquilasafari.co.za

AVIS Rent-A-Car

+27 21 424 1661

avisfilm@avis.co.za

www.avis.com

Budget

+27 21 510 8602

garydv@budget.co.za

www.budget.co.za

Cape Town International

+27 21 410 5000

info@cticc.co.za

www.cticc.co.za

Fairbridges Attorneys

+27 21 405 7300

attorneys@fairbridges.co.za

www.fairbridges.co.za

Nates Audio Visual

+27 861 628 371

rentals@nates.co.za

www.nates.co.za

Panavision

+27 21 555 1780

nicholas.doble@panavision.za.com

www.panavision.com

Pioneer Freight

+27 21 386 5946

info@pioneerfreight.co.za

www.pioneerfreight.co.za

Pro Events

+27 21 425 2170

sam@proevents-sa.co.za

www.proevents-sa.co.za

Roodebloem Studios

+27 21 447 6326

media@roodebloemstudios.co.za

www.roodebloemstudios.co.za

Rosco

+44 20 8659 2300

Denise.Piguet@rosco.com

www.rosco.com

SAE Institute

+27 21 469 3600

capetown@sae.edu

www.capetown.sae.edu

Salt River Film Studios

+27 21 510 2598

info@saltriverfilmstudios.com

www.saltriverfilmstudios.com

Silverlining Pictures

+27 21 422 0072

renier@silverliningpictures.tv

www.silverliningpictures.tv

Spit & Polish

+27 83 577 6600

info@spitandpolish.co.za

www.spitandpolish.co.za

Tempest Car Hire

+27 11 552 3900

marketing@tempestcarhire.co.za

www.tempestcarhire.co.za

Loeries

+27 11 447 6889

info@loeries.com

www.theloerieawards.co.za

Whole Bang Shoot

+27 21 818 8600

info@wholebangshoot.co.za

www.wholebangshoot.co.za

Wizardz

+27 21 461 9334

copy@wizardz.co.za

www.wizardz.co.za

Convention Centre

40 | T HE CALLSHE E T

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