April 18, 2005, Johannesburg South Africa. Former CEO and Film Commissioner of the Gauteng Film Office (GFO) Themba Sibeko has joined as an equal partner to Joel Phiri and Jeremy Nathan’s companies Dv8 Films and IMG Productions.
The move comes at the time when the group has decided to merge its two sister companies- Dv8 Films and IMG Productions into one trading unit which will trade as Dv8/IMG.
Dv8/IMG's slate for 2005-2006 includes Nobel Prize© winner JM Coetzee's Disgrace. The film, which is attracting an A list Cast, is a co-production with Australian company Wild Strawberries. It is written by Anna Maria Monticelli and directed by Steve Jacobs (La Spangnola). In addition, Dv8/IMG will produce Fela Kuti - the Black President, a feature length documentary on the life of mega Afro-pop star Fela Kuti in co-production with United Kingdom's Smoking Dogs Productions, helmed by John Akomfrah. The slate also includes two directorial debuts, Bird Can't Fly by renowned Dutch theatre director Threes Anna (of Doegtrop fame) to which Barbara Hershey has been attached and Thieves and Angels, Farai Sevenzo's directorial debut in collaboration with Producers Bridget Pickering (Hotel Rwanda) and Rudolf Wichmann (Drum). The Company will also make at least two to three local Dv8/IMG films over the next twelve to eighteen months.
Dv8/IMG is one of the few South African production companies with the capability of putting together credible local and international projects. The trio of Phiri, Nathan and Sibeko combines extensive experience with formidable networks and credits in the local and international film industry.
Dv8 was created with specific partners in 2000. Embracing the High-Definition digital format, it embarked on a new model for producing films in South Africa; producing modest budgeted films (R7 to 10 million Rands) in a slate over a three year period. In its short life span it has become a brand synonymous with "local is lekker" for South African filmmaking. Its core partners are the SABC2, National Film and Video Foundation, Rand Merchant Bank and Ster-Kinekor. The products of Dv8 have been the two films, Forgiveness by Ian Gabriel and Max and Mona by Teddy Mattera. Max and Mona was released in March 2005 and is still on the local cinema circuit. Forgiveness was released in June last year.
"When we created Dv8, our aim was to develop enough scripts so that we could produce at least twelve films over a certain number of years. Distributors need a steady flow of product. It wasn't any easy project to put together as we were financing a concept rather than an individual film. The initiative was created whilst I was running Avatar, my own production company, and Joel was at Ice Media. The first few films have attracted a large amount of interest internationally", states Nathan.
IMG Productions, their sister company designed for larger budget films, was the first to do a film deal with Rand Merchant Bank, a division of the First Rand Group. The US$15 million film Monsieur N was selected for the Berlin International Film Festival Panorama section in 2003.
Subsequently IMG has also Executive Produced Richard E Grants' Wah Wah, which was shot in Swaziland with Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects, Millers Crossing), Emily Watson(Gosford Park, Breaking the Waves), Miranda Richardson (The Hours, Sleepy Hollow), Julie Walters (Calendar Girls, Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets) and Ian Hoult ( About A Boy). Once again RMB backed the IMG share in the film. Wah Wah will be released by Ster-Kinekor in South Africa later this year.
"Jeremy and I have always maintained that we should continuously strategize, refining and modifying the model as we go along. Three years along the road we are more concerned with film as a business. It's great being seen as a vanguard or watershed company but also there has to be some semblance of business savvy. Since IMG already had one high profile film in its catalogue (Monsieur N) and a partnership with RMB, it made sense that we try and build upon that. At the same time we submitted Revel Fox's The Flyer to the M-Net movie-of-the-month project, so it was natural that The Flyer became the next IMG project", says Phiri.
Nathan says, "When M-Net came on board The Flyer, it gave it a foundation for the film to become a reality. Given that the Dv8 brand was linked to the SABC, it made sense for us to convince our other partners RMB and NFVF to come on board this film, which they did". The Flyer is currently released locally with 35 prints to date through Ster-Kinekor.
Since 2003 the group has been involved in six films being "Monsieur N, Max and Mona, Forgiveness, The Flyer, Wah Wah and Crazy Monkey - Straight Outta Benoni.
Also important in the IMG/Dv8 journey has been the group's relationship with IT entrepreneur Ronnie Apteker, Executive Producer of The Flyer and the Producer of Straight Outta Benoni. The IMG/Dv8 partners are excited about its commercial prospects, in a cinema landscape that has been dominated by Leon Schuster's comedies.
Says Phiri, "Ronnie is a mench! He has been a champion of local films not only through investing cash, but he has used his enormous influence in the business sector to bring other valued added support to all our films. Our collaboration with him has been instrumental in providing South Africans with new alternative film product. Ronnie is also a marketing genius and is extremely focused. We look forward to building on this foundation."
Sibeko joins the company at a very critical juncture. "The company is firmly established as one of the few bona-fide "feature length film producers" in the country. "My aim is to help the company in its consolidation of what Joel and Jeremy have built over the years This is an exciting juncture because in the next twelve to eighteen months the group will also have tangible data on the film investments thus far, which will form a credible basis for attracting investors - Like they say the numbers don't lie." states Sibeko.
Sibeko asserts that his Dv8/IMG deal is strategic in bolstering South Africa as a major player in the international motion picture industry. Having worked and lived in the United States extensively before returning to South Africa, Sibeko has over 15 years experience as an independent producer prior to joining Dv8/IMG. During his tenure at the Gauteng Film Office, the film commission facilitated an estimated R925 million ($158 million U.S.) in film production including films like the Oscar™ nominated Hotel Rwanda, Drum, Stander and Red Dust to name a few. Given the company's profile, bringing Sibeko in as an equal partner makes IMG/Dv8 the biggest black owned player in the film industry. The company is also one of a handful of South African companies that have received provisional approval from the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) Film and Television Production Rebate.
"We're focused on growth and increased dividends for our financial partners, coupled with the introduction of the Department of Trade and Industry Production Rebate Incentive, and treaties with Germany, Italy and Canada, a company like Dv8/IMG, can better leverage co-productions in the international market, with commercially and artistic product in our slate", states Sibeko.
The Dv8/IMG partners have a viable working relationship which sees Phiri focusing on the financing, Nathan on production and Sibeko neatly slotting in to drive marketing and sales.
"Even though we have specific areas of focus we still consult each other on all the key decisions. We have a lot of exciting projects going forward. The thrust is to focus on building South African talent and also make some viable international projects. I believe this company is earmarked for great things", states Nathan.
Unprecedented Deals for South African producers
The company moves forward with the backing of Ster-Kinekor and SABC2, both of whom have signed a ten picture output deal with the Dv8/IMG Group. Recently IMG/Dv8 also signed a six picture deal with a Swedish company Film I Vast, which is linked to Peter Aalbeck Jansen and Lars Von Triers' Zentropa of Dogville fame, which has produced such films as Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark.
Nathan states, "The Swedish deal has evolved after collaborating with Film I Vast on Max and Mona, Forgiveness, and The Flyer. The aim is to produce six South African driven films and Zentropa's sales arm, Trust Films, will handle International Sales on some of the films.
"I think this is a great team". And it's evident that in going forward we have to develop an international sales capacity that caters for South African films in the international market, so the Film I Vast and Trust Films relationship is a vital step in the right direction", prompts Phiri.
For further information visit the websites;
www.dv8.co.za
www.imgfilms.co.za
Or email: Thandi Zwana at thandi@dv8.co.za
Posted on Wednesday 20 Apr 2005
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