Christmas may come early for filmmakers from SADC countries as the search continues for new voices and talents in the region.
Sithengi, the Cape Town based film market, is poised to distribute a second round of the HIVOS/Sithengi Film Fund, a generous basket of Euros for Southern African film producers.
The deadline for submissions is 1 August 2005
A first call for projects in April elicited over 150 applicants for features, short films and documentaries. Seventeen awards were made to first-time and experienced writers, directors and producers. The disbursement was spread across the SADC region, encompassing filmmakers from Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia, as well as South Africa. In several cases, co-production partnerships across borders were able to enhance submissions.
Mike Auret, CEO and Festival Director of Sithengi and the Cape World Cinema Festival, which oversees the fund, is delighted with the response thus far and sees a second round as continuing the outreach. The second tranche of funding will spread the bounty even more widely, attracting as yet undetected new talents in the region.
The HIVOS/Sithengi Film Fund will kick start a process of bringing more and more regional talent to the fore. "It's part of a process," Auret says. "The HIVOS/Sithengi Fund helps reach talent we would not usually reach. It means that producers in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, say, who may have disadvantages in funding and capacity, can now get their projects going. When they are up and running, they will also have further opportunities of bringing these projects straight to the Sithengi Film & TV Market in November. It puts them at the hub, where they are in touch with other funders, producers and broadcasters. And it puts them in contact with resources and filmmakers from South Africa who perhaps have the advantage of a more developed film industry. The fund is specifically designed to encourage talent on the Southern African fringes."
"The HIVOS/Sithengi Fund fast-tracks talent into the international market-place," Auret says.
The fund will once again fuel new projects in the categories of Short Film, Documentaries and Feature Film. There are specific incentives for young and inexperienced filmmakers as well as generous awards for experienced, but struggling producers in these categories. There is some funding available for special projects related to the development of the film industry in SADC countries.
Auret stipulates that the award panel is especially looking for submissions that have regional co-production elements, or show regional and gender representivity. He suggested that it might be "best practice for applicants to have first-time filmmakers teaming up with experienced counterparts. But the spirit of the award is exploratory."
"We are shaking the tree so that we can gather as much new talent as we can, from all of Southern Africa," Auret says.
Details of the awards and their criteria can be obtained on the Sithengi website at: sithengi.co.za
For more information, contact;
Sithengi
Tel: +27 21 430 8160
Fax: +27 21 430 8186
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: sithengi.co.za
Posted on Friday 22 Jul 2005
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