CANADIAN FILMMAKER PRAISES SA FILM PRODUCTION FACILITIES

CANADIAN FILMMAKER PRAISES SA FILM PRODUCTION FACILITIES

Renowned Canadian filmmaker, Mr Anthony Sherwood has waxed lyrical about South Africa’s world-class film production facilities saying they are among the best in the world. Sherwood was speaking at a breakfast session that the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) hosted on the sidelines of the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada yesterday. 

Sherwood was in South Africa in July as part of an inward mission organised by the dti for eight Canadian film producers across different genres with the intention of exposing them to South Africa’s film industry capabilities and to give them an opportunity to assess co-production projects and partners. The mission was part of the implementation of a co-production agreement that South Africa signed with Canada.

“I was very impressed by the state-of-the-art film production facilities, the passion, commitment and the talent that I had an opportunity to see in South Africa during our tour. We visited Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. Many of the film and television production facilities over there can easily compete with many of the facilities we have here in Canada, and many in the world. There is also an amazing large pool of highly skilled technicians and film crews,” said Sherwood.

He added that one of the things that captured the imagination of the Canadian film producers during their interaction with the SA filmmakers was the amazing amount of dedication and commitment to the goals they want to accomplish that they displayed.

“I am strongly urging the Canadian film producers who are here to really consider making use of those wonderful and highly advanced facilities that are available in South Africa. In addition to the facilities, South Africa is a beautiful country to shoot in. There are diverse landscapes and many different types of stories to be told. The acting talent there is overwhelming. The South African actors are seasoned professionals and have gained international experience over a period of time,” emphasised Sherwood.

He told his compatriots that American and other international companies were already taking advantage of the impressive facilities available in South Africa and shot multi-billion dollar films such as Mad Max, Fury Road and Avengers. He indicated that he was leading by example as his company, Anthony Sherwood Productions was already working on a co-production with a young South African film producer he met while in the county.