SA FILMMAKERS
HAPPY ABOUT TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL
A group of South African
filmmakers who attended the 40th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in
Canada returns home today with high energy and more enthusiasm to put their
shoulders on the wheel, complete their films and documentaries and take them to
the international market. The 20 filmmakers were funded by the Department of
Trade and Industry (the dti) with the aim of providing them with
exposure to the international film and production market as well as an
opportunity for them to market their projects internationally.
“TIFF was very fruitful to
me. I have met a number of producers from other countries that have shown
interest in working with me in co-productions. I also met a representative of a
filmmaking company that expressed interest in providing me with funding for my
project. The company has offices in Canada and South Africa. The best part of
this is that should all go well, they will assist me with all the production
stages of my documentary titled Black Sunday and sign it
up to premiere at the Durban International Film Festival before bringing it to
Toronto,” says Mr Raps Selogile from Soweto
Nigel-based Mr Lillo Bergh
said he benefitted immensely from the variety of industry conferences that were
held at TIFF to afford filmmakers an opportunity to exchange ideas with experts
from different countries.
“The session on financing
niche projects stood out for me. Learning how to finance niche projects such as
web series was of great benefit to me,” said Berg. He added that meeting other
filmmakers from South Africa was another highlight of his trip to Toronto.
“It was great interacting
with fellow filmmakers from home. It was for the first time that I met most of
them and we really shared a lot of ideas amongst ourselves. This will assist
all of us work together and give each other advice on our projects when we are
back home,” said Berg.
For Ms Ikanyeng Motlhamme,
a budding filmmaker from Cape Town just attending an international festival was
an amazing and memorable experience.
“I held brief discussions
with many filmmakers from all over the world and am looking forward to
communicating with them when I’m back home to discuss possible assistance with
my project. I am hoping that the contacts I have made at TIFF will really go a
long way in enabling me to open international doors for my films in future. The
industry sessions were greatly invaluable. We got the kind of information that
one keeps on referring to for the rest of your career,” said Motlhamme.
Johannesburg filmmaker, Mr
Isaac Mogajane says his project The Flats, attracted lot of
interest at TIFF
“There is quite a number of
people who are interested in partnering with us for co-production as well as
big sales companies that would like to get involved in the project. TIFF was
really good for us. From now we will be working hard to finalise the script and
send it out to numerous people that we have been speaking to and then we will
see which one of them offers us the best deal. It is likely to be a
Canadian-South African co-production project,” said Mogajane.
Ms Claire Louis, who is
also from Johannesburg and is part of the company that has produced Hear
Me Move, said she also spoke to an international distributor who has shown
interest in her company’s 3D animated film that is in early developmental
stage.
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