NORTH WEST HOME WITH THREE SATMAS

FESTIVAL SUCCESS A BOOST FOR NW MOVIE INDUSTRY

By Vusi Kama 

THE SCRIBE: Mahikeng movie scriptwriter Tshenolo Mabale was one of the participants at the Rustenburg Film Festival

With the resounding success of the Rustenburg Film Festival (RFF) recently (2021), all indications are that the movie industry in the North West is on an upward trajectory. The Province is fast claiming its stake in the country’s multi-million-dollar trade.

In its second year under its new identity (previously it was the Bojanala Film Week), the RFF has already gone the international route, attracting attention from as far as the USA, Brazil, Britain, Spain, Cameroon, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and Botswana. The Festival comprised Masterclasses and screenings at Ster Kinekor.

The RFF is supported by the Department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation (Acsr), as the main sponsor.

About 100 young and budding filmmakers benefited from the three-day event. During the Festival, they were exposed to a wide range of subjects on movie making. These included “North West as a Film Destination”, movie directing, scriptwriting, music in movies, fundamentals of movie production and micro-budget filmmaking.

“This year we went bigger and bolder,’’ said Festival Director and founder, Kea Malao. “Firstly, we made a huge leap from 10 workshops and talks last year to 22, which included in-depth masterclasses that accepted a maximum of 20 people each, owing to Covid regulations.’’

The RFF opened a call for submission of films in May, with around 400 filmmakers responding from around the globe.

One of the Festival participants was Mahikeng scriptwriter Tshenolo Mabale. In her capacity as the Vice Chair of the Writers Guild of South Africa, she gave a talk on her craft and what her organisation does for writers in the country. Her screenwriting credits include Scandal, Generations, Diep City, Lockdown, Greed & Desire, The Throne and Emoyeni.

“As the Writers Guild of South Africa, we try to reach out to writers beyond the traditional filmmaking provinces such as the Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal. We seek to empower screenwriters and interact with them.’’

She was complimentary of the Festival. “In fact, we need more such movie events in the North West. Industry stakeholders need to collaborate more. Am pleased that the Acsr joined the party and played its role in the industry around the Province.’’

MEC for Acsr, Mme Virginia Tlhapi, said her Department was keen to see more movie makers in the Province benefit from their craft, hence the support to the RFF.

“The industry is worth hundreds of millions of rands and we want our filmmakers to be part of the action,’’ said Tlhapi. “The arts should be seen as a job-creator and a contributor to the economy. The RFF is one of the catalysts to that.

’’Now it is up to the filmmakers who benefited from RFF 2021 to go out there and make films in and about the Province.’’

Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Enver Samuel, was also there to give a Masterclass on his craft. His documentary on the assassination of ANC representative in France - Dulcie September - during the Apartheid era was one of the films shown during the Festival. Murder in Paris has won many international awards.

“The Rustenburg Film Festival is growing in leaps and bounds,’’ he commented on the sidelines of the event.  “It is critically important that a region like the North West gets to host a premier event like the RFF as it encourages and stimulates interest in the TV and Film industry.

‘’The RFF should be afforded all the support they can get from the government. Kudos to the RFF for flying the flag high.’’