District 9 Movie and its Viral Campaign

Re. Digital (again) - here's something to look out for - the online viral marketing campaign for the new SA Sci-Fi movie District 9. It's produced by Peter Jackson (yes, he of Lord of the Rings fame) and has a clever but also quite relevant story about the integration of aliens. In this case, alien aliens, but there's a lot of apartheid in there, and a lot about the attacks on refugees last year. It looks like it might be the kind of SA tale that works without a lot of finger wagging and point scoring.....



So visit www.d-9.com and play around with the very cool interface and various websites that have been setup to give you an introduction to the origins, look and hardware/technology on the "non-human" aliens that are the focus of Neill Blomkamp's film.

And how does Viral Marketing work? well, just like this actually; I see something I like and send it on to all my friends. It's the kind of word-of-mouth advertising that money can't buy......

KAFF 2009 Call For Entries

The 6th edition of KAFF (KwaMashu African Film Festival 2009) is calling for submissions of films made in SA, KZN, Africa, and Africa Diaspora – as well as and unique world cinema films that highlight issues about Africa and that can be a reference for industry growth in KZN.

The films (short, feature, docs) must have been produced after October 2008 and must be submitted to KAFF before September 30th, 2009. Organised by K-CAP, the 6th edition of KAFF will be held from December 4th – 13th, 2009.



For more information contact: kcap@mweb.co.za or tel: 0027 31 504 6970 - or read more here.

More Awards for Izulu Lami

Izulu Lami (My Secret Sky), the first feature film directed by Durbanite Madoda Ncayiyana, has won the coveted AUDIENCE prize at the recent 2009 Tarifa International Pan African Film Festival, held in Tarifa, Spain. 11 year old actress Sobahle Mkhabase, who plays the character Thembi, won BEST ACTRESS.

Here for more information

The World's Most Loved Movies

Box-office records aren't the preserve of Hollywood blockbusters. The Guardian asked its contributing writers around the world to tell them about their countries' biggest homegrown hits

Guess who was top of the list????

SAFTA Opens for Entries

As noted last week, the South African Film and Television Awards have opened for entry - click here for the entry details.

Mtuzini - Broadband Heaven

According to Toby Shapshak in this morning's Times, the small KZN town of Mtunzini is the "most wired place in South Africa right now."



Why? Because it's where the new Seacom underwater broadband cable hits land. At 1.2 terrabits a second, the Seacom cable brings 10 times more bandwidth than its existing rival, and therefore offers to radically reduce the cost of internet and improve its speed and functionality.

Says Shapshak: "I’ve often been asked why South Africa doesn’t produce Google, Facebook, Twitter or any other of the new breed of Internet companies and entrepeneurs. Simple — no broadband. No cheap broadband. But not for much longer....."

Of course, the opportunities this opens up for tv producers and other film sector entrepreneurs are simply unlimited. And these opportunities are coming first to KZN........

SAFTAs - Prepare for Entry

The NFVF has called for South African projects to prepare themselves for entry into the South African Film and Television Awards - the SAFTAs - which open for entry shortly.

Since its inception the SAFTAs has honoured individuals and productions in the following categories: Television including TV fiction: TV Comedy, TV drama, and TV soap as well as TV non fiction including Magazine shows, News and Actuality, Wildlife, Children, Variety and Reality programmes; Feature Film, Student Film, Short film, Documentary and Animation.



Driven by the values of Creativity, Freedom of expression, Entrepreneurship and Equitable redress, it would be great to see KZN entries in every single category..... So get planning. Last years award winners are listed here.

More Than Just A Game

Another Durban success story: More Than Just A Game, the inspirational film about organized football played among prisoners on Robben Island, had a screening at Britain's House Of Lords in London on May 12th, hosted by Baroness Jan Royall, the Leader of the House, and Chief Whip Lord Bassett.



Baroness Royall is a senior member of the Labour Party which strongly supported the struggle against apartheid and the sports boycott against South Africa. The screening of the film was also a tribute to the anti-apartheid movement and the many activists who made huge personal sacrifices in their fight against apartheid, especially those who were incarcerated on Robben Island.

The film, which was directed by Durbanite Junaid Ahmed, and produced by Videovision, and stars Presley Chweneyagae (Tsotsi), Wright Ngubeni (Generations), Tshepo Maseko (Isidingo) met with "thunderous applause."

Avalon hits 70

This year, KZN's very own Avalon Group celebrates its seventieth anniversary - and also marks several other major milestones, including a ten-year relationship with the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa, a thirty-year association with the Durban International Film Festival and fifteen years of democracy in South Africa.



Congratulations to a truly local success story - and best wishes for another 70 years.

For more information on this story visit www.nfvf.co.za

Kandyse McClure

Did you know that the radiant Kandyse McClure - Anastasia Dualla in iconic sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica fame - is a Durbanite?



I wonder if she'd consider being a brand ambassador for the Durban/KZN film industry??

Izulu Lami wins at IPAFF

KZN's own Izulu lami (My Secret Sky) has won the best feature film award at "International Pan African film festival", in Cannes, France



Directed by Madoda Ncayiyana, Izulu lami won the coveted DIKALO Best Feature Film prize at the recent International Pan African Film Festival, held in the city of Cannes between 1st and 5th April 2009.

Izulu Lami (My Secret Sky) follows the story of two young children who journey to the city from their rural homestead after their mother’s death. The film features a cast of mainly young children who had never acted professionally before, discovered through extensive casting by the director, from the townships, informal settlements of eThekwini Municipality to the rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal.

Wolverine saga continues

Fox News has fired Roger Friedman, a journalist who posted an online review of the unfinished and illegal copy of Gavin Hood's movie Wolverine.

DMW is running a poll - (given the significant piracy issues) do you think it's right that he was fired?

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is due to launch - officially - in SA on April 29th.

Silver Stallion Award for Durban Film

Nothing but the Truth, starring John Kani and produced by Durban's Richard Green won the Silver Stallion Award (runner up best movie) at FESPACO, the Pan African Film Festival in Burkina Faso.

Shot in and arouund KwaMashu in 2006, John Kani plays a librarian who, on the eve of his brother's funeral, looks back on his memories of the past. Kani wrote the play on which the movie is based.



Richard starts work shortly on his next Durban production - Promise Me - about an orphan in a fictional African state who sets off across country to meet the President.

Durban Success Story

The Sunday Times reports on Durban-born Donald Schultz, who moved to the US to become a vet and has rocketed to fame as a wildlife action hero. Tattooed snake-handler Schultz has featured in several programmes on Discovery Channel, and recently starred in a pilot for an international animal show likely to be screened later this year.