As the excitement continues to mount for the upcoming Joburg Film Festival, details for its Youth and Audience Programme have been announced.
The festival, which will be held from February 27 to March 3, is set to bring together major industry role-players.
The celebration of storytelling through the art of film is set to take place at the gathering, including film-makers, industry professionals, as well as cinema enthusiasts.
The sixth edition of the festival includes the screening of more than 60 feature titles. It will also include a dynamic range of audience and industry initiatives and conversations.
The Industry Programme, the Youth and Audience Development Programme, the Joburg Film Society and the JBX B2B Content Market, are all among them.
One of the festival’s biggest objectives is to put the spotlight on the youth, with submissions for their Young Voices Competition currently open.
“With the festival’s ongoing vision to prioritise the growth and development of young South African film-makers, the Youth and Audience Programme will once again conduct and host a series of skills development and empowerment workshops for young film creatives and content creators in the province,” the event organisers explained.
They added that the outreach programme will largely focus on young film-makers who don’t have formal film and television education, training and background.
For this reason, the festival will host a comprehensive two-day format workshop.
“The sessions will provide insights into the various disciplines of film-making whilst providing attendees with the opportunity to network with industry leaders who present and facilitate these sessions,” the organisers said.
They added that the outreach programme will conclude with a free screening of “Four Walls” at the end of the second day.
The feature film, which stars Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa, Khulu Skenjana, Gift Leotlela, and Jeff Jackson Morgianho, centres on a married township nurse who feels trapped and at her wits’ end due to an abusive husband who has made her life a living nightmare.
Meanwhile, other sessions of the youth workshop are set to include:
- scriptwriting
- acting workshop
- story and conceptualisation
- social media content creation
- director of photography (DOP) masterclass
- directing masterclass
The workshops will kick off at The Peoples Theatre @ Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein from January 27–28.
It will be followed by the second leg at the Gauteng Archives Centre in Kagiso, Mogale City, which is set to take place from February 10–11.
In addition, the exciting and highly anticipated JFF Young Voice Competition is also set to make a return at the festival.
“This competition celebrates the natural creative talent of young film-makers and is open to all young aspiring African film-makers based in South Africa between the ages of 18 and 35 years,” the organisers said.
They added that film-makers are asked to create and submit their own five-minute short film under the theme, “The South Africa You Want to See – 30 Years On”.
Three entries will be shortlisted by an esteemed panel of expert judges in the first phase, with one overall winner chosen at the festival’s awards gala night on March 2.
The overall winner will receive a scholarship and various other sponsored prizes.
For more competition info, log on to www.joburgfilmfestival.co.za.
Queries can also be emailed to youngvoices@joburgfilmfestival.co.za.
Entries close at midnight on February 19.
Meanwhile, further details about the festival programme, including featured films, tickets sales, special events and guest speakers, will be announced at the end of January.