Media
Durban’s International Film Festival is a big event on the film calendar.
Filming of Spud came to an end in April 2010 and the film of the blockbuster book is due to be released in November. Rogue Star Films and BLM Productions, with the support of the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), are hoping that the film, about a very observant private schoolboy growing up in a dysfunctional family in the company of eccentric friends, will sell as well as the book did. Author John van de Ruit, the screenwriter for the film, is writing a book on the process of filming, Spud the Movie. He calls the filming process ‘profoundly mesmerising’.
The shooting of this film on the site where the book was set makes sense, but in fact KwaZulu-Natal has such a variety of locations that film-makers can find almost any kind of backdrop to act as the setting for just about any type of film. This adaptability is part of the reason why production activity increased 41% in the five years to 2009. Incentives to foreign production companies and the streamlining of permit applications has also helped. There has been a concerted effort to develop and train local talent in every facet of the industry.
Training in video technology is offered at the Durban Institute of Technology and KwaZulu-Natal University offers media and communications courses.
Films set in specific locations can create a new market for tourists and provide a boost for the local economy. Alan Paton’s acclaimed novel, Cry the Beloved Country, has been made into more than one film and this has helped to create a cottage industry in ‘Alan Paton country’, the lovely, rolling hill-country around Ixopo. Zulu and Zulu Dawn have drawn many foreign visitors to battlefields in northern KwaZulu-Natal and Zululand.
In 2005, a moving film about a woman and child grappling with the impact of HIV and Aids, Yesterday, won awards in Italy, Canada and India, and was nominated for an Oscar. Shot on location in the mountainous area of Bergville in north-western KwaZulu-Natal, produced by Anant Singh and starring local actress Leleti Khumalo, the film was a rousing confirmation of what can be achieved by film-makers in the province.
The Durban Film Office (DFO) is the dedicated arm of the eThekwini Municipality devoted to positioning the city as a film destination. It also aims to develop the local film industry and it has the support of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development (KZNDED). At the moment almost all of the province’s film companies are located in Durban.
Durban International Film Festival
More than 300 films are shown that showcase the best in South African, African and international cinema at this important event. The Durban International Film Festival was to be held for the 31st time in 2010. Films are often premiered at the DIFF.
A new event on the 2010 festival calendar was the Durban FilmMart, a joint venture between the festival organisers and the Durban Film Office. The aim is to promote African film by providing a co-production and finance market where film-makers and potential backers could come together to discuss projects.
The event is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts, a KwaZulu-Natal University unit, and attracts sponsorship from a wide variety of donors and sponsors. These include the National Film and Video Foundation, Stichting DOEN, Hivos, the City of Durban, the KZNDED, the German Embassy and East Coast Radio.
The overseas focus in 2009 was on French, Palestinian and Indian films. The festival is not just about showing films; there are also workshops, study groups, discussion groups and outreach activities.
Northern KwaZulu-Natal
Investment agency Enterprise iLembe has conducted research into the impact that bringing the film industry (films, documentaries and advertisements) to the area would have. It found that the economic impact of a feature film could be R15.4-million, of which half would be spent on accommodation and travel, nearly R2-million on catering and R3-million on vehicle hiring. A commercial or a documentary shot in the area would bring in between R420 000 and R460 000. The agency calculates that to recoup its investment in infrastructure to support an initiative to attract film-makers, the district municipality would need to attract four commercials, three large documentaries or one feature film per year.
Zululand has been the location of a number of productions: To the Ends of the Earth (Sam Neill) was shot in Richards Bay and Love in Saigon was filmed in Eshowe and Mtunzini. The area has indigenous forests, rolling hills, wood plantations, vast and pristine beaches, modern highways and good infrastructure.
The Durban Film Society and the KZNSA Gallery combine twice a month to offer Cinema Thursday Picnic Screenings. Films, normally foreign and experimental, are shown outdoors and admission is free.
