The Shore Break takes two awards at Durban International Film Festival
Multi award-winning documentary, The Shore Break, about the proposed titanium mine on the Wild Coast, garnered an additional two awards to its already impressive resume, at this year’s Durban International Film Festival.
The Shore Break won the Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award and The DIFF Audience Award
The Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award for the film that best reflects human rights issues which comes with a cash prize of R10 000 donated by the Artists for the Human Rights Trust went to The Shore Break, directed by Ryley Grunenwald. The jury citation reads “The film powerfully portrays a struggle within a local community regarding foreign mining rights in a pristine environment…(and) concisely and movingly uncovers this complex and urgent matter, which is still under investigation and in need of public support.”
All festival goers are given a DIFF voting slip after every screening to ascertain which film the audiences appreciated the most. Out of a total of 202 films (features, docs, shorts), this year the DIFF Audience Award went to The Shore Break.
"To have been voted as 'Best' by the DIFF audience, who I have always loved because they are loyal, diverse and exacting, is a real honour and a privilege," enthuses co-producer Odette Geldenhuys.
“Ultimately we make films for the audience so it is incredibly rewarding to have won another Audience Choice Award. We are so happy that the jury selected The Shore Break for the Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award. Representatives from the community affected by the N2 Wild Coast Toll Road and the Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project have said that it will certainly help their cause that their struggle is indeed being recognized as a human rights issue”, said director Ryley Grunenwald.
The Shore Break is an award-winning film that unpacks the dilemma faced by a rural community on South Africa’s Wild Coast as to whether to support or resist a proposed titanium mining project that could fundamentally change their lives forever.
Directed by Ryley Grunenwald, The Shore Break was a selected project at the 2012 Durban FilmMart, the IDFA WorldView Summer School 2013, the Hot Docs Forum 2012 and the Hot Docs Dealmakers 2013. It is co-produced by two South African companies, Grunenwald’s Johannebsurg-based Marie-Vérité Films and Odette Geldenhuys’ Cape Town-based frank films. It was incompetition at the recent International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IFDA), and was named the Best Feature Length Documentary at the 2015 International Environmental Film Festival (FIFE) in Paris.
The issues raised in the film have become more urgent following the announcement of the Wild Coast Toll Road which has been given the go-ahead following a statement by Minister Nkwinti on 9 July. It is the belief of many community stakeholders that this announcement is a pre-cursor to the introduction of mining in the area.
For more information go to www.theshorebreakmovie.com
Trailer: http://vimeo.com/102621491
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theshorebreakmovie
Twitter: http://twitter.com/theshorebreak
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Digital stills, EPK and links to articles and reviews are available online: http://theshorebreakmovie.com/press/
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