AFDA FILM NOMINATED FOR STUDENT OSCAR

AFDA FILM NOMINATED FOR STUDENT OSCAR

Kanye Kanye, a fourth year student’s film is the AFDA- (the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance) nomination for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Student Short Film.  Kanye Kanye is a romantic comedy that deals with a forbidden love affair between two young township teenagers.  The film is directed by Miklas Manneke whose 3rd year film Electricity won a number of awards in 2012.

“The wonder of film is the ability to change the world by creating another.” says Miklas Manneke, who is thrilled with the nomination. “It is an honour for everyone involved in the making of Kanye Kanye, to be selected on this international platform to represent AFDA film school as students at the beginning of our careers, especially considering the high standard of the Student Oscars. It is great to know that my voice has had an impact on an audience and that I could bring a drop of enjoyment to the world from a South African point of view.”

Kanye Kanye won 9 AFDA GOLD Awards at the annual awards including sound design, visual effects, editing, production design, costume- make-up- and styling, screenplay, directing, acting and cinematography.   

“Kanye Kanye is a reflective short film by a student director and team whose attention to detail has made it a work of art which will resonate world-wide.” says Gina Bonmariage, Postgraduate Course Director AFDA Johannesburg.

The Academy Student Awards are held in Los Angeles in June at the Academy of Motion Picture and sciences building,  the same building where AFDA received their first OSCAR award in 2006 for best foreign student short film Eleleni. 

Kanye Kanye has also been nominated as the AFDA candidate for best fiction film for the CILECT (International Film School Association) Awards, along with the AFDA Cape Town documentary Crumbs in the documentary category and the third year Cape Town animation Like Clockwork in the best animation category.

“Although the Oscar award is by far the most prestigious of all student awards, the CILECT Award is possibly one of the most difficult awards to win as it is contested by over 100 of the world’s top film schools, “ says AFDA co-founder and CILECT executive board member Garth Holmes, “but our congratulations to all the films that have been nominated – it’s a rare honour and we look forward to the results in the near future.”

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Vieux Farka Toure - Hendrix of the Sahara for Durban Concert and Free Workshop

Vieux Farka Toure - Hendrix of the Sahara for Rainbow Restaurant

The Alliance Française de Durban and the French Institute of Southern Africa presents one of the world’s rare musical talents and guitar virtuosos Malian-born Vieux Farka Toure at the Rainbow Restaurant on Sunday, January 20 at 3pm. The eKhaya Multi-Arts Centre in KwaMashu will also present a workshop and press conference on Monday, January 21 from 11am.

Often referred to as “The Hendrix of the Sahara”, Vieux Farka Toure was born in Niafunké, Mali in 1981. He is the son of the late legendary Malian guitar player Ali Farka Toure.
Ali Farka Touré came from a historical tribe of soldiers, and defied his parents in becoming a musician. When Vieux was in his teens, he declared that he also wanted to be a musician. His father disapproved due to the pressures he had experienced being a musician. Rather, he wanted Vieux to become a soldier. But with help from family friend the kora maestro Toumani Diabaté, Vieux eventually convinced his father to give him his blessing to become a musician shortly before Ali passed.

Vieux was initially a drummer / calabash player at Mali’s Institut National des Arts, but secretly began playing guitar in 2001. Ali Farka Touré was weakened with cancer at the time that Vieux announced that he was going to record an album. Ali recorded a couple of tracks with him, and these recordings, which can be heard on Vieux’s debut CD, were amongst his final ones. It has been said that the senior Touré played rough mixes of these songs when people visited him in his final days, at peace with, and proud of, his son’s talent as a musician.

Vieux’s self-titled debut album was released by World Village in 2007. On this first album, Vieux pays homage to his father and follows Ali’s musical tradition, giving new versions of the West African music that is echoed in the American blues. On his second album, Fondo on Six Degrees (2009), Vieux branched out and presented his own sound: while remaining true to the roots of his father’s music he uses elements of rock, Latin music, and other African influences. 

In June 2010, Vieux performed at the opening concert for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. That month Vieux also released his first live album, LIVE. Then in 2011 Vieux released his 3rd studio album, The Secret which features South African-born vocalist Dave Matthews, Derek Trucks on electric slide guitar and jazz guitarist John Scofield. 

In April 2012, Vieux released The Tel Aviv Session (Cumbancha), a collaborative project with Israeli superstar Idan Raichel dubbed ‘The Toure-Raichel Collective’ that has been hailed by fans and critics alike as a masterpiece and one of the best collaborative albums in the history of international music, drawing comparisons to Ali Farka Toure and Ry Cooder’s legendary Talking Timbuktu album. 

“We are really pleased to be hosting one of the world’s top guitarists at the Rainbow Restaurant here in Durban.” says Sarah Doignon, Director of The Alliance Française de Durban. “Vieux is an exciting young voice of Africa that is described as rare and innovative whilst humbly paying homage to the past. We believe the concert will be a great opportunity for music lovers to indulge in the emotive rhythms of West African inspirations.”

His live performances are highly energized and Vieux is known for dazzling crowds with his speed and dexterity on the guitar, as well as his palpable charisma and luminous smile, both of which captivate audiences from all countries in spite of any language barriers (though Vieux does speak 8 languages).

Vieux will also be conducting a workshop at eKhaya Multi-Arts Centre in KwaMashu on Monday, 21 January at 11am. The workshop will be approximately two hours in duration and is free. Besides demonstrating his guitar skills and talking about his musical influences, Toure will also address the very current issue of musical censorship in his native Mali where, in the north of the country, Tuareg and Islamist insurgents have taken control. The Islamist faction of Ansar Dine has imposed strict Sharia Law including bans on music - even the music of Malians like Toure senior and junior.

Anyone wanting to attend the workshop should book with Kwazi Ngubane on 0734429347.

The Rainbow concert starts at 3pm on Sunday, January 20. Doors will conditionally open at 1pm, dependent on the completion of a sound check by the band. Besides Toure on guitar, the group also features Mamadou Sidibe on bass guitar and Tim Keiper on drums and calabash.

Tickets for the concert are R50 at the door and can be pre-booked by phone on 083 706 2294 or 083 4638044 or by email at bandwagon@artslink.co.za.

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AFDA Announces Core Staff for its New Durban Campus

AFDA, the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance, which opens its third campus in South Africa, in Glen Anil in Durban in January 2013, has announced the appointment of some of its core senior staff.

Heading up the Live Performance School is the respected, multi-talented award-winning playwright, director and actor Rajesh Gopie. His counterpart in the Film School is award-winning, film director and producer Richard Green. Janet van Eeden, also an award-winning scriptwriter and educator has been appointed Head of Academic coursework and assessment.

The Dean of the Durban Campus is experienced producer and film-maker Franco Human, who currently the head of the producing department of AFDA Cape Town and the Undergraduate course director. 

“Accepting this position as head of live performance is a bold step for me.” says Rajesh Gopie, whose professional career up until now has been as a “sole agent” in the tough world of live performance, “But this heralds an exciting new phase in my life and I am looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead and growing a new generation of live performance practitioners.”

Richard Green, the Durban-based director/producer, brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the mix. Green has a string of well-known films to his name including Spud, District 9, Otelo Burning with his most recent being assistant director on Anant Singh’s Long Walk to Freedom, which is currently in post-production.

Janet Van Eeden, who is currently doing her PHD in English at UKZN, has written 12 screenplays and 6 stage plays. In 2011 she won the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Award for the northern/southern regions as a Columnist for The Sunday Independent. Van Eeden, like the founding members of AFDA Garth Holmes and Bata Passchier, believes that the story/ narrative is everything to the success of making films.

Franco Human, is excited about the possibilities the new school will offer students and the film and theatre industry in Durban.  Human, who has been with AFDA for 10 years, started at the Johannesburg school as production co-ordinator and later took up a position as a junior lecturer in the producing department before moving to Cape Town. He has produced many short films, theatre musical productions, a celebrity campaign for M-Net and the SABC, a television series for CTV and an Afrikaans horror feature film as part of his Masters of Fine Art degree (which played to rave reviews), to name a few.  He has worked with the lifestyle show “Expresso” on SABC 3 and you may just recognise him as “the guy in the green shorts” doing Zumba and has other funky moves.  

Other core staff include junior lecturers Damien Tomaselli and Stuart Strydom. Tomaselli, has an Honours degree in Media and Communication Studies and Dramatic Performance and has worked as a performer, editor and producer across both theatre and film genres. Strydom graduated cum laude from the Durban University of Technology with a Bachelor of Technology (Video) and has extensive experience in video and sound editing.

The Production Design Lecturer is Sam Kelly, who worked for UK’s Channel 4 and BBC for a decade before running her own production company in Cape Town for four years. She now resides in Durban where she says she realized that the art department is her passion as her main interest lies within character analysis and how that gets interpreted into film.

The Co-ordinator and Administrative Assistant post will be held by Jessica Singh, who has a BA Degree in Communication Science  & English and is currently studying towards her Honours in Communication Science.

“We are really pleased with the strong core staff contingent we have appointed.” says Chairman of AFDA, Garth Holmes. “All these positions have been filled with people who have both academic and practical industry experience on many levels, and we trust that they will bring a dynamic and hands-on approach to the learning processes at the school. Students can always draw their information from a myriad sources, but being taught and guided by people who have worked in their respective fields, adds a richness to the experience of learning that no book or website can match.”

The school’s academic year starts on February 4th, 2013. For more information about AFDA contact Milena Gevers on  milenag@afda.co.za or call  031 569 2252.

Victory for Anant Singh - Durban Film Industry Set to Benefit

NATAL COMMAND: ULTIMATE VICTORY FOR SINGH

November 29, 2012

Yesterday the Constitutional Court of South Africa handed down judgement in favour of Anant Singh’s Rinaldo Investments in the matter of the purchase of the Natal Command site on the Durban beachfront. Singh has emerged victorious after an epic legal battle that has spanned more than eight years.

The Constitutional Court in its unanimous, comprehensive judgement by the full bench of the eleven judges of the Court, also dealt with the standing of Giant Concerts saying, “The inference that Giant was merely toying with process, or seeking to thwart a propitious public development because it had been made available to someone else, is therefore one the Court is entitled to draw. The consequence is that Giant lacks standing, since its interest remains incipient and has never become direct or substantial.”

Singh, currently in London, commented, “We welcome the decision of the Constitutional Court.  We are vindicated by the judgement which endorses the fact that due process was followed in the transaction.  The long legal process has delayed the project which would have a positive impact on the economy of the City and Province.  We now look forward to proceeding with the exciting opportunities that this development brings to the region in the film, media and entertainment sectors.”

The proposal for the project, together with concept drawings for the film studio complex were presented to the City nine years ago wherafter it was presented to City’s Exco and was subsequently unanimously approved by a full sitting of the eThekwini Council and endorsed by the Provincial Authorities.

Representing Singh and Rinaldo Investments were Sudhir Pragjee (Videovision Entertainment’s Director of Business Affairs), attorney David Levin of Nicolson Stiller and Geshen, and Advocates Peter Olsen SC and Andrea Gabriel SC.

Summarising the judgement, the Constitutional Court said:

Today the Constitutional Court delivered a judgment dismissing an appeal against a decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).

In 2003, through a law allowing a municipality to sell land by private sale rather than a public tender, the Ethekwini Municipality sold prime property on the Durban beachfront to Rinaldo Investments (Pty) Ltd (Rinaldo) as part of its plan to promote Durban as an international destination for film production. Rinaldo is a property-holding company ultimately controlled by film-maker Mr Anant Singh. The applicant, Giant Concerts CC (Giant), objected to the proposed sale and the Municipality rejected the objection.

Giant asked the KwaZulu-Natal High Court, Pietermaritzburg to set aside the sale. The High Court decided in favour of Giant, holding that the decision was unlawful, procedurally unfair and unreasonable. It declared the agreement between the Municipality and Rinaldo void.

On appeal, the Supreme Court of Appeal reversed the finding of the High Court. It found that Giant had failed to establish legal standing to challenge the decision to sell the land to Rinaldo since it had not shown a sufficient interest in the subject matter of the dispute. Giant claimed to act in its own interest in terms of section 38(a) of the Constitution.

In a unanimous judgment for the Constitutional Court, Cameron J noted that Giant did not claim to act in the public interest or on behalf of a group or association or anyone who was not able to bring proceedings themselves. It therefore had to show standing on the basis of its own interest alone. The Court affirmed that constitutional own-interest standing is broader than traditional common law standing. A litigant must nevertheless show that his or her rights or interests are directly affected by the challenged law or conduct.

The Court concluded that even on a broad approach to standing, Giant did not show that it had interests that were capable of being directly affected. This was because Giant never demonstrated that it had any serious commercial interest in the venture. In fact, Giant had failed to establish anything more than a hypothetical or academic interest. The Court found that Giant had no standing.

It held that when a party does not have standing, it is not necessary to consider the substance of the dispute, unless there is at least a strong indication of fraud or other gross irregularity in the conduct of a public body. There was nothing of the kind in the case before it. The appeal was therefore dismissed with costs.

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For more info on this contact Nilesh Singh

Nilesh Singh

031 2046050

nilesh@videovision.co.za

Alain Benatar hosts Positive Alignment Anusara Workshop and Introductory Class

Well-known Los Angeles-based yoga instructor Alain Benatar will be conducting an one-off introductory class into the Anusara System of hatha yoga and a Positive Alignment Ansusara Workshop at The Breathing Space on Friday, 30 November and Sunday, December 2 respectively. 

Durban-born Alain began his practicing Yoga at City Yoga, Los Angeles in 2000 and quickly found the yoga mat as his place of calm and tranquillity. Having discovered the physical and emotional body, through his acting and movement training Alain was able to find a practice where his martial arts training could come together seamlessly with his yoga practices.

Alain has had the privileged to study with some of Los Angeles foremost yoga teachers during his time at City Yoga and completed his 200 hour Teacher Training in 2008, and began teaching yoga in 2010. Since then he has been a regular scheduled teacher at City Yoga and after 12 years in the business he is still one of Los Angeles most respected teachers, as is his studio. Alain’s training is hatha based meaning that it draws on the alignment principles of the Anusara System, the strength of a hatha practice and the steady flow of Vinyasa.

In the workshop, participants will be taught to explore the nature of postural awareness and what it means for them and their yoga practice. Whilst also deepening the understanding of the body’s me’chanics and discovery of the muscles needed to support posture, and guidance on movement both in class and in life. 

The cost for the open introductory class on Friday November 30 from 4.30pm to 5.45pm is R60 and for the positive alignment workshop on Sunday, December 2 from 10am to 1pm is R150. Booking for this workshop is essential on (031) 201-7282.