18th JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience 24 August to 4 September 2016

MEDIA RELEASE

18th JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience

The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts, presents its 18th annual JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, Pieter Scholtz Open Air Theatre and KZNSA Gallery from 24 August  to 4 September.

This year’s JOMBA! is an international and national delight for dance and theatre lovers with dancers, dance companies and choreographers making their way to Durban from all corners of the globe for 12 full days of some of the world’s best dance theatre work that promises to provoke, entertain, delight, challenge and leave audiences breathless with the sheer joy of dance in all its various contemporary manifestations. This year’s festival hosts dancers and dance companies from Switzerland, Austria, India, Madagascar, Mozambique, Reunion Island, France and South Africa. 

JOMBA! opening night in partnership with the Swiss Arts Council, Pro Helvetia, features one of Europe’s hot tickets in the form of a duet created by MAMAZA; a young Swiss company that are winning awards throughout the world. They bring a tender and viscerally challenging duet that places these two ex-Forsythe dancers in a reflecting stage space that sees their lives connect and re-connect in an endless algorithm of what two people can be with visions and echoes of themselves.

France’s Company Ex Nihilo, also features on opening night, offering a site responsive dance work for the audience as they leave the theatre. Ex Nihilo, based in Marseille, create dance ‘interventions’ around a desire to regard shared public spaces as a work place, as they embrace spatial history, never excluding the passer-by and  spectator. “We are particularly proud to host dance companies like Ex Nihilo who are breaking down the traditional barriers that often exist in theatre spaces,” says Artistic Director of JOMBA!, Lliane Loots.

Honouring the long term vision of JOMBA! to shine a light on the African continent and to make artistic connection with the rest of Africa, this 2016 festival will premiere a collaboration between three exceptional Southern African female dance-makers who come together to share their vision in dance. Desiré Davids (South Africa), Gabi Saranouffi (Madagascar) and Edna Jaime (Mozambique) present a work called “Lady, Lady” that is a result of various short residences over 2015/16 where they were able to meet and work together. These artists share, explore and exchange their realities in order to give voice to various commonalities, challenges and images as they move towards a commentary on current issues facing women in the African context. Full of wit, irony and spirited dance this is sure to be a talking point of the festival. 

Continuing the festival’s connection to its continental history, Reunion Island’s Company Soul City returns to JOMBA! to present their newest work “Priyèr Si Priyèr” (fresh from a sold out tour in Germany). The company is best known for the innovative ways in which it uses the genre of Hip Hop and its confluence into contemporary dance. “Priyèr Si Priyèr” is a quest of the sacred through ritual. Based on Hip Hop’s unique energy, this dance work uses Reunion Island and its people as the source of inspirations.

Hip-Hop and the power of the urban dance Bboyz and BGirlz is further highlighted at the festival with the collaboration between Austrian choreographer Daniel Renner and Durban’s inimitable Flatfoot Dance Company. Renner comes to Durban with two of Europe’s most prolific breakdancers, Bilal Bachir (Germany) and Maarten Krielen (Holland), to join forces with Durban’s Preston ‘Kayzo’ Kyd, as they meet the fluid grace and technical prowess of Flatfoot Dance Company in a new creation. Titled “IDHRA/breath”, Renner returns to the sanctity of the “in and out breath”, the life force of all of us, and the very essence of dance, to create a mesmerising invocation to beauty.  “This is Renner’s third collaboration with Flatfoot (all have premiered at the JOMBA! festivals) and he comes to Durban not as a guest but as family as he shares his unique dance vision with us.” explains Loots.Over his 4 week residency, Renner will also spend time training and choreographing with the Flatfoot trainees to create a small new work for the JOMBA! Fringe programme. Break-dancers Bachir and Kreilen will also spend time exchanging and skills sharing with various eThekwini dance development programmes in Umlazi, Newlands, KwaMashu and Waterloo. 

Another coup of JOMBA! 2016 is the African premiere of acclaimed South African born dancer/choreographer Vincent Mantsoe’s new solo work, “KonKoriti”. Meaning “a state of being”, “KonKorti” returnsto the original solo format of Mantsoe’s award-winning and globally acclaimed style of dance making. Enthralling audiences with his vision of African contemporary dance and the meeting of Asian, African and contemporary styles, Mantsoe’s solo is a prayer to the power of self and is inspired by Mantsoe’s own physical, spiritual and emotional growth as both a dance maker and as an African. “Mantsoe performed at the very first JOMBA! festival in 1997 and it is an honour for Durban to play host to him again,” says Loots. “As part of the festival, he will also be teaching a master class while in Durban so I would advise that interested dancers book early to learn from one of our continent’s great artists!”

JOMBA! 2016 will also present a programme at the KZNSA Gallery in Bulwer Road, Glenwood on Monday, August 29. “The gallery space offers an alternate kind of challenge to dance makers and for artists who work outside of the traditions of the proscenium arch,” says Loots.  France’s Ex Nihilo continue their exploitation of everyday open space at this event with a dance performance work called “Calle Obrapia #4”. JOMBA! @ KZNSA Gallery will also host to one of India’s most controversial contemporary dance makers Preethi Athreya. Moving away from the classism and over-romaticisation of tradition, Athreya has created a solo that explores the reframing of notions of classism and beauty. Her solo, “Across, not Over” is created for, and performed by, Kathak dancer Vikram Iyengar and is, in the end, a tender and evocative meeting of two incredible dance talents and two dance styles; Baratha Natayam and Kathak. 

JOMBA! @ KZNSA Gallery is rounded off with a new work by Durban’s Lliane Loots, who partners again with spoken word maestro, Iain ewok Robinson, Durban’s Kathak expert Manesh Maharaj, filmmaker Karen Logan, and the ADD Flatfoot dancers. Loots has crated “MIGRATIONS (at the feet of Kali)” for the main gallery space. This is the second part of Loots’s newest trilogy that looks at issues of ‘home’. The work can be viewed independently or in context to the first part “HOMELAND (security)” which was performed in April 2016 by Flatfoot Dance Company. It is an ‘in situ’ physical journey into the heart of colonial and post-colonial rememberings around the movements and/or migrations of people. Using personal memory as the starting point, this work interfaces with the convergence of Indian and South African histories, and will tackle some challenging notions around issues that will no doubt stir some controversy.

New to JOMBA! this year is “KZN ON THE EDGE” a curated platform that seeks to support fresh and innovative contemporary dance work coming out of the KZN region. For this inaugural “KZN ON THE EDGE”, three innovative selections have been made. The first is a collaboration between lighting designer Michael Broderick and David Gouldie called “one man, one light”, the second is the consistent excellence of past JOMBA! Fringe work being made by Tegan Peacok and her Pietermartizburg based ReRouted Dance Company. They will premiere a new work called the “Paraphernalia of suffering”. The final performance place has been given to the newest “kids on the block”, Phakama Dance Company. Choreographer Sandile Mkhize will also premier a new work called “take me back home”. “This platform ensures that JOMBA! continues to mentor and support new and established KZN-based dance makers who are proving their mettle by consistently putting work of excellence into the public domain despite funding cuts,” says Loots.

JOMBA! hosts its Fringe on Tuesday 30 August with 10 new works of 10 to 15 minute each, and the Youth Fringe on Sunday 28 August. With over 40 entries for a coveted place in this year’s JOMBA! Fringe, the selection of only 10 works was a difficult task but means that the final selection offers a standard of dance theatre that is growing. The JOMBA! Youth Fringe takes place at the UKZN Open Air Theatre (entrance is free!) and is a celebration of over 20 KZN based youth dance groups and the incredible dance work that they are doing. 

JOMBA! also offers a full programme of workshops and master classes by all of the participating dancers and choreographers. For a full listing go to www.cca.ukzn.ac.za and go to the JOMBA! page. These workshops and classes are offered free of charge (dancers must be 16 years and older) but booking is essential.

Performances are from 24 to 27 August, and 30 August to 4 September at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre at 7.30pm, at the Pieter Scholtz Open Air Theatre is on 28 August at 2pm and the @KZNSA Gallery on 29 August at 6pm.

Tickets are R60 or R45 (scholars/students/pensioners) for the Sneddon Theatre and bookings can be done through Computicket (or at venue from one hour before). Tickets for the KZNSA Gallery are R50 (no concessions) and available at venue only – from one hour before the performance . The JOMBA! Youth Fringe at the Pieter Scholtz Open air Theatre is free.

For more information, please go to www.cca.ukzn.ac.za and join us on Facebook (JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience) and Twitter (Twitter@Jomba_dance).

The 18th JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience is under the artistic direction of Lliane Loots and is organised and hosted by the Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal), and is supported primarily by the eThekwini Municipality. 

Media Enquiries

For more Information, interviews and pictures please contact:

Sharlene Versfeld / Ayanda Mabanga

18th JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience

MEDIA RELEASE

18th JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience

The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts, presents its 18th annual JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, Pieter Scholtz Open Air Theatre and KZNSA Gallery from 24 August  to 4 September.

This year’s JOMBA! is an international and national delight for dance and theatre lovers with dancers, dance companies and choreographers making their way to Durban from all corners of the globe for 12 full days of some of the world’s best dance theatre work that promises to provoke, entertain, delight, challenge and leave audiences breathless with the sheer joy of dance in all its various contemporary manifestations. This year’s festival hosts dancers and dance companies from Switzerland, Austria, India, Madagascar, Mozambique, Reunion Island, France and South Africa. 

JOMBA! opening night in partnership with the Swiss Arts Council, Pro Helvetia, features one of Europe’s hot tickets in the form of a duet created by MAMAZA; a young Swiss company that are winning awards throughout the world. They bring a tender and viscerally challenging duet that places these two ex-Forsythe dancers in a reflecting stage space that sees their lives connect and re-connect in an endless algorithm of what two people can be with visions and echoes of themselves.

France’s Company Ex Nihilo, also features on opening night, offering a site responsive dance work for the audience as they leave the theatre. Ex Nihilo, based in Marseille, create dance ‘interventions’ around a desire to regard shared public spaces as a work place, as they embrace spatial history, never excluding the passer-by and  spectator. “We are particularly proud to host dance companies like Ex Nihilo who are breaking down the traditional barriers that often exist in theatre spaces,” says Artistic Director of JOMBA!, Lliane Loots.

Honouring the long term vision of JOMBA! to shine a light on the African continent and to make artistic connection with the rest of Africa, this 2016 festival will premiere a collaboration between three exceptional Southern African female dance-makers who come together to share their vision in dance. Desiré Davids (South Africa), Gabi Saranouffi (Madagascar) and Edna Jaime (Mozambique) present a work called “Lady, Lady” that is a result of various short residences over 2015/16 where they were able to meet and work together. These artists share, explore and exchange their realities in order to give voice to various commonalities, challenges and images as they move towards a commentary on current issues facing women in the African context. Full of wit, irony and spirited dance this is sure to be a talking point of the festival. 

Continuing the festival’s connection to its continental history, Reunion Island’s Company Soul City returns to JOMBA! to present their newest work “Priyèr Si Priyèr” (fresh from a sold out tour in Germany). The company is best known for the innovative ways in which it uses the genre of Hip Hop and its confluence into contemporary dance. “Priyèr Si Priyèr” is a quest of the sacred through ritual. Based on Hip Hop’s unique energy, this dance work uses Reunion Island and its people as the source of inspirations.

Hip-Hop and the power of the urban dance Bboyz and BGirlz is further highlighted at the festival with the collaboration between Austrian choreographer Daniel Renner and Durban’s inimitable Flatfoot Dance Company. Renner comes to Durban with two of Europe’s most prolific breakdancers, Bilal Bachir (Germany) and Maarten Krielen (Holland), to join forces with Durban’s Preston ‘Kayzo’ Kyd, as they meet the fluid grace and technical prowess of Flatfoot Dance Company in a new creation. Titled “IDHRA/breath”, Renner returns to the sanctity of the “in and out breath”, the life force of all of us, and the very essence of dance, to create a mesmerising invocation to beauty.  “This is Renner’s third collaboration with Flatfoot (all have premiered at the JOMBA! festivals) and he comes to Durban not as a guest but as family as he shares his unique dance vision with us.” explains Loots.Over his 4 week residency, Renner will also spend time training and choreographing with the Flatfoot trainees to create a small new work for the JOMBA! Fringe programme. Break-dancers Bachir and Kreilen will also spend time exchanging and skills sharing with various eThekwini dance development programmes in Umlazi, Newlands, KwaMashu and Waterloo. 

Another coup of JOMBA! 2016 is the African premiere of acclaimed South African born dancer/choreographer Vincent Mantsoe’s new solo work, “KonKoriti”. Meaning “a state of being”, “KonKorti” returnsto the original solo format of Mantsoe’s award-winning and globally acclaimed style of dance making. Enthralling audiences with his vision of African contemporary dance and the meeting of Asian, African and contemporary styles, Mantsoe’s solo is a prayer to the power of self and is inspired by Mantsoe’s own physical, spiritual and emotional growth as both a dance maker and as an African. “Mantsoe performed at the very first JOMBA! festival in 1997 and it is an honour for Durban to play host to him again,” says Loots. “As part of the festival, he will also be teaching a master class while in Durban so I would advise that interested dancers book early to learn from one of our continent’s great artists!”

JOMBA! 2016 will also present a programme at the KZNSA Gallery in Bulwer Road, Glenwood on Monday, August 29. “The gallery space offers an alternate kind of challenge to dance makers and for artists who work outside of the traditions of the proscenium arch,” says Loots.  France’s Ex Nihilo continue their exploitation of everyday open space at this event with a dance performance work called “Calle Obrapia #4”. JOMBA! @ KZNSA Gallery will also host to one of India’s most controversial contemporary dance makers Preethi Athreya. Moving away from the classism and over-romaticisation of tradition, Athreya has created a solo that explores the reframing of notions of classism and beauty. Her solo, “Across, not Over” is created for, and performed by, Kathak dancer Vikram Iyengar and is, in the end, a tender and evocative meeting of two incredible dance talents and two dance styles; Baratha Natayam and Kathak. 

JOMBA! @ KZNSA Gallery is rounded off with a new work by Durban’s Lliane Loots, who partners again with spoken word maestro, Iain ewok Robinson, Durban’s Kathak expert Manesh Maharaj, filmmaker Karen Logan, and the ADD Flatfoot dancers. Loots has crated “MIGRATIONS (at the feet of Kali)” for the main gallery space. This is the second part of Loots’s newest trilogy that looks at issues of ‘home’. The work can be viewed independently or in context to the first part “HOMELAND (security)” which was performed in April 2016 by Flatfoot Dance Company. It is an ‘in situ’ physical journey into the heart of colonial and post-colonial rememberings around the movements and/or migrations of people. Using personal memory as the starting point, this work interfaces with the convergence of Indian and South African histories, and will tackle some challenging notions around issues that will no doubt stir some controversy.

New to JOMBA! this year is “KZN ON THE EDGE” a curated platform that seeks to support fresh and innovative contemporary dance work coming out of the KZN region. For this inaugural “KZN ON THE EDGE”, three innovative selections have been made. The first is a collaboration between lighting designer Michael Broderick and David Gouldie called “one man, one light”, the second is the consistent excellence of past JOMBA! Fringe work being made by Tegan Peacok and her Pietermartizburg based ReRouted Dance Company. They will premiere a new work called the “Paraphernalia of suffering”. The final performance place has been given to the newest “kids on the block”, Phakama Dance Company. Choreographer Sandile Mkhize will also premier a new work called “take me back home”. “This platform ensures that JOMBA! continues to mentor and support new and established KZN-based dance makers who are proving their mettle by consistently putting work of excellence into the public domain despite funding cuts,” says Loots.

JOMBA! hosts its Fringe on Tuesday 30 August with 10 new works of 10 to 15 minute each, and the Youth Fringe on Sunday 28 August. With over 40 entries for a coveted place in this year’s JOMBA! Fringe, the selection of only 10 works was a difficult task but means that the final selection offers a standard of dance theatre that is growing. The JOMBA! Youth Fringe takes place at the UKZN Open Air Theatre (entrance is free!) and is a celebration of over 20 KZN based youth dance groups and the incredible dance work that they are doing. 

JOMBA! also offers a full programme of workshops and master classes by all of the participating dancers and choreographers. For a full listing go to www.cca.ukzn.ac.za and go to the JOMBA! page. These workshops and classes are offered free of charge (dancers must be 16 years and older) but booking is essential.

Performances are from 24 to 27 August, and 30 August to 4 September at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre at 7.30pm, at the Pieter Scholtz Open Air Theatre is on 28 August at 2pm and the @KZNSA Gallery on 29 August at 6pm.

Tickets are R60 or R45 (scholars/students/pensioners) for the Sneddon Theatre and bookings can be done through Computicket (or at venue from one hour before). Tickets for the KZNSA Gallery are R50 (no concessions) and available at venue only – from one hour before the performance . The JOMBA! Youth Fringe at the Pieter Scholtz Open air Theatre is free.

For more information, please go to www.cca.ukzn.ac.za and join us on Facebook (JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience) and Twitter (Twitter@Jomba_dance).

The 18th JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience is under the artistic direction of Lliane Loots and is organised and hosted by the Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal), and is supported primarily by the eThekwini Municipality. 

Media Enquiries

For more Information, interviews and pictures please contact:

Sharlene Versfeld / Ayanda Mabanga

SPAR KZN School Girls' Hockey Challenge on 23 and 24 July

SPAR KZN School Girls’ Hockey Challenge

Grand Finals at St Mary’s DSG: 23 & 24 July

With two weeks to go until the Grand Finals of the SPAR KZN School Girls’ Hockey Challenge, ten teams are hard at work preparing for the tournament on 23 and 24 July. 

The teams that have made it through to the Grand Finals, having won their regionals, are Amanzimtoti High School (Durban South); Ashton International College (Durban North); Durban Girls’ College (Durban Central); Grantleigh College (Northern Coastal); King Edward High School (Southern KZN); Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School (Pietermaritzburg Central); Sarel Cilliers (Newcastle); St Anne’s College (Pietermaritzburg North); St Mary’s DSG (Highway) and Wartburg Kirchdorf (Umvoti, uThukela and Umzinyathi).

“The fixtures for the finals have been consolidated into one venue i.e. St Mary’s DSG as opposed to two venues in previous years.” stated Tournament Director, Les Galloway.

Continuing, she said, “With only one venue being used, the vibe should be great with all the 10 teams being able to watch and support all matches and, together with all of their supporters, it should make for a very festive weekend!”

The finals will kick off with pool games on Saturday and cross pool games, play-offs and the medal games on Sunday. A new scoring system will be used to calculate positions on the logs. A win will be awarded four points, a draw with goals equates to two points, a goalless draw amounts to one point and a loss zero points. Pool games will be 20minutes long and the play-offs will be half an hour with a change of sides at fifteen minutes. 

In Pool A, defending champions Durban Girls’ College take on host school, St Mary’s DSG, newbies Sarel Cilliers High School, King Edward High School and Grantleigh High School. In Pool B, last year’s silver medalists Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School make their sixth appearance and this year will take on St Anne’s DSG; Ashton International College; Amanzimtoti High School and Wartburg Kirchdorf High School. 

MD for SPAR KZN, Rob Philipson said, “We look forward to the finals this year, welcoming both old and new players and teams. We are in for a cracker of a weekend, with some high quality skills being expected on the turf. I would like to officially wish all teams, coaches and umpires the very best of luck for the big weekend!”

Umpires who have been invited to officiate are Angelique Kellerman; Ansie Joubert; Grant Bowles; Nuduzo Martin Mchunu; Sibu Ndlovu; Marie-Lee Visser; Michelle Cogle; Nonhlanhla Shezi; Pam Daniel and Xolani Majola.

The first game is St Mary’s vs Grantleigh, followed by two out of towners with King Edward High School taking on newcomers, Sarel Cilliers High School. 

For more info like the Facebook page.

-end

Camera roll on Khalo Matabane's 28's in KwaZulu Natal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cameras roll on Khalo Matabane’s 28’s in KwaZulu Natal

Award-winning director, Khalo Matabane (State of Violence, Conversations on a Sunday Afternoon and Nelson Mandela: The Myth and Me), acknowledged as one of South Africa’s leading talents has begun shooting his latest feature, 28’s, a gritty exposé of life inside prison. The film, inspired by Jonny Steinberg's award-winning non-fiction novel, The Number, its big screen adaptation by Paul Ian Johnson reveals the origins of the fearsome numbers gangs that operate in prisons throughout South Africa.

Harking back to a sketchy 200-year-old tale, it's said that the 27s and 28s originate from group of highwaymen. These robbers, under the guidance of an elder, escaped the misery of the mines and white oppression only to roam the Zululand hills plundering colonial outposts and relieving travellers of their goods. Fast forward two centuries and we encounter Magadien, hardened repeat-offender whose life is his loyalty to his brothers in the 28’s. But something stirs his rebellion, a life-threatening move as there's no way out, of prison or from the sworn bloody oaths of his brotherhood.  This is a hard-hitting tale of the reality of South African prisons and near-impossible redemption.

Casting Director, Moonyeenn Lee and Matabane have assembled a strong cast which include Mothusi Magano (Of Good Report, Hotel Rwanda, Tsotsi) who leads as the conflicted Magadien, and is supported by Warren Masemola (Eye in the Sky, Machine Gun Preacher), and Sibusiso Msimang (Vaya); Presley Chwenegyagae (Tsotsi); Lemogang Tsipa (Eye in the Sky, Black Sails and Wallender); Kevin Smith (Isidingo, The Gospel According to St Matthew) and Deon Lotz (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Shepherds and Butchers, Skoonheid). Renowned South African story-teller Gcina Mhlophe plays Magadien’s mother. 

The production team is headed by award-winning producers Carolyn Carew and Tsholo Mashile (90 Plein Street and When We Were Black.)  Carolyn Carew says that the process of making this film has been long time in the making with Khalo spending the last few years with the real Magadien Wentzel in Cape Town and afterwards with ex-prisoners in KZN to fully grasp the language and culture of the gangs. 

Creative talents include Cinematographer Dewald Aukema (Skin, Angus Gibson & Jo Menell’s Mandela); Editor Megan Gill (Tsotsi, Miners Shot Down and Shepherds and Butchers);Production Designer Willie Botha (Kite; Art Director: Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom; Special Effects: Black Dahlia, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency). 

Durban based Anant Singh's Videovision Entertainment are co-producers, and will also distribute the film. Anant Singh commented, “I have been an admirer of Khalo’s work for a long time and we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with him.  With his talent and creative vision for the project, he will certainly craft an amazing film.”

The production also marks the first co-production between South Africa and Reunion Island’s Tiktak Productions.  The film also received funding support from the KZN Film Commission, the National Film and Video Foundation and the Department of Trade and Industry.

-ends

Caption to picture material attached:  Pictured in the prison courtyard China Boy (Presley Chweneyagae) and Buttons (Warren Masemola) decide on Magadien's (Mothusi Magano) fate in Khalo Matabane’s 28’s 

Notes for Editors

BORN FREE MEDIA    

BFM is an award winning South African film and television production-company specializing in fiction and non-fiction storytelling. They pride themselves on creating original and innovative content for the African continent and beyond. They have produced some of South Africa’s seminal documentaries and dramas. 

BFM was formed in January 2005, with three shareholders, Khalo Matabane as Creative Director, Carolyn Carew as Executive Producer and Tsholo Mashile as the Financial Manager.

KHALO MATABANE

Khalo Matabane is an award-winning director who directed and produced the part-doc part-fiction Conversations on a Sunday Afternoon which won the Lionel Ngakane Prize at Sithengi (Cape Town); Best South African Film at the Durban Film Festival; the Ecumenical Prize New York African Film Festival.  It screened in the Official Selection of the Toronto Film Festival, the Berlin International Film Festival, Miami Film Festival, Flaherty Film Seminar 2007 (NYC), and London Human Rights Film Festival. It was broadcast on the Sundance Channel (USA) and SABC (South Africa).

His documentary Nelson Mandela, the Myth and Me, a BC/Arte Germany co-production won the Jury Special Prize at the International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA). His first dramatic feature film State of Violence was shown to critical acclaim at the Toronto and Berlin Film Festivals.

His television drama series When We Were Black, a coming-of-age story of a young boy on the eve of student uprisings in 1976, went on to win 7 awards including Best TV Drama Series and Best Director at 2007 SAFTAS; Best Drama at Fespaco and the Reims International Film Festival and had special screenings at INPUT 2007 in Switzerland and the Durban International Film Festival. It was broadcast on Canal+ and SABC 1.

 -end

For further information please contact:

Joy Sapieka e- joyls@mweb.co.za  or Sharlene Versfeld  sharlene@versfeld.co.za c- 083 3263235

Oliver Hermanus' Latest Film Makes SA Debut at DIFF

Media Release

The Endless River 

Oliver Hermanus’ Latest Film Makes SA Debut at DIFF

Award-winning South African director Oliver Hermanus’ new film, The Endless River, will have its first South African screening at the Durban International Film Festival this month.

Having made history by being the first South African film to be invited to participate in competition at the Venice International Film Festival and picking up the Silver Tanit at the 25th Carthage International Film Festival in Tunisia, The Endless River will be screened for the first time in South Africa at the Durban International Film Festival at Ster-Kinekor Musgrave on 19 June at 18:30. It will also be screened at Nu Metro Pavilion on 22 June at 20:30 and at The Playhouse on 25 June at 12:00.

In The Endless River, a young waitress welcomes her husband home to Riviersonderend after his four-year jail sentence. At first it appears their plans for a new life together are finally being realized, but when the family of a foreigner living on a nearby farm is brutally murdered, the young woman and the grieving widower begin gravitating towards each other. Trapped in a cycle of violence and bloodshed, the two form an unlikely bond seeking to transcend their mutual anger, pain and loneliness.

The Endless River stars French actor Nicolas Duvauchelle and a strong South African cast in Crystal-Donna Roberts, (who will be attending the DIFF on June 19 an 20), Darren Kelfkens, Carel Nel and Denise Newman. It was produced by Swift Productions and Moonlighting Films.

Oliver Hermanus is a multi-award winning, South African-born film director, writer and photographer. He has written and directed three feature-length films since his debut in 2009. His first feature, Shirley Adams, premiered in competition at the 62nd Locarno Film Festival and his second, Skoonheid, in the Un Certain Regard competition at the 64th Cannes Film Festival. The Endless River is his third film.

Details of the screening schedule can be found at www.durbanfilmfest.co.za.

The Endless River will be released in South African cinema on 1 July by Black Sheep Films. For more about the film, visitfacebook.com/blacksheepfilms1.

-ends

NOTE TO MEDIA: Crystal-Donna Roberts (Tiny) will be attending DIFF and available for interviews on 19 & 20 June.

Caption to supplied photo: The Endless River stars French actor Nicolas Duvauchelle with Crystal-Donna Roberts.

SA Release Date: 1 July

Rating: 16 S V, 110min

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybZQx_d38O4

Images: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b0vqwo702r3sqwd/AAAsc7uwFWZkDxgbC-JMxfy2a?dl=0

Production Notes: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5v35qft3wbxcuh2/AACNA6mJ-sWv7zQFdE-7EO5sa?dl=0

Issued on behalf of Black Sheep Films by:

Trevor Crighton

trevor@syntegrate.co.za

083 652 7713

 FOR DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL/ DURBAN FILMMART

Sharlene Versfeld
Versfeld & Associates
Public Relations and Communications
Mobile: +27 (0) 83 326 3235
Tel: +27 (0) 31 811 5628
Post: P O Box 30547, Mayville, 4058
Email: sharlene@versfeld.co.za
Twitter: sharlvers
Website: www.versfeld.co.za

Durban filmmaker returns to Durban International Film Festival with Radio Rats documentary

MEDIA RELEASE 

Durban filmmaker returns to Durban International Film Festival with Radio Rats documentary

“Jiving and Dying - The Radio Rats Story” sees Durban filmmaker Michael Cross return to the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) (16-26 June) with a documentary about a band he argues are so much more than one-hit wonders.

Almost forty years ago, in late-1970s South Africa, there was a song on the radio about a spaceman called ZX Dan.  It was by a noisy little band from Springs, near Johannesburg. That song and hundreds more songwriter Jonathan Handley has penned since then remain an important, if sometimes overlooked, part of South Africa’s musical landscape.

According to director Cross, this film, twenty-five years in the making, introduces the music of the Rats and the words of Jonathan Handley “in an attempt to afford them the place they deserve in the history of independent rock ’n’ roll in South Africa.”
 

The film reveals how Radio Rats were to influence one fellow resident of Springs, James Phillips (aka Bernoldus Niemand) to form a band and to write songs.   It was Phillips who went on to initiate the alternative Afrikaans music scene of the mid-80s, the Voëlvry “movement” and, indirectly perhaps, the Oppikoppi music festival where a stage still bears his name.

“Jiving and Dying” also shows Rats songwriter Jonathan Handley continues to record and archive music relentlessly. His sharply-observed characters form the basis for most of his songs and he's funny, he's witty and he's dedicated. He's disarmingly self-deprecating too. The filmmaker maintains Handley remains one of the unsung heroes of South African music.

Durban-based, Cross has attended DIFF since he was a teenager in the late-1970’s and has always been struck by the selection of music-documentaries featured over the years.  “Jiving and Dying” is his third music-documentary selected for the Durban International Film Festival.  “Bafo Bafo - What Kind?!” profiling the collaboration between guitarists Syd Kitchen and Madala Kunene, tpremiered in 2005 and “Rockstardom - The Journey of a Small-Town Songwriter" screened in 2012 following it’s premiere at the Encounters South African International Documentary Film Festival.  He has produced more than 50 music videos with artists including Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Busi Mhlongo.

This 37th edition of DIFF features several music-related films with “Jiving and Dying” joined by: “Songs of Lahore”, “Breaking a Monster”, “I Shot Bi Kidude” and “Shwabade”.  “Jiving and Dying” will premiere on Friday, 24 June 2016 at 8 pm at Ster-Kinekor Musgrave 5 and an additional screening will take place on Sunday, 26 June at 11:00, also at Ster-Kinekor Musgrave.

For more information about “Jiving and Dying” e-mail rogueproductions@mweb.co.za and for more information about DIFF go to www.durbanfilmfest.co.za.

-ends

Wonder Boy for President - World Premiere at DIFF

MEDIA RELEASE

Wonder Boy for President – World Premiere at DIFF

The world premiere of John Barker’s new mockumentary Wonder Boy for President starring Kagiso Lediga will take place at the Durban International Film Festival on Friday, June 17 at the Playhouse.

Wonder Boy for President tells a story of Wonder Boy, a charismatic and authoritative young man from the Eastern Cape, who is coerced into running for president by two dubious and corrupt characters played by Ntosh Madlingozi and Tony Miyambo. Their aim is to mould him into a great politician and manufacture his down-fall at the right time, for the right price. It is a political satire that delves into political dynamics and challenges that arise.

Barker and Lediga are no strangers to local television scene and international stages. Lediga was a writer and co-lead in the South African film Bunny Chow, which was officially selected for the Toronto Film Festival and also selected for, and won awards at the Rotterdam International Film Festival (Tiger Awards), American Film Institute Festival, Sydney Film Festival and Melbourne Film Festival. Wonder Boy for President is co-produced and directed by John Barker who won a Golden Horn Award for Best Achievement in Directing in a TV Soap forIsibaya last year and another Golden Horn Award for Best Achievement in Directing in a Feature Film for Bunny Chow in 2007.

Thishiwe Ziqubu, who enthralled audiences with her smouldering lead in Hard to Get which opened the DIFF in 2014, plays Mbali Sithole, the ambitious young leader of the official opposition, and the love interest in this side-splitting spoof.

Others in the cast include John Vlismas as Emeric “the dodgy dude with a gun”, Akin Omotoso as “a Nigerian on the street”, Loyiso Gola as himself and Barker as a “dodgy construction guy”.

“We were really blessed to have a whole bunch of South Africa’s top comedians who collaborated on the film with us,” says Barker. “At a time when the rand/ dollar has set a morose mood in the country, and amid all the doom and gloom in the media about corruption, greed and cronyism, it was fabulous to make a film that could parody the current times, make us take a deep long look at the absurdity of it and laugh.  Perhaps we all will see some of ourselves in these characters – and perhaps it will help people to make the change they need.”

With the likes of other cast member such as David Kibuuka, Zabalaza Mchunu, Lara Lipschitz, Bryan Van Niekerk, Christopher Steenkamp, Camilo Saloojee, Daniel Friedman, Ntokozo Majozi, Tshepo Mogale, Lazola Gola, Robbie Collins, Mary Twala and Mojack, Wonder Boy for President packs in the punches and laughs for 92 minutes.

“And then there are a host of well-known faces, that, um, play themselves” explains Barker “including President Jacob Zuma, Julius Malema, Mmusi Maimane, Floyd Shivambu, Cyril Ramaphosa, Zwelinzima Vavi, Helen Zille, and Zapiro, as we have used available footage from various news sources and spliced it into (in)appropriate places to add to the laughs.”

The film, produced through Barking Rat Film in association with Dog Pack Collective, has been produced by John Barker and Kagiso Lediga and co-produced by Tammy Lewis-Houghting and Jeremy Nathan.  The film will be released on circuit later this year by Indigenous Films.

Script is by Barker, Camillo Saloojee, Christopher Steenkamp and Saki Bergh. Most of the music has been composed and performed by Durban band Thee Legacy led by Jabulani Mthembu.

The film premieres at the Playhouse on Friday, 17 June at 8pm and will be screened at the Playhouse on Sunday, 19 June at 6.15pm and Saturday, 25 June at 2pm and at number of community venues.

The 37th Durban International Film Festival takes place from 16 - 26 June at 15 locations across Durban.  Programme booklets with the full screening schedule and synopses of all the films will be available free at cinemas, and other public information outlets.  For more info go to www.durbanfilmfest.co.za, Twitter- @DIFFest, Facebook- Durban International Film Festival. The full programme will be available online from June 3.

The DIFF is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, with support from the National Film and Video Foundation, Durban Film Office, KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, eThekwini Municipality, German Embassy, Goethe Institut, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture and a range of other valued partners.

Twitter - @WonderBoy4Pres

Facebook - Wonder Boy for President

-ends

Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu to feature at 37th Durban International Film Festival

MEDIA RELEASE

Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu to feature at 37th Durban International Film Festival

Kalushi, the South African feature film directed by Mandla Dube, about the life of freedom fighter Solomon Mahlangu, is scheduled to be screened at this year’s edition of the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) which takes place from June 16 to 26.

Based on a true story written and produced by Mandla Dube with Leon Otto, the biopic, which has taken nearly nine years to complete, has been hailed as an important South African story.Kalushi chronicles the life of Solomon Mahlangu (played by Thabo Rametsi) whose life was ended at the age of 23 by execution during the height of apartheid. Mahlangu was a typical teenager at the time, growing up in the poverty stricken community of Mamelodi. He was a hawker on the township’s streets and trains in order to support himself and his family. After a brutal beating at the hands of the police, he went into exile to join the liberation movement andjoined the African National Congress. in 1976, he was trained as an Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) soldier. After undergoing military training, Mahlangu and his friends were caught in a gun battle with police in Johannesburg’s CBD,which resulted in two men being killed and two others wounded.  Mahlangu’s friend Mondy (played by Thabo Malema), is severely beaten and tortured, while Kalushi faces a daunting trial in which the State seeks the highest punishment, death by hanging. Despite being innocent of the killing of two civilians during an attempted escape from the police, he was sentenced to death under the charge of “sharing the common purpose” of the group of activists.

“This is a film for people who care about the next person. This is how we honour Solomon Mahlangu. It’s about our humanity as human beings,” says award winning cinematographer and director Mandla Dube. “We see an ordinary young man who somehow becomes a political icon and, through this film, we see him transform from an average hawker to a human rights legend.”

The film marks the 35th anniversary of the death of Mahlangu and has received support from the South African government, notably a personal letter of endorsement by President Jacob Zuma, as well as the blessings of the Mahlangu family.

Kalushi screens at DIFF on Saturday, June 18, at 16:00 at The Playhouse, Thursday, June 23, at 12:00 at Luthuli Museum in Groutville and Saturday, June 25 at 20:00 at Musgrave Ster Kinekor.

The Durban International Film Festival takes place from 16-26 June 2016. The Festival includes nearly 200 theatrical screenings, as well as the Wavescape Film Festival and various industry initiatives, including the 9th Talents Durban programme (in cooperation with the Berlin Talent Campus) and the 7th Durban FilmMart co-production market (in partnership with the Durban Film Office).

The 37th Durban International Film Festival is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, with support from the National Film and Video Foundation, Durban Film Office, eThekwini Municipality, German Embassy, Goethe Institut, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture and a range of other valued partners.

For more information go to www.durbanfilmfestival.co.za. #DIFF2016  @DIFFest

-ends

Sharlene Versfeld / Ayanda Mabanga/ Sipho Ngwenya
Versfeld & Associates
Public Relations and Communications
Mobile: +27 (0) 83 326 3235
Tel: +27 (0) 31 811 5628
Post: P O Box 30547, Mayville, 4058
Email: sharlene@versfeld.co.za
Twitter: sharlvers
Website: www.versfeld.co.za

Durban International Film Festival Announces Programme for 37th Edition

MEDIA RELEASE

DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES PROGRAMME FOR 37TH EDITION

The 37th Durban International Film Festival has announced its programme, offering another exciting edition of the continent’s leading showcase of independent African and international film. It will take place at 15 venues across the city and its outlying areas from 16-26 June.

In an exciting new move, the festival has added a number of new venues to further increase the footprint of the festival into areas that don’t usually have access to formal cinemas. The festival has also increased its presence on the commercial circuit, with Nu Metro Pavilion being added to its roster of venues.

The festival will kick off on the 40th anniversary of June 16, 1976 with the World Premiere of the South African documentary, The Journeymen, directed by Sean Metelerkamp and produced by Jolynn Minnaar, whose film, Unearthed, was one of the big hits at DIFF 2014.

Filmed in 2014, the year in which South Africa celebrated 20 years of democracy and mourned Nelson Mandela’s death, The Journeymen chronicles the experiences of three young South African photographers as they travel 24 000km in a motorhome through South Africa, with GoPro cameras strapped to their chests. From urban sprawls to dusty rural roads, the trio were driven by the question “Has Mandela’s vision of equality in a rainbow nation been achieved?” The film answers this with a kaleidoscopic set of responses that are disturbing, beautiful, thought-provoking and, more than anything, movingly surreal.

With just under half of all the films originating from Africa and South Africa, this year’s festival once again celebrates and honours the rich, ever-evolving language of African cinema. Of the 101 feature-length films to be shown at the festival, 50 are African films, including 17 fiction films and 9 documentaries, while there are 24 South African films, including 10 fiction films and 14 documentaries. Additionally, the festival’s programme will include more than 90 short films, the majority of which are African and South African. 

Key titles from the continent’s ever-expanding film industry reflect the growing call for real freedom and authentic engagement with power and political narratives. The Revolution Won't Be Televised, from Rama Thiaw, is a smart and insightful documentary that sheds light on political resistance in Senegal, Naked Reality, the latest film from provocative filmmaker Jean-Pierre Bekolo challenges the status quo and critical questions those in power, while Nakom is a haunting film about the conflict between tradition, modernity and love, Ghostland chronicles the loss of language and identity of indigenous Nambian people, and Nawara, from Egypt’s Hala Khalil, is a biting social commentary on Egypt’s classist society. Then there is I Shot Bi Kidude, the long awaited feature film about African musical legend Bi Kidude, by British filmmaker Andy Jones, and Independence from Mário Bastos chronicles the Angolan liberation struggle.

South African features films include Shepherds and Butchers from master filmmaker Oliver Schmitz.  - based on the book written by Durban advocate, Chris Marnewick and produced by Videovision Entertainment. The film which won the audience award at Berlin will have a special gala screening onFriday, June 17.  "We are very proud of our film, Shepherds and Butchers which won the Berlin Panorama Audience Award. Whilst there has been controversy and disappointment around the selection process at DIFF, we are pleased to share our film with this audience.” says Anant Singh Producer of the film.

Other SA Films include Endless River, the latest film from South African auteur Oliver Hermanus, Kalushi which chronicles the story of Solomon Mahlangu, the mockumentary Wonderboy for President starring Kagiso Lediga and directed by John Barker, and Tess from previous DIFF winner Meg Rickards, which follows the story of a sassy twenty year-old prostitute on the streets of Cape Town.

South African documentaries include Alison, a deeply personal account of a woman who endures unimaginable suffering but refuses to become a victim, Action Commandant which tellsthe untold story of slain South African liberation fighter, Ashley Kriel,  Lost Tongue which introduces us to Helena Steenkamp, a San woman from the Kalahari who embarks on a mission to revive the endangered language of her people, and Nobody Died Laughing a documentary about Pieter-Dirk Uys, one of South Africa’s most prolific writers, satirists and activists.

As well as the strong African Focus, other key areas include a focus on issues around indigenous rights and colonialism, a small programme of films that deal with HIV (given the fact that the World Aids Conference will be taking place in Durban two weeks after the festival ends), and a rich programme of films about dance and music.

This year’s edition also includes a country focus on Dutch cinema offering a cross-section of contemporary cinema curated by Gertan Zuilhof of the Rotterdam Film Festival, in recognition of the Dutch-South African Co-production Treaty. DIFF 2016 also includes a retrospective look at Portuguese-language African film in partnership with Tri Continental Film Festival.

As has been the case for 37 years the festival will also present an eclectic selection of film from around the world.

DIFF partners for the 11th year with Wavescape to present a feast of surfing cinema from around the world. Wavescape opens with a free outdoor screening at the Bay of Plenty Lawns on Sunday 19 June, before locating to the new venue at Rivertown Beerhall from June 20 to 26.

The 9th Talents Durban in co-operation with Berlinale Talents, brings together the creativity of 20 selected filmmakers from Africa, who will take part in a series of masterclasses, workshops and industry networking opportunities during the Festival. Supported by German Embassy and Goethe-Institut, Talents Durban creates a space for filmmakers to hone their skills, develop collaborations and network with other future leaders of the film industry in Africa, and the world.

Now in its 7th year, the Durban FilmMart, a partnership project with the Durban Film Office, and supported by the City of Durban, is a film finance and co-production market presented in three strands – Finance Forum, Master Classes and the Africa in Focus seminars. Nineteen selected African projects (9 fiction features and 10 documentaries) will hold one-on-one meetings with potential financiers, co-producers, and distributors in the Finance Forum. The DFM master class and networking programme is open to registered delegates only. See www.durbanfilmmart.co.za for further details.

New venues this year include the Playhouse, Nu Metro (Westville Pavilion), Rivertown Beerhall and numerous outreach venues in Umlazi, Clermont and Inanda. Other venues include Ster Kinekor Musgrave, Ster Kinekor Cinema Nouveau, the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, the KZNSA Gallery, eKhaya MultiArts Centre, Luthuli Museum in Groutville and the Elangeni-Maharani Hotel, with festival hubs at the Elangeni-Maharani and the Playhouse.

Programme booklets with the full screening schedule and synopses of all the films will be available free at cinemas, and other public information outlets.  For more info go to www.durbanfilmfest.co.za. The full programme will be available online from June 1.

The 37th Durban International Film Festival is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, with support from the National Film and Video Foundation, Durban Film Office, KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, eThekwini Municipality, German Embassy, Goethe Institut, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture and a range of other valued partners.

-ends

PHOTOS: Supplied by DIFF. Please note that is for any reason these pics are not high res enough (or they have been embedded for some reason)- please let us know and we can resend.

We have photos of most of the films - which we can give you access to via Dropbox. Just let us know and we can send you the link. 

Many thanks

Sharlene/ Sipho/ Ayanda

Sharlene Versfeld
Versfeld & Associates
Public Relations and Communications
Mobile: +27 (0) 83 326 3235
Tel: +27 (0) 31 811 5628
Post: P O Box 30547, Mayville, 4058
Email: sharlene@versfeld.co.za
Twitter: sharlvers
Website: www.versfeld.co.za

DFM PARTNERS WITH SONOTON MUSIC LIBRARY

This year’s edition of the Durban FilmMart, which runs from 17–20 June, includes a new partnership with Sonoton, the largest independent production music library in the world. As part of the partnership with DFM, Sonoton’s Barbara Hintermeier will be hosting an online music search workshop for filmmakers, while the company will also be sponsoring the SONOfind contest in which entrants can win an Apple iPad and other great prizes.

Operating in South Africa through Synchro Music Management in Johannesburg, Sonoton offer filmmakers the option of 180 000 tracks, with more than 100 new albums in various musical and compositional styles added every year, sourced from composers and producers from around the world. Sonoton’s online search platform, SONOfind, is an extensive platform for efficient music searches, enabling users to find an appropriate track within seconds. The SONOfind Workshop takes place at DFM at 2pm on Saturday 18 June where delegates will be able to meet Sonoton’s Barbara Hintermeier, who will demonstrate useful tips and tricks when conducting an online music search.

To enter the SONOfind contest and win an Apple iPad Pro, Samsung Galaxy Tablet or a pair of Dr Dre Wireless Studio Earphones, go to www.sonofind.com, log in and correctly answer four simple questions about SONOfind. Entry forms are also available at www.sonoton.com and at www.synchromusic.co.za.

Only registered SONOfind users and legal residents of South Africa who are 18 years and older are eligible for participation in this competition. Entrants agree to abide by all contest rules and regulations. The deadline for entries is 12 noon, 1 July, 2016. A random draw will held on 6 July, 2016, and the winners announced. Prize winners will receive their prizes by mail. The names of all winners will be published on www.sonoton.comand www.synchromusic.co.za. Terms and conditions apply.

The Durban FilmMart is a co-production and finance market and is a joint programme of the Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF).

To register for DFM and to find out more about the delegate registration process, visit the official website at www.durbanfilmmart.co.za.  An Early Bird registration discount for the 4-day event is available to delegates who book before 30 May at a cost of R1 485, which includes access to allocated sessions, a daily luncheon, DFM networking events, entrance into festival screenings (subject to ticket availability), listing in the DFM Industry Manual, and access to Masterclasses and the Africa in Focus programme. After 30 May 2016, the cost is R2035. Daily passes to the event cost R605. (This does not include tickets to the DIFF screenings or access into the opening and closing events.)

-ends

JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience - Fringe Programme

Media Release

JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience  

August 24 – September 3, 2016

The annual JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience will take place at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre in Durban from 24 August to 3 September this year.  Choreographers and dancers (individuals and dance companies) are invited to apply for the JOMBA! Fringe and Youth Fringe programmes before Monday, 13 June at 16:00.

The JOMBA! Fringe programme is open to professional, experimental and up-coming performers and choreographers who are above the age of sixteen. This programme is for persons working specifically in the idioms of contemporary and fusion dance, which is in line with the mission statement of JOMBA! which is to support and promote the development of contemporary dance in KwaZulu-Natal. There is space for a maximum of eight works on this year’s Fringe. Each participant will have an opportunity to showcase and perform their work on Tuesday, 30 August at the festival.

The Youth Fringe is open to dancers under the age of sixteen years old and entry is free of charge.  It is a support initiative for the various ‘Dance Development’ projects operating in KZN and provides a space to celebrate young up-and-coming dancers. Different dance styles are welcomed in this platform. The youngsters will have an opportunity to showcase their talent onSunday, 28 August at the Pieter Scholtz Open Air Theatre at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Howard College Campus).

For application forms as well as terms and conditions contact Clare Craighead on 082 875 6065during office hours. All complete application forms for both programmes must be submitted via email to ATT: Clare Craighead at jombafestival@gmail.com with the subject line “2016 JOMBA FRINGE APPLICATION”.

-Ends

Sharlene Versfeld

Versfeld & Associates

sharlene@versfeld.co.za

May 9, 2016

Captions to pics by Val Adamson:

1. Fringe : Musa Hlatshwayo’s Mhayisa Prodcutions at the JOMBA! FRINGE.

1. Youth fringe : FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY’S KwaMashu based SIYAKHULA DANCE PROGRAMME at the JOMBA! Youth Fringe

Independent Filmmaking Workshop, 7 May 2016

MEDIA RELEASE

INDEPENDENT FILMMAKING WORKSHOP

AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FILM INDUSTRY PRINCIPLES

Since its launch in 2011 the EThekwini Filmmakers Association has been offering a set of skills-based monthly workshops that are aimed at equipping and uplifting local emerging filmmakers within the eThekwini Municipality. This month’s workshop will take place on Saturday, 7 May from 9am – 4.30pm at the Bat Centre in Durban.

The Independent Filmmaking Workshop, a developmental initiative between the Durban Film Office and non-profit organisation, the eThekwini Filmmakers Association (EFA), covers the basics of filmmaking. Award winning filmmaker Lehlogonolo “King Shaft” Moropane who graduated with BA film degree from AFDA film school in 2003 will facilitate. Moropane has over 15 years experience in the film industry working as a director, writer and producer and he will be sharing his experiences with film-makers.

Moropane, who owns production company Sunrise Entertainment, has directed and produced numerous short films, TV dramas and music videos. Some of his notable work includes SABC 1 dramas such as Skeem Saam and Uzalo 2015, 360 a feature film  and music videos for artists such as HHP, Proverb, Flavour and Mafikizolo. He is currently studying for his Masters of Fine Arts in Motion Picture, and working on his next feature film June 16.

The workshop is free and all filmmakers from the eThekwini Municipality are welcome to attend.

For bookings or more information on the workshop contact eThekwini Filmmakers Association Chairperson Andile Buwa on 072 994 343 or via email at efa031@gmail.com.  Alternatively contact Ntuthuzelo Gentse on 083 498 9580.

-ends

 Sharlene Versfeld

Versfeld & Associates

031-8115628

083 326 3235

sharlene@versfeld.co.za

Registration opens for 7th Durban FilmMart

Media Release

Registration opens for 7th Durban FilmMart

The 7th Durban FilmMart (DFM), Africa’s premier film finance and co-production forum will open for early bird delegate registration on April 4, 2016.

The dates for this year’s DFM, a joint project of Durban Film Office (DFO), the eThekwini Municipality’s industry development unit, and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) are from June 17 to 20, earlier than in previous years, to co-incide with the DIFF (June 16-26), which was moved to an earlier slot for this year.

“The aim of the DFM is to increase the visibility of African cinema, kindle the creation of film on the continent, and to stimulate the development of project collaboration between African filmmakers through a dynamic networking programme,” explains Durban Film Office’s Toni Monty. “The objective of the Mart speaks to the need for African film makers to be creating their own content and telling their own stories to their own markets. By driving the development of local content, we believe that it lays a bedrock for business and employment within the sector to thrive and look towards its own models for success.”

This year, the Mart, will provide delegates with access to prominent film industry experts, financiers, content directors and broadcasters from around Africa and the world, and other industry specialists attending both the DFM and DIFF as independents to connect and develop business associations

The DFM is structured around three programmatic pillars – Master Classes, a Finance Forum and Africa in Focus – a series of industry workshops, which offer networking and social opportunities for industry representatives.

Master classes are led by well-known industry experts and will unpack issues and challenges in concept development, project packaging, co-production development, new media, finance, marketing, distribution, and other related themes.

The DFM’s co-production market, which called for submissions of film projects last year, has roughly ten feature films and ten documentary films selected for mentorship. These will be presented to industry experts during the Mart, and following thorough sessions with experts, projects are awarded grants for further development.

Partners of this year’s DFM include the International Film Festival Rotterdam's (IFFR) CineMart, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), Sundance Film Festival, AfriDocs, the Berlinale Film Festival, HotDocs - Blue Ice Documentary Film Fund, Produire au Sud, Restless Talent Management, Sørfond, French Embassy South Africa, , National Film and Video Foundation, KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, Durban Film Office, VideoVision Entertainment, Goethe Institute and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.

For registration or for more information view the delegate registration process online at the official website: www.durbanfilmmart.com.  There is an Early Bird registration discount for those booking before 30 May 2016. Fees are R1 485 (ZAR) for the 4 day event which includes access to allocated sessions, lunch, access to DFM networking events, entrance into the Durban International Film Festival screenings(subject to ticket availability), listing in the DFM Industry Manual and access to Masterclasses and the Africa in Focus programme. After 30 May 2016, fees areR2035. Daily passes areR605 (this does not include tickets to the DIFF screenings or access into the opening and closing events.)

-ends

African Art Centre's - Human Rights Art Exhibition

African Art Centre's - Human Rights Art Exhibition

Kicking off its 2016 exhibition programme, the African Art Centre recently released a call inviting local KZN artists to be part of a Human Rights exhibition themed 20 Years Later:  A Fresh Look at the Bill of Rights.  This group exhibition, curated by Carol Brown, was recently opened by Justice Albie Sachs.

Twenty years ago South Africa was full of hope looking towards a new future.  The Bill of Rights, which was the cornerstone of the Constitution of SA, was widely celebrated as being one of the most progressive in the world.  Justice Albie Sachs (one of the architects of the Constitution) launched the Images of Human Rights Print Portfolio at the Durban Gallery in 1996.  A proud moment. Where are we now? Much has improved while much remains a work in progress. 

This exhibition aims to celebrate the achievements of our recent history and explore some of the complexity and contradictions that make South Africa such an exciting and challenging country in which to live.  A group of artists, who attended a workshop on the Bill of Rights, are showing new works highlighting how artists envision the present which is built on the past.

This exhibition of prints, drawings, paintings and photographs, created by well known artists and unknown young talent will run until the 2nd April at the African Art Centre, 94 Florida Rd, Durban. Visit http://afriart.org.za for more details.

ends

Independent Filmmaking Workshop - Saturday March 19

 Independent Filmmaking Workshop

This month’s Independent Filmmaking Workshop – a developmental initiative between the Durban Film Office and the eThekwini Filmmakers Association (EFA),  takes place on Saturday, March 19 from 9am to 4.30pm at the BAT Centre.

These workshops, which cover the basics of film making, are aimed at empowering aspiring film industry practitioners with essential knowledge about film and the multi-faceted nature of the industry.

Award winning director, writer, producer Lehlogonolo "King Shaft" Moropane will facilitate this month’s workshop.  

The workshops are free to anyone interested  in film-making but booking is essential.

Contact eThekwini Filmmakers Association Chairperson Andile Buwa via email at efa031@gmail.com ; call 072 994 343 or contact Ntuthuzelo Gentse on 0834989580.

-ends

Programme Announcement: Time of the Writer 14 - 19 March 2016

Media release

Programme Announcement

19th Time of the Writer

14 -19 March 2016 

The Centre for Creative Arts (UKZN) has announced the lineup and programme for the Time of the Writer festival, as well as new partnerships for its 19th edition.

Ten writers from South Africa and Africa will meet for a week of stimulating literary dialogue and exchange of ideas. Audiences can engage with award-winning writers, from a variety of political and social contexts, on the creative and technical processes and perspectives which shape their writing. Evening readings and discussions will take place at 7pm at eKhaya Multi Arts Centre (KwaMashu), Ohlange High School (Inanda), Umkhumbane Hall (Cato Manor), Umlazi Cinema and Clermont Hall.

This years panel discussions couples authors whose writings share semiotic marrow and are loosely titled after books and papers that echo their literary sentiment.

The evening panels are:

The Madness of History – Tuesday 15th March (eKhaya Multi Arts Centre -KwaMashu)

Ashwin Desai and Mishka Hoosen will have a conversation on the importance of retrospective meditations on self, historical figures and the family. 

Why Must a Black Writer Write About Blackness? – Wednesday 16th March (Ohlange High School)

In this Dany Laferrière inspired panel discussion Panashe Chigamudzi and Eusebius McKaiser share their experiences as writers who write without curiosity’s gaze.

They Write What They Like – Thursday 17th March (Umkhumbane Hall - Cato Manor)

Crossing the borders from short stories to novellas to poetry to essays, writer Niq Mhlongo gives insight into his unique take on the world across genres and mediums.

Tuning In... – Friday 18th March (Umlazi Cinema)

Writing for listeners is an art that requires its own stage, a stage of which Christa Biyela and Mandla Ndlovu are accomplished masters. These two audio drama maestros open their lyrical vaults and with it the history and depth of the Zulu audio drama. 

The Alchemy of Fiction – Saturday 19th March (Clermont Hall)

How pliable is truth? Can one measure the elasticity of the human imagination and if pushed, would one ever erase the self from one’s own story? In this panel, musician turned author Nakhane Touré and Nikhil Singh discuss the roles fantasy, biography and imagination play in the erection of the worlds they create. 

As part of the festival’s focus on decolonizing South African literature the festival will gather leading voices from every facet of literature in the areas of writing, editing, publishing, translation, marketing, bookselling and promotion (including events), to interrogate the central question of how to go about decolonising literature in South Africa, from writing to readership.

Conversations that Matter is a daytime programme of roundtable discussions, led by experts across the various fields of literature, that provides a space for people to share and contribute towards this vital topic ofdecolonisation within literature.

The following topics will be under discussion during the day from 11am.

Conversations That Matter: The Book & Knowledge Production – Tuesday 15th March 2016 (KwaMashu Library)

Writers Niq Mhlongo, Panashe Chigamudzi, TO Molefe, Percy Zvomuya, Nakanjani Sibiya and poet Mputlane wa Bofelo meet to expose the landmines that await writers who render text that challenges literary traditions and their inherent exclusion of certain voices.

Conversations That Matter: The Book & GateKeepers – Wednesday 16th March 2016 (Ohlange Library)

To probe the accessibility of literary institutions and the tribulations of those tasked with creating that access, this conversation culls from the experiences of both publishers and distributors. Has the South African literary landscape shifted to accommodate previously poorly documented and valued contributions? Which attitudes delay decolonising access? To open the discussion are Prof. Sihawu Ngubane, Thabiso Mahlape, Kholeka Mabeta, Duduzile Mabaso, Mandla Matyumza, Siphiwo Mahala.

Conversations That Matter: The Book & Readership – Thursday 17th March 2016 (UmKhumbane Hall – Cato Manor)

To explore questions on readership often posed to booksellers, librarians and festival organisers are Cedric Sissing (Adams Books), Benjamin Trisk (Exclusive Books), Fortescue Helepi (African Flavour Books), Sinenhlanhla Buthelezi (Goethe Library), Tebogo Mzizi (eThekwini Municipality Libraries), Mignon Hardie (FunDza Literacy Trust), Frankie Murrey (Open Book Festival), Dr. Maria Van Driel (Jozi Book Fair) and Jennifer Platt (Sunday Times). This conversation draws on the challenges of pricing, public expectations and historical misconceptions on reading cultures in South Africa.

Conversations That Matter: The Book & Language – Friday 18th March (Umlazi Library)

An interrogation of the notion of linguistic hierarchies in print media, literature and academic institutions requires contributions from academics and cultural producers whose careers are dedicated to the preservation and promotion of marginalized languages. This conversation will be initiated by Eric Ngcobo, Dr. Mpho Monareng, Dr. Gugu Mazibuko, Dr. Pamella Maseko, Prof. Nobuhle Hlongwa and Wangui Wa Goro.

Conversations That Matter: The Book & Intersectionality – Saturday 19th March 2016 (Qashane Library)

As a result of recent shifts in the quality of contributions produced outside the academy, the topic of Intersectionality has relocated academics and social commentators alike. The youth are proving to be the aorta of the argument and keeping pulse with contemporary readings on Intersectionality demands the voices of those who bravely tackle this pertinent and inflammatory subject. To open the discussion are Eusebuis McKaiser, Milisuthando Bongela, Nakhane Toure, Lindokuhle Nkosi, Mputlane Wa Bofelo, Mbali Matandela and Zethu Matebeni.

The 19th edition of the festival is presented in partnership with various organisations including the eThekwini Municipality Libraries department whose involvement supports the community engagement programme of the festival by hosting Conversations that Matter in public libraries.

All events are FREE to library or student cardholders. For members of the public without either card, a nominal fee of R20 will be requested at the box office from one hour before the event. The eThekwini Municipal Libraries along with The Centre for Creative Arts will be on hand at each venue in order to aid those without library cards to sign up for one on the spot, all that it requires is a valid ID document and proof of residence.

For more details about this years' Time of the Writer, visit the www.cca.ukzn.ac.za  or call (031) 260 2506.

Organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (University KwaZulu-Natal), the 19th Time of the Writer is supported by eThekwini Municipality, the National Department of Arts and Culture Alliance Française de Durban. The Centre for Creative Arts is housed in the College of Humanities at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and is a special project of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Cheryl Potgieter.

-ends

eThekwini Municipality Launches GO!Durban Cycle Academy in partnership with Kargo PRO Cycling Team

eThekwini Municipality Launches GO!Durban Cycle Academy in partnership with

Kargo PRO Cycling Team

In an unprecedented move to support the growing need for increased mobility, connectivity and dignity for all citizens in the metropole, the eThekwini Municipality, today (February 11), launched the GO!Durban Cycle Academy in a public-private partnership with the Kargo PRO Cycling Team with support from the City’s Durban Green Corridor.

The inaugural intake of young cyclists from the eNanda area, where the first site for the Academy at eNanda Adventure Park is being developed, were introduced as well as the 2016 Kargo PRO Cycling Team: its riders, coaches, mentors and managers who have designed and will implement the Academy’s development strategy and operational programme to be used as the template for 7 other sites around the city.

The GO!Durban Cycle Academy provides an environment for local cycling training which also aims to bring young people together to meet, play and engage with each other using the sport of cycling as the common focus, whether it be for recreational, commuting or sporting purposes.

Importantly the Academy, which will focus on individual growth, is linked as an official feeder for professional cycling teams like the Kargo PRO Cycling Team, and provides a developmental opportunity for potential cycling talent.

The programme planned for Academy members will include requisite athletic training, but will also include important life skills-, mechanical- and technical training. The recruits will be required to sign a pledge to commit to the programme, adhere to a code of conduct, and will be expected to set a good example for their peers. Training will take place after school, and the young athletes will be required to complete their homework at the Academy site, as well as ensure their equipment and cycling kit is clean and maintained at all times.

The Durban Green Corridor has identified locations that have potential as Academy sites, and eight are confirmed in KwaMashu, KwaDabeka, eNanda, Cornubia, South Beach, Glenwood, Umlazi and Amanzimtoti.

In partnering with the Durban Green Corridor, GO!Durban is able to reach into local communities throughout eThekwini in a practical and sustainable way to promote recreational and commuter cycling for a healthy lifestyle and to reduce the transport related carbon footprint of the eThekwini population. The Durban Green Corridor is mandated to develop outdoor adventure sports and related tourism through natural open spaces in order to promote local economic development and job creation in the neighbouring communities, and as such makes a natural partner to develop cycle parks to support the development programme of the Academy, as well as providing safe spaces for citizens to learn to ride.

Put in context, the GO!Durban Cycle Academy forms the foundation for the creation of a robust cycling culture, as the City forges ahead with its planned GO!Durban integrated rapid public transport network. Intrinsically linked to this is the provision of walkways, pedestrian bridges and cycling lanes primarily as a means to provide access to public transport, but also to make provision for those, who, through circumstance, were unable to afford it.

It was out of this that the Non-Motorised Transport  (NMT) network plan was born, and the City’s engineers have an extensive plan to create cycle lanes and walkways throughout the urban and peri-urban sectors of the city as part of the overall public transport plan.

In 2014, as part of a plan to promote the NMT network at the Sustainable Living Expo, GO!Durban created a Believe Tree – a tree made from old bicycle parts, asking visitors to the expo to write their hopes and wishes for the future of the City, on a paper leaf and hang it on this tree. GO!Durban promised to plant a tree for every wish hung, to offset for the negative impact that infrastructure may have on the environment such as the tons of concrete and asphalt laid, or the need to remove trees to make way for roads. More than 2000 leaves “wishes” were hung, with most expressing a desire for safer, greener, more sustainable and liveable City.

On the back of these wishes, a Ride for Life concept arose which would lead to the creation of cycle parks, in which these trees could be planted, fulfilling the promise GO!Durban had made, and at the same time providing citizens with the space and opportunity to cycle and learn to cycle.

From this foundation and thinking arose the GO!Durban  Cycle Academy. “To this end a number of green environments will be re-configured for the homing of Academy facilities and riders, to fulfill that original promise and to fully realize the goal that the City takes sustainability, and importantly, takes the creation of a better life for all very seriously.”  said the Speaker Cllr Logie Naidoo speaking on behalf of His Worship the Mayor Cllr James Nxumalo.

“One of the important cogs towards building a successful Non Motorised Network, is having it adopted and used.  As we do not have a rigorous culture of cycling, the GO!Durban Cycle Academy development programme speaks directly to addressing this obvious gap. And that is why through our Ride for Life programme, eight such spaces are being created to home the Cycle Academy in a variety of communities to encourage people to cycle.”

“These pioneering young Academy cyclists herald a bright future for others that will come after them. As they are mentored, coached and nurtured with dignity and respect, they will learn skills that will hold them in great stead for their adulthoods. 

But it is not only this. As with the ethos of GO!Durban, which aims to bring dignity and connectivity to all through mobility, the Academy also aims to provide connectivity for young people by linking them with a professional cycling team so that they are able to cross the historical barriers of the past, and have access to a world and environment that would ordinarily have been inaccessible.”

“If we are indeed to be Africa’s most caring and liveable city by 2030, we need to ensure that there is improved mobility for all, and that transport is an integral part of the economic and social functioning that will move us all forward socially and economically. This is what GO!Durban seeks to address.”

“As other cities around the world have experienced, the growth of a cycling culture impacts positively on communities as not only does it provide an affordable means of commuting, but it promotes a healthy lifestyle and contributes towards creating a more sustainable city.”

“From an empowerment point of view, it is hoped that the Academy will create employment opportunities as well as stimulate entrepreneurial economic growth within the areas where they are established, as people recognize the need for repair shops, eateries, training schools and attendant services related to cycling both from a commuter and recreational perspective.”

“The GO!Durban Academy promises to create an environment for entrepreneurship and the stimulation for small business growth. We urge the eNanda community to get involved, and not to watch from the sidelines. Look at this as an opportunity to develop a vibrant economic and socially satisfying node. At the same time, we encourage other communities where sites are planned to think how they can get involved.”

“We hope to, through this partnership, inspire young people to focus on achievable goals in their life, as we develop their self-confidence through sport, and in doing so develop in them a mind-set of success.” says Shaun Peschl, Manager of the Kargo PRO Cycling Team. “We believe that it is through development programmes such as this, that we can truly level the playing fields for those who have had many barriers to entry into the sport. The success of the partnership will be evident in how the children fare at school, at home and on the track as they develop their skills as young athletes. And we look forward to witnessing the entrepreneurial economic knock-on effect that these Academy sites will stimulate as the culture of cycling catches on.”

The Kargo PRO Cycling Team, as the inaugural partners in developing the GO!Durban Cycle Academy template and programme, have been gathering other partners and sponsors into the fold that will provide transport, nutritional and mechanical support, hardware and kit to help sustain the Academy.

The Mayor called on the private sector to “seize the opportunity to get on board now to be part of what promises to be a phenomenal social legacy, a potentially lucrative economic springboard for entrepreneurs, as well as new markets for formal business that will benefit in the long term from a developed culture of cycling in the city.”

-ends

1st International Bow Music Conference at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, 24 - 27 February 2016

University Of KwaZulu-Natal

1st INTERNATIONAL BOW MUSIC CONFERENCE 

24 – 27 February 2016

The Music cluster within the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s School of Arts is hosting the 1st International Bow Music Conference from 24 to 27 February. Convened by a team led by Dr Sazi Dlamini, UKZN lecturer and well-known township jazz exponent, the event has garnered a wave of passionate interest from local and international bow music practitioners, as well ethnomusicological research academics from as far afield as the US, Brazil, Europe, and neighbouring SADC countries of Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

The Bow Music Conference, while it is an academic gathering, it will be opening its doors to public attendance at paper presentations, workshops and discussions which will focus on diverse topics on global bow musical practices. The conference acknowledges the widespread indigenous occurrence of musical bows both in Africa and in far-flung areas of the globe, as well as the growing research and public interest on bow music.

The keynote address at the conference will be given by the eminent bow music professor David Dargie, a retired monk who brought to the world’s attention Xhosa women’s umrhubhe mouth-bow playing and the mesmerizing overtone singing techniques of Ngqoko village women of the Lady Frere area in the Eastern Cape.

The Bow Music Conference will include a progrmamme of musical performances that will showcase Southern African musical bows such as uhadi and ikatari (Xhosa); the Sotho lesiba, sekhankuri and lekope; the Venda thomo; chizambi and chipendani mouthbows found in Mozambique and eastern Zimbabwe; sitolotolo, makhoyana, umqangala and makhweyana (Zulu & Swati). During the conference some of these musical bows will be displayed in a curated exhibition of indigenous musical instruments at the KZNSA Gallery.

A significant presence in the conference is that of the the Afro-Brazillian musical bow the berimbau, the calabash-resonated musical bow closely associated with capoeira, the worldwide popular physical game-dance-martial art that resulted from the presence of African slaves in Brazil. Several scholarly presentations will focus on the berimbau’s African origins as well as the instrument’s relationship to widespread Bantu bow cultures of Africa’s sub-Saharan region. The programme will include screenings of director Richard Pakleppa’s documentary film ‘Jogo de Corpo’ [Body Games] – which traces the roots of capoeira and of the berimbau to Angola. 

Conference presentations will take place at UKZN’s Innovation Centre (Gate 9, Rick Turner Road) on 24, 25 and 26 February. Entrance is free upon registration. The film and concerts series take place at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre at Howard College Campus UKZN from 25 - 27 February. Tickets will be available through Computicket. Daytime events at the KZNSA on Saturday 27 February include a workshop on musical bow-making, an indigenous musical instrument exhibition and a capoeira Angola roda conducted by Mestre Cobra Mansa from Salvador, Bahia-Brazil.

For more information go to www.bowconference.com or facebook.com/bowconference, or email info@bowconference.com.

The 1st International Bow Music Conference is a Sources of Creativity Catalytic Project, funded through a research grant from The National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

-ends

[see attached file: 1. Khokhiwe Mphila.png] [see attached file: 1. Luka Mukhavele's modified 5 string chitende.JPG] [see attached file: 1. Madosini.JPG] [see attached file: 1. Sazi Dlamini, Bavikile Ngema, Cobra Mansa.JPG]

19th Time of the Writer - Schools Short Story Competition

19th Time of the Writer

14 - 19 March 2016

Schools Short Story Competition

The 19th Time of the Writer hosted by the Centre for Creative Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal invites South African high school learners to submit their short stories for the annual Schools Short Story Competition by Friday 26 February 2016.

Held in conjunction with the Time of the Writer Festival, the Schools Short Story Competition is open to all South African high school learners and aims to encourage creative expression in young people while functioning as a springboard for the future writers of South Africa. With the festival’s long standing commitment toward nurturing a culture of reading and writing, this competition has received a wide appeal that continues to grow with each edition of the festival.

Winners will be awarded cash prizes, book vouchers and complimentary tickets to the festival.

The Time of the Writer takes place from 14-19 March 2016. As one of the country’s longest running literature festivals, Time of the Writer brings together some of the best authors, publishers, and editors from around the world, while focusing on providing a platform to KwaZulu-Natal talent.  In addition to the nightly showcases at the various community based venues, the festival also organises a broad range of free daily activities including an educational and entertaining programme of workshops, reading sessions and panel discussions. This includes engagement with teachers, on the implementation of literature in the classroom and with members of the public interested in literature as well as visits to schools by the festival participants.

For more information on the festival or the competition, go to www.cca/ukzn.ac.za or contact the Centre for Creative Arts on 031 260 2506/1816 or email:  schools@cca-ukzn.co.za

Terms and Conditions

·       The competition is open to all South African high school students.

·       There is no particular topic for the short stories.

·       The short stories can be written in English or isiZulu.

·       Illegible entries will not be considered (Typed entries preferred).

·       Short stories are to be a maximum of 5 pages in length.

·       Deadline for submissions is 26 February 2016. (16:00)

How to Enter

Entries can be submitted by one of the following methods:

Email: schools@cca-ukzn.co.za

Fax: 031 260 3074

Hand Delivery: Centre for Creative Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College Campus, Mazisi Kunene Avenue, Durban, 4041, South Africa

All entries must include:

·       Name of School (Contact and physical address)

·       Name of submitter (Grade, age and contact details)

·       Ensure that all pages are numbered.

Organised by the Centre for Creative Arts(University KwaZulu-Natal), the 19th Time of the Writer is supported by the City of Durban, the French Institute of South Africa and Alliance Française, the KZN Department of Arts and Culture and the National Department of Arts and Culture and the Goethe-Institut. The Centre for Creative Arts is housed in the College of Humanities at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and is a special project of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Cheryl Potgieter.

 -ends

CAPTION:

Last year’s schools’ short story competition winners.

Flatfoot Dance Company call for dancers to audition

Media Release

Flatfoot Dance Company call for dancers to audition

Flatfoot Dance Company the award winning African Contemporary dance company based in Durban will be holding auditions at Dance Studio 2 located in University of KwaZulu-Natal Howard College Campus on 7 December 2015 from 13h30.

Flatfoot is looking for one female dancer and one male dancer who would be interested in joining the company on a full-time professional contract (35 hours a week) as of Monday 18 January 2015. Those that are interested in auditioning need to be 20 years old minimum. The company have a full annual programme that includes performance season both in and out of South Africa, dance education and development programmes, and schools/university dance education work. “We work in a contemporary idiom based on Hawkins, Graham, Horton and Release Technique but the company also does a weekly ballet and Pilates/yoga class.” says Lliane Loots, Artistic Director of Flatfoot Dance Company.

To qualify for the auditions, the dancer has to have a minimum of two years full or part-time contemporary dance training and/or professional dance work. A proven dance/arts education and dance teaching experience, formal and non-formal educational/arts environments will be considered. Writing and administration skills in English and/or isiZulu, be computer literate and have a valid South African passport. A driver’s licence will be an added benefit.

Those that are interested and meet the minimum requirements have to call the company manager Clare on 082875 6065 and book a place at the audition. Pre-bookings are vital. Submit a curriculum vitae of no more than three pages and include a head shot. Email to flatfootdancecompany@gmail.com. Relevant terms and conditions apply.

For further information or inquiries contact Clare on 082875 6065 or email flatfootdancecompany@gmail.com.

END