by Thinus Ferreira
kykNET's Silwerskermfees has opened written pitch entries for its 2024 short films and documentaries competitions, with the film festival which is also for the first time opening entries for another new initiative for this year's 11th Silwerskermfees in which selected TV producers will get the opportunity to make in-person pitches for new TV shows during the festival.
The 11th kykNET Silwerskermfees Film Festival is taking place in Camps Bay in Cape Town from 23 to 26 August where the film festival will showcase 14 short films and 6 short documentaries all made by newcomers and funded by M-Net and kykNET also providing mentorship.
These short films and documentaries were commissioned last year, but the film festival has now opened written entries for these categories for next year's 12th Silwerskermfees.
In both the short film and documentary categories the Silwerskermfees is now looking for "innovative storytellers with a burning desire to move
in behind the camera to capture their imaginative ideas" for 2024.
People who are interested in producing either a short film or a documentary have to submit a description of the story and themes, the working title, the documentary genre, and the duration of the proposed film.
The documentary must be no longer than 30 minutes. Any language may be included,
but 60% of the content must be in Afrikaans or any variant of the language,
such as Afrikaaps.
The finalists for the second
round, to be selected in May 2023, will then hand in a pitch video, whereafter
a third sifting round will ensue.
In this round - which will determine the films
going into production with M-Net and kykNET's financial backing and mentorship,
the candidates will do a full presentation detailing the film's budget and
director's treatment.
The 2024 Silwerskermfees film festival competition for short films will follow a similar selection process. The 2024 short films may be
between 3 and 30 minutes and in any genre. Any language can be incorporated
into the film, but 80% of the dialogue should be in any variant of Afrikaans.
To be considered for the
short film competition, a concept proposal of between 250 and
300 words must be submitted. The script development and director's treatment will come into play
at a later stage. The entry forms for the two
competitions are available on the Silwerskermfees film festival website and the
closing date for entries is Monday 8 May. The submission fee is R350.
TV pitch session added for 2023 Silwerskermfees
In another new initiative kykNET is adding an in-person TV pitching session for 2023's 11 Silwerskermfees.
Video entertainment creators are invited to submit
original proposals for the festival's new "Pitch To Us" competition which is part of a drive to bring fresh content to television and streaming platforms.
As part of Pitch to Us, a handful of producers will get invited to do in-person pitching sessions with commissioning editors and other programming
decision-makers during this year's film festival.
The Pitch
To Us competition encompasses various genre categories, including drama series,
documentaries, reality and entertainment programmes, and advertiser-sponsored
shows.
Producers who want to take part in the TV pitching session must enter on the film festival's website.
During the first phase of the three-pronged selection
process, the M-Net content hub commissioning editors overseeing the different
genres will sift through all the entries to determine the top 15 proposals.
Thereafter M-Net's content and channel heads will choose the top 5 entries, whose producers will pitch their programme to a group of
commissioning editors and other senior decision-makers at the film festival.
Details concerning the elements required for the
first-round pitch and the competition’s terms and conditions are available on
the website and the closing date for the Silwerskerm Pitch To Us
competition is 7 June 2023.
