Wits Head of the School of the Arts, Prof. René Smith; Wits head of the department of Film & Television, Dr Yolo Koba; Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Prof. Mucha Musemwa; Wits 4th year student Amanda Mzolo; Netflix director of grow creative, Chris Mack; Netflix manager of content in Africa, Allison Triegaardt.
by Thinus Ferreira
Netflix has given the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) a grant to upgrade the digital infrastructure of the Film and TV department of the Wits School of Arts (WSOA) in the form of 140 Apple Mac laptops with advanced film editing software.
Wits will use the Netflix Creative Equity grant from the global video streaming service to further develop its creative digital infrastructure in the film school and to provide students with new state-of-the-art equipment in the content-creation learning process.
The Apple Mac laptops with advanced film editing software also have 1TB solid state drives (SDDs).
For Netflix, the grant supports the streamer's goal to advance equity for emerging young film and TV creatives in South Africa and throughout the African continent, and to create, tell and shape original African stories and content.
A film from Wits' Film and TV department was screened last month at the 45th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) and will compete in the CILECT awards of the International Association of Cinema, Audiovisual and Media Schools.
A Wits student also won the Best Student Film Award at the National Film and Video Foundations's South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas).
Dr. Yolo Koba, head of Wits' Film and Television department, says "These accolades are testament to the potential of our department and students. This grant and the equipment will assist us in our commitment of digitalisation and training future creatives and industry leaders with critical and innovative skills".
Allison Triegaardt, Netflix's Africa manager of content, says the streamer is "incredibly proud and happy to extend our partnership with the Wits Film and TV department by introducing this initiative aimed at nurturing and strengthening the pipeline of the South African film and TV industry".
"At Netflix, we not only invest in growing the production of local films and series, but we also want to continue our contribution to growing the ecosystem by investing in programmes that increase equitable access to training for the next generation of storytellers."
The collaboration between Wits and Netflix is administered by Tshikululu Social Investment.
