2nd Khuma Film Festival to promote North West province film biz, will honour Moditle 'Boikie' Pholo and open with Sew the Winter into My Skin

by Thinus Ferreira

The Khuma Film Festival of South Africa's North West province will take place for a second time from 28 to 30 May in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda district municipality, as it tries to establish a film industry in the province and grow a film appreciation community.

Actor, director and producer Neo Ntlatleng is the Khuma Film Festival director.

Naomi Mokhele, Khuma Film Festival founder, says "We have curated brilliant films that will not only resonate with our audiences, but will also inspire young people to tell their own stories in a unique way".

"As the festival aims to establish a film industry in the area and create a film appreciative community, we hope that the foundation we have built, will ultimately result in reaching these goals."

The 2nd Khuma Film Festival will take place at the Phillemon Masinga Sports Complex Hall and honour the 5-decades of work of actor Moditle "Boikie" Pholo.

According to Naomi Mokhele, the 2nd Khuma Film Festival will include film screenings, workshops and discussions that bring together film enthusiasts and industry professionals. 

"We have curated brilliant films that will not only resonate with our audiences, but will also inspire young people to tell their own stories in a unique way."

The 2nd Khuma Film Festival will open with a premiere of the 2018 film Sew The Winter into My Skin, with a story in South Africa's rural Great-Karoo region in the 1950s.

Written and directed by filmmaker Jahmil X.T. Qubeka and starring Ezra Mabengeza, Peter Kurth and Kandyse McClure, the film tells a true story of John Kepe (Ezra Mabengeza) whose journey as an outlaw explores the inherent desire and need in humanity to seek out heroes.

The film festival will wrap with a screening of the late Menzi Ngubane documentary, The Life and Times of Menzi Ngubane.

Creative talent attending include Vincent Moloi, Neo Ntlatleng, Robert Mpisi, Israel Matseke-Zulu, Thembile Botman and Didintle Khonou.

The Khuma Film Festival is supported by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) through the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme.

The NFVF once again damages the credibility of the Saftas: Blocks the SABC's Uzalo and Muvhango to be voted for by viewers as Most Popular Soap for 2016.

Controversy is once again erupting around the credibility of the South African Film and Television Awards that is blocking viewers this year from voting for the public broadcaster's hugely popular soaps Uzalo and Muvhango - while suddenly adding additional categories after talks with the SABC.

The Saftas that in previous years drew criticism over the credibility of the awards, previously locked out 7de Laan (2012), Binnelanders and Villa Rosa (2013) and Muvhango (2014) from the Most Popular Soap category that viewers vote for. In 2012 e.tv for instance pulled its soaps Rhythm City and Scandal! as well as all its other shows from the award show.

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) that runs the Saftas, forces TV productions to enter other categories every year or otherwise be completely disqualified and banned from the Most Popular Soap category - the one in which viewers vote and decide the winner.

It means that once again for the 10th Saftas set to take place on 18 and 20 March, it will be a hollow win for whatever soap gets the most votes as Most Popular Soap since the group is once again incomplete and not a full representation of their TV screens and what viewers should be able to vote for.

Ironically Uzalo is the most popular and most watched soap and TV show in South Africa and highest rated show and soap on SABC1. Based on TV ratings and ARs, the currency of South Africa's TV industry, Uzalo would win.

Muvhango meanwhile is the most watched soap and number one rated programme on SABC2 but will be completely invisible at this year's Saftas.

The Saftas says that it promotes and honours diversity in South Africa's film and TV industry, but ironically has now locked out the Venda soap for two years in a row from the most popular category - a prime example of the very type of show it should be seen as celebrating.

The NFVF in a statement says the Saftas "are aligned to the NFVF's mandate of growing and developing the industry through showcasing and celebrating of our country's diversity - languages, and regional representation".

The Saftas confirms to TVwithThinus that viewers are blocked from voting for Uzalo - regionally filmed in KwaMashu in KwaZulu-Natal - and Muvhango.

"Muvhango did not enter the Saftas this year," says Naomi Mokhele, NFVF spokesperson. "Therefore as per the awards' guidelines, only soapies that were submitted for entry into the Saftas can be considered for the awards categories".

As to why Uzalo, the hugely popular SABC1 weekday soap isn't eligible and included, Naomi Mokhele says "the producers entered it as a drama and not a soapie".

Meanwhile, after talks with the SABC's chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng who was unhappy about a perceived lack of transformation, the NFVF has suddenly added more categories to this year's Saftas after it already announced the nominees for all the categories.

It's not clear why the NFVF agreed to suddenly add new categories to the 2016 Saftas less than a month before the award show, instead of properly phasing it in for subsequent editions when the nomination process starts again towards the end of this year.  

"The two parties agreed that urgent attention is required to transform the industry and ensure that the Saftas become more inclusive," said the SABC and the NFVF in a joint statement. 

The SABC and the NFVF agreed that productions that feature African languages, women and people with disabilities will now be considered with a special "window period opened to accommodate them before the awards".

Now the NFVF suddenly added what it calls "three new special awards" to the 10th Saftas, including a special Disability Recognition Award. It's not clear whether people will have to enter for these new awards - as the Saftas requires for other categories - or whether the Saftas will identify and self-select winners. 

"We are constantly refining the process of the Saftas, guidelines for submissions and the judging process," says Zama Mkosi, NFVF CEO.

"There is an overwhelming commitment by the NFVF to broaden participation of previously disadvantaged individuals and groupings in the complete value chain of the film and television industry".