by Thinus Ferreira
Seven years after it last took place, the 4th Mandela Bay Film Festival run by the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) is set for 17 November, with the 3-day festival in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape that will include film screenings, panel discussions and educational workshops.
The festival was originally set to take place in September but then got postponed.
The programme of the 4th Mandela Bay Film Festival, taking place at the Nelson Mandela Bay Science & Technology Centre in Kariega, the Athenaeum and Bayworld in Summerstrand, includes film screenings, of short films, documentaries and feature films, together with workshops, masterclasses, panel discussions and networking platforms.
Representatives from both the SABC and MultiChoice will attend the 4th Mandela Bay Film Festival this year, with the festival also supported by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) and the community TV station Mpuma Kapa TV.
The Mandela Bay Film Festival started a decade ago in 2016 in the Tramways building in Port Elizabeth to support the Eastern Cape province's film industry, with the third edition of this film festival that took place in 2019.
"This year we're focusing on exposing high school learners to the industry through our programme, 'My future, my film career' which is included in the first day of the programme," Luzuko Dilima, Mandela Bay Film Festival curator, told SABC News.
Tshilidzi Davhana, SABC acting head of content, said the South African public broadcaster decided to participate in this year's festival "because we need to contribute to development and the production industry and for the local industry to tell their stories using their own local languages in a diverse country".
The film festival's opening night on 17 November is a screening of Gateway directed by Gqeberha filmmaker and cinematographer Tobela Pemba and an industry networking session.
The festival's second day will focus on story development, directing, funding and special effects.
Workshops and masterclasses will include screenwriting with film and television practitioner Zolisa Sigwanda, directing with television director Zolani Phakade, and special effects makeup with production designer Nothando Maimane.
A panel discussion will look at film funding institutions and talk about funding opportunities, application requirements, eligibility criteria, budgeting and the challenges facing emerging filmmakers in the Eastern Cape.
An African cinema panel will be moderated by Mykel Parish, president of the African Film Consortium.
The day will conclude with an outdoor cinema programme on the grounds at Bayworld.
The third day of the 4th Mandela Bay Film Festival will focus on broadcasting, distribution, production and long-term film industry development.
There will be a workshop involving the SABC and MultiChoice representatives, a film production masterclass done by actor and film producer Kagiso Modupe, as well as a film industry development masterclass and dialogue moderated by Dr Subeshini Moodley from the Nelson Mandela University's department of media and communication.
This session will look at content commissioning, broadcaster requirements, distribution pathways, production planning, professional standards and partnerships between academia and the film industry.
