Industry Events

In partnership with Refinery Cape Town and the South African Guild of Editors (SAGE), Encounters invited SA filmmakers to submit their documentary films for the 2nd Encounters Rough Cut Lab. A maximum of three South African projects, consisting of one director and one editor, whose films are in post-production, have been selected to spend three days working on their film with internationally experienced homegrown editors. Projects will receive world class expertise and insight on story and technical challenges.

Note, this event is by invitation only, and no RSVP is possible.

FNB, voted the best business bank for the for the past 6 years, will be engaging with attendees in one on one sessions to help you take your business to the next level.

These sessions will include: REGISTERING YOUR BUSINESS, CIPC REGISTRATION WITH FNB, FUNDING YOUR BUSINESS and THE SUSTAINIBILITY OF YOUR BUSINESS.

Chat to FNB about FOREIGN EXCHANGE and promoting your business to the rest of the world, use their expertise to discuss ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS, PAYROLL SOLUTIONS, and how to invest and save and any financial questions you may have.

FNB has been lauded as being the most Innovative bank in the world, there will be various specialists and business managers at the event to present their value proposition and help you understand how their innovative solutions could enhance and facilitate further business growth.

Everyone is welcome to attend but please RSVP ASAP! Places are limited to 15 people!

Join us at Invest SA where all the stakeholders will be present for various presentations which will be followed by one on one meetings with filmmakers. It’s not Rocket Science, but if you don’t know how, it’s a Minefield!

CIPC, SARS, dti, NFVF and FNB… with everything from registering a company, running a bank account efficiently, to giving the tax man his due. Need to chat to the NFVF about your proposals and projects? This is an ideal opportunity, not to be missed!

The morning session:

09:00-09:30

FNB: Business Banking / Accounting etc.

09:30-10:00

CIPC – Registering a business / SPV etc.

10:00-10:30

SARS – Understanding tax requirements.

10:30-10:45

Tea Break.

10:45-11:30

NFVF – Funding.

11:30-12:00

DTI – Film Incentives.

12:00-13:00

Legals with Anu Nepal (legal advisor).

Everyone is welcome to attend but please RSVP ASAP as places are limited!!

ScreenCubator Business Programme

The University of Cape Town’s Centre for Film and Media Studies along with UCT-TV offer a number of community engagement and training programmes through the Stepping Stone Training Programme and ScreenCubator Business Programme. In attendance for the ScreenCubator Business Programme will be Stepping Stone alumni, as well as current and former ScreenCubator Business Programme beneficiaries. The event will also be open to the broader film fraternity to attend.

ScreenCubator Business Programme is a programme run by the UCT TV Studio with support from the Fox Foundation and The Centre for Film and Media Studies at UCT. It grew out of the Stepping Stone Community Engagement Video Programme and was developed in response to a need from Stepping Stone alumni for support of their first professional productions, or to launch their own production companies.

Our vision is to support emerging filmmakers in the production of their first short film, or in the production of a trailer that they can use to secure financial support for a mid-length or feature length film. We favour social justice content, particularly documentary film, but we also support various projects and media including fiction short film and web platforms.

The ScreenCubator Business Programme is further testament and effort to provide supplementary support for incubatees and Stepping Stone alumni, by offering funding to 15 select individuals to register a company. As formal and registered entities, they will be in a better position to access available funding and grant opportunities, provide the necessary compliance documents for funding, as well as enter into co-productions.

ScreenCubator Business Programme Legal Workshop

Anu Nepal is a Consultant Legal-advisor to TV production companies. Her primary legal experience is in Media and Entertainment Law, Entertainment Law, Labour Law, Drafting and advise on Policy and legislation, and Mediation and Conciliation. Apart from her twenty years’ experience in law, Anu has also worked in the film and television industry for fifteen years. She has extensive experience in television production, film distribution, Indian film shoot facilitation, marketing management, and public relations. As a consultant, she offers services in business management, deal brokering, film distribution, acquisition, marketing and public relations strategy and management.

Looking for that global audience for your film? Join Barbara Off (​DOK.fest München, DOK.network Africa Project Manager) and Shamiela Seedat (Whispering Truth to Power) to discuss the world of film festivals. Get tips on developing a festival strategy, insights on which to consider, how to find a good fit for your film and, finally, now you’re in, how to get the word out and a full house!

Everyone is welcome to attend but please RSVP ASAP as places are limited!!

The bits that we fail to consider at the outset of our projects – what you need to create an impression, from the poster to the Press Kit, and which Festival will be your calling card to bigger and better things…

Join Richard Starkey as he discusses how to make an impactful trailer, Joy Sapieka, one of the few film publicists in SA, as she breaks down the press process and Toby Attwell who will discuss the art creating an impactful Poster.

Read more about Richard Starkey here: Richard Starkey’s biography.

Everyone is welcome to attend but please RSVP ASAP as places are limited!!

For the first time ever at Encounters – join us as we hear a presentation from the City on:

• Film Cape Town / Film Office Rebrand and Objectives
• Regulatory / Film Permitting

Join us in welcoming the new NFVF CEO Makhosazana Khanyile for a presentation and discussion.

This workshop is for filmmakers who want to feel more confident with scheduling and budgeting their own documentary and factual productions as it will introduce principles, approaches and questions to think about when designing the logistical blueprint of a project. We will also touch on what sources of funding are available in South Africa and how to approach applying for them, including co-productions, the dti incentives, advertiser funded programming and soft funds.

Liezel Vermeulen is a line producer specializing in the development of factual projects with a focus on scheduling, budgeting and also has extensive experience in administering the dti Film and TV incentive for documentary, animation and live action projects. Her background is in lecturing documentary theory and practice at university level, producing factual series and she is also is the communications manager for the Documentary Filmmakers Association (DFA) and the Independent Producers Organisation (IPO).

Everyone is welcome to attend but please RSVP ASAP as places are limited!!

In 2016 the HFF student in documentary filmmaking and tv journalism Annelie Boros came to Cape Town in order to do a short film about the ongoing student protests. In the process she is confronted with her own white and foreign identity. Boros’ short film Fuck White Tears prompts the thorny questions of:

• Who anoints the storyteller?
• Who’s allowed to tell, and tell what about whom?
• Do race, class and gender matter in crafting a tale?
• What about solidarity with your subjects?
• Or do you keep your distance?

Fuck White Tears will be screened prior to the workshop – Dir: Annelie Boros | 2016 | Germany | 25min

Prof. Karin Jurischick, a white female filmmaker who has worked in other countries and about political subjects for the past 30 years, will lead the discussion and illustrate it with samples of her work.

Read more about Karin Jurischick here: Karin Jurischick’s biography.

Everyone is welcome to attend but please RSVP ASAP as places are limited!!

UCT ScreenCubator Business Programme and Encounters South African International Film Festival present

IMPACT SPRINGBOARD

Supported by the Centre for Film and Media Studies, Fox Foundation, Bertha Foundation, Sunshine Cinema, Documentary Filmmakers’ Association, UCT TV

UCT ScreenCubator Business Programme and Encounters Film Festival invited filmmakers to pitch their impact strategy for social justice projects. This workshop will assist the winning projects in designing the impact strategy for their social justice film with relevant support and seed funding!

The panel:

Musa Gwebani is an activist and co-head of programmes at the Social Justice Coalition (SJC).

Dr Liani Maasdorp is a senior lecturer in the Centre for Film & Media Studies, University of Cape Town, convener of the MA: Documentary Arts and producer of Strike a Rock (IDFA, Sheffield DocFest, Encounters, DIFF).

Miki Redelinghuys is an award winning documentary filmmaker who believes in the power of film for change. Her recent film, This Land, screened across South Africa as part of the national dialogue on land rights and structural inequality. She is currently studying towards a Masters in Documentary Arts at UCT with Impact as a focus. She is a founding member of the DFA and director of Plexus Films.

Everyone is welcome to attend and watch the pitching process but please RSVP ASAP as places are limited!!

Join Simon Wood, Monde Kawana (DOCi) & Jessie Zinn for a discussion about the art of making an impactful short film.

A conversation about the renaissance of the micro-documentary, and how you can be part of a generation taking the lead in occupying this space. The discussion will focus on funding opportunities, how to create and distribute an artistic and engaging documentary in a constantly changing landscape of consumer viewing platforms.

Everyone is welcome to attend but please RSVP ASAP as places are limited!!

Director Simon Wood’s latest short documentary Scenes from a Dry City has screened at the worlds most prestigious documentary festivals – IDFA, Hot Docs, Full Frame, AFIDOCS and recently won Best Mini Documentary on its US premiere at the Academy qualifying Big Sky Festival in Montana. The film was exec produced by Oscar Winner Laura Poitras and Charlotte Cooke at Field of Vision. Read more about Simon Wood here: Simon Wood’s biography.

Monde Kawana is a Zambian filmmaker based in Cape Town currently working at benchfilms as a production coordinator, a City Producer for the 48 Hour Film Project Cape Town and at the DOCi Emerging Filmmakers Programme as a staff lecturer and mentor. Read more about Monde Kawana here: Monde Kawana’s biography.

Jessie Zinn is a filmmaker from Cape Town. Her short films have screened at international film festivals, including Visions Du Reel, BFI Film Festival, Encounters, Durban International Film Festival, and MoMA doc fortnight. Read more about Jessie Zinn here: Jessie Zinn’s biography.

In partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland in South Africa – Consulate General of Switzerland Cape Town, Emmanuelle Antille, (A Bright Light: Karen and The Process) will conduct a master class at City Varsity. The workshop will address the multiple roles that documentary filmmakers have to play.

Emmanuelle will take us through the different steps of the development process of A Bright Light. Topics that will be covered are:

1. How to treat an “historical” subject with almost no archives available. Insights will be given into her use of traditional biographical filmmaking processes to craft the story
2. Blending reality and art in the film
3. Use of archive material as well as different types of images and cameras (Super 8, cell phone, Mark III, miniDV, 16mm)
4. Working with musicians / music selections for the film.
5. Her experience as co-producer, editor and director on the film
6. The process of making her first feature-length documentary film (Emmanuelle has made two feature-length fiction films before)
7. Editing 140 hours of film material / different formats
8. Strategies for the film release: events and web project

Everyone is welcome to attend but please RSVP ASAP as places are limited!!

Ever had an idea for a film and wondered where to start? Join us for a discussion with Maganthrie Pillay (City Varsity Directing Lecturer) for a development discussion.

Maganthrie Pillay has directed 2 feature films and more than 40 documentaries. She was Director in SA on the innovative reality show Imagine Afrika. Senior Content Producer on Rise talk show. Curated on many film festivals was on the Documentary Jury at DIFF 2017 and Jury member for South African features on CTIFF 2018. She is currently Directing lecturer BA Film at City Varsity.

Presented by Anita Khanna & Sylvia Vollenhoven

The power of documentary film is the ability to connect with hearts and minds. Impact Producer Anita Khanna and University of Johannesburg’s Professor of Practice Sylvia Vollenhoven explore the nexus of Art and Activism. We will unpack the blueprint for an Impact Strategy using examples of cutting-edge films like Jozi Gold, Everything Must Fall, PUSH and others. Come prepared to participate using your own projects and change the world one film at a time.

Read more about Sylvia Vollenhoven here: Sylvia Vollenhoven biography.

Everyone is welcome to attend but please RSVP ASAP as places are limited!!

Sisterhood Cinema is an initiative by SWIFT (Sisters Working in Film and Television).  Sisterhood Cinema aims to celebrate and showcase the rich diversity of films by female filmmakers from across South Africa. Following the launch event in 2018 films have been  screened at the end of each quarter throughout 2019. The quarterly screenings are aimed to provide female filmmakers with additional platforms and exposure to audiences they would ordinarily not reach.

It’s a space where female filmmakers can shine a spotlight on their work in an otherwise male-dominated industry.  This year, Sisterhood Cinema has teamed up with the Encounters Film Festival by shining a special spotlight on Encounters films.  Last week, the Johannesburg team showcased Molatelo Mainetje’s film “When Babies Don’t Come.”

On Saturday, the 15th of June, Encounters Film Festival and Industry workshops will co-host SWIFT’s Sisterhood Cinema in Cape Town by showcasing the student film, “Ek Staan Nog Sterk”.  Both still currently studying at the Big Fish School of Digital Filmmaking, Director Octavia Sonyane and Producer, Kastarine Kgola have collaborated to make this reflective film about resilience through adversity as part of their final delivery for their course.  The film has already started its public screening journey at Encounters and will have its final screening at Sisterhood Cinema on the 15th of June.

Join us at 4:30 pm at City Varsity to see the work of these young filmmakers. It’s also an incredible opportunity to network with women filmmakers and stakeholders in the industry.

About SWIFT

Sisters Working in Film & Television is committed to empowering women working in the industry. SWIFT advocates for gender and race parity, recognising the intersectionality of women’s experiences both in front of and behind the camera. As a nationwide committee, Sisterhood cinema has committed volunteer members across 3 cities (Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town). Our organisation has garnered support from many organisations and individuals around Johannesburg and South Africa who have made it possible to achieve access to screening venues, equipment and technical support in the past.

For more details on SWIFT contact Zoe Ramashu on chiriseri.studios@gmail.com

On Sisterhood Cinema contact Rea Moeti on rmoeti@gmail.com

On the Cape Town Screening contact Marion Matthews on mjmatthews.home@gmail.com or Maganthrie Pillay on maganthrie.pillay@cityvarsity.co.za