Durban filmmakers? project selected for Srfond Pitching Forum in Norway

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Durban filmmakers project selected for S rfond Pitching Forum in Norway --

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 10:51

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Hhola Hhola, a film which was a feature project at the inaugural Durban FilmMart (DFM) in 2010, has been selected for the prestigious S rfond Pitching Forum in Oslo, Norway this year.

Produced by Julie Frederikse and directed by Madoda Ncayiyana of Vuleka Productions, based in KwaMashu in Durban, this is one of only eight projects selected out of 130 applications from all over the world.

The S rfond Pitching Forum, hosted by the S rfond Norwegian South Film Fund, which has as its mission to fund films from developing countries, is held from 14 October during the Films from the South Festival in Oslo.

The aim of the S rfond Pitching Forum is to give international producers the opportunity to present their projects to potential Norwegian co-producers, with the aim to enter into a co-production agreement and apply for support from S rfond in March 2016.

Directed by Ncayiyana and produced by Julie Frederikse, Hhola Hhola is a story about dreams, ambitions and standing for what you believe in. The new film is a relevant and poignant story of a young boy who dreams of being a celebrity and gets mixed up with a conman in an effort to free his mother from jail, explains Frederikse. What is also eye-catching about the film is the setting that is not often seen in African films. It is not poor and dusty Africa, with children holding a begging bowl, at least figuratively. Hhola Hhola is about tech-savvy urban Durban people, especially youth, who don t have computers but run their social and economic lives on their cellphones. It is also about the notion of celebrity that young people are so taken with all over the world; the main character s journey is to get past superficial ideas of winning fame and fortune so as to believe in himself and express what is really inside him. The film also delves into contemporary culture and identity, depicting the relevance and importance of these factors, she says.

This is an significant opportunity for the film, and for Madoda to make his second feature film, to follow up Izulu Lami, says Frederikse, Approximately 1.6 million Euro will be granted for production support from 2015 to 2018 through an international cooperation between the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Ministry of Culture, with the Norwegian Film Institute and the Films from the South Foundation jointly in charge of the administration of the fund. S rfond grants up to 130 000 Euro per film.

The feature was first presented at the Durban FilmMart five years ago. Since then the film has received development funding from the National Film and Video Foundation in South Africa, the Durban Film Office and the KwaZulu Natal Film Commission. Additional support for a top international script doctor came jointly from Produire au Sud of Nantes, the Durban Film Office and International Relations Office of the eThekwini Municipality. As co-writers of the script, Ncayiyana and Frederikse worked with Argentinian-French-English script doctor Miguel Machalski.

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