Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

30 YEARS OF SOUTH AFRICA'S DEMOCRACY CELEBRATED THROUGH THE FILM LENS AT THE 77TH INTERNATIONAL CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

11/06/2024

Tuesday 11 June 2024, Johannesburg. The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, lead a delegation of forty South African filmmakers in an unprecedented creative and cultural celebration of South Africa's 30-year democracy milestone.

In a historic moment for South African film, the NFVF, in collaboration with its key strategic partners the Industrial Development Corporation, Brand South Africa, Wesgro, the KZN Film Commission, the Durban Film Office and the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, lead a diverse cohort of practitioners who got the opportunity to network, engage and pitch their projects at the festival's key programmes.

Spearheaded by the Chairperson of the NFVF Council, Ms Tholoana Ncheke-Mahlaela, who boasts public and private sector legal and policy framework experience in the creative sector, the delegation consisted of 40 producers, supported by 16 delegates from the various partners. The Cannes Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres. Outside of the meetings engaged on, during this year's edition the South African delegation participated in events and platforms held at the South African hub, country specific pavilions and the business film market, also known as the March du Film (March ).

It was an esteemed privilege to champion the South African delegation at the 77th International Film Festival where our strategic intention behind positioning South Africa as a production destination of choice was met in a manner which not only exceeded expectations, but also affirmed what we know to be true about or dynamic and incredible industry made so by its remarkable filmmakers. As we exit the local democratic elections and gear up to commemorate the June 16 Soweto Uprising which was one of the catalysts for South Africa's dawn of democracy, it was an honour to witness South Africa's finest storytellers representing the incredible strides our industry has made during the past 30 years of democracy, a decade of which was marked by the stewardship of Ambassador Nkosinathi Mthethwa, during his service as the Minister of Sport, Arts & Culture , says Ncheke-Mahlaela who delivered a keynote address at the Inauguration of the Bharat Pavilion, hosted by the Government of India.

The South African hub comprised of a multi-functional stand, a striking feature at the March , which was positioned optimally in clear view of BRICS country partners India and Brazil, with whom co-production engagements took place. For the first time, the NFVF hosted a one-on-one conversation between globally renowned South African Director, Mandlakayise Dube and South African Film & Television Award (SAFTA) winner, Bonko Khoza who discussed the experience of filming Netflix's Heart of the Hunter.

South Africa's presence was cemented at programmes which took place at the Producers Network, the Bistrot de L rins and Cannes Docs, the documentary hub. Facilitated by the NFVF, the team was led by the Acting Chief Executive Officer, Ms Thobela Mayinje, whose decade-long tenure at the NFVF comes with a strong background in human capital development in the creative sector.

The South African itinerary this year was intentionally robust to ensure that filmmakers and stand partners alike experienced the festival exceptionally well and to showcase how brilliantly the story we have to tell as South Africa, can come to life. Our presence at Cannes this year represents incredible growth in comparison to recent years, where continued development through the leveraging of more strategic platforms at Cannes is more possible now. I'm incredibly proud of the NFVF team that worked tirelessly for months to get partners on board and facilitate the presence of such a strong pool of practitioners and a captivating stand hub. We showed the world what it means to #LoveSAFilm and I could not be prouder and excited for the film practitioners who lived this experience through and through , says Mayinje.

On the co-production front, South Africa's jam-packed itinerary included a cocktail hosted by the Netherlands Film Fund (NFF) where the significant moment of the renewal of the NFF and NFVF Thuthuka Co-Development Initiative took place. Attended by the Netherlands Minister of Arts & Culture, Ms Fleur Gr per-van Koolwijk, this signing marked the extension of the agreement for another two years, as indicated by Mayinje during her opening remarks. Furthermore, a Brazil and South Africa meet-and-greet mixer for producers held in partnership with Brazilian counterparts Spcine, laid a foundation for the panel discussion which took place, which unpacked the experience of South African and Brazilian producers working on afro-diasporic projects and announced the Spcine and NFVF Development Fund Call which opens later this year.

Proud moments included the South African series by Gambit Films, Blood & Water, winning the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion award at the Global Production Awards, the screening of Spier Films' short film Spiral and the presence of South Africa's Encounters Film Festival at Cannes Docs as an official partner. Festival Director Ms Mandisa Zitha delivered a keynote address focused on 30 Years of Documentary filmmaking and threw forward to the up-coming Encounters Film Festival taking place in Cape Town and Johannesburg at the end of this month.

South Africa signed-off its presence through an intimate networking cocktail inaugurally held at the Bistrot de L rins where Ambassador Mthethwa's poignant address encouraged the South African delegation to keep making globally relevant films that keep the South African nation brand resilient.

ENDS.

For media requests, contact:

Lerato Mokopanele

Marketing and Communications Manager

National Film and Vide
LINK: https://www.nfvf.co.za/30-years-of-south-africas-democracy-celebrated-...
See more stories from nfvf

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Flowstate AI's Sahil Shah on Transforming Video Content with Intelligent AI Agents

As sports media organization continue to seek out new ways to streamline their p...

01/04/2026

SVG GFX Forum 2026: Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

The SVG GFX Forum hit New York City earlier this month for a day packed with sessions focused on the creative strategy and technology behind today's cutting...

01/04/2026

From Buenos Aires to Mexico City, EQUAL Days Bring Latin America Together for Women in Audio

This year, Spotify celebrates the five-year anniversary of EQUAL, our global pro...

01/04/2026

FourFingers announce Tape Splice Pro plug-in

Analogue-style tape splicing in the digital domain In this era of digital recording and multiple layers of Undo, it seems that the fading art of tape splici...

01/04/2026

Zero G introduce Morphology Evolved

Latest release introduces new Orbita Engine Zero G's latest release marks the start of a new series of libraries, as well as introducing an all-new engi...

01/04/2026

Warm Audio introduce the WA-8TRX

Until now, one format has largely been left behind Warm Audio's extensive product range includes modern-day recreations of all manner of sought-after s...

01/04/2026

The Crow Hill Company announce Crystal Pianos

A piano with glass vessels for strings! The Crow Hill Company's recently released Gong Piano offered a refreshing new take on piano libraries, harnessin...

01/04/2026

ESSENCE RS from Aim Audio

Remote Streaming Studio Condenser Aim Audio have just revealed their latest creation, the ESSENCE RS Remote Streaming Studio Condenser, which becomes the wo...

01/04/2026

Call for NFVF funding applications to attend Film Festivals and Markets taking place from 08 - 31 May 2026

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...

01/04/2026

AgileTV powers Liwest's next-generation TV experience with the launch of next IPTV platform in Austria

Bilbao, April 1st, 2026 - AgileTV, a leading provider of end-to-end TV technolog...

01/04/2026

Green Hippo Debuts Hands on Hippotizer Media Server Train...

Green Hippo is excited to announce the launch of its new Hippotizer Media Server training courses at Pixel Academy, a purpose built AV learning hub combining ha...

01/04/2026

TAG Video Systems and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Partner...

TAG Video Systems, a global leader in IP-native broadcast monitoring, multiviewing, and quality control, today announced a collaboration with Oracle Cloud Infra...

01/04/2026

Professional Wireless Systems PWS Takes on Intercom and R...

Professional Wireless Systems (PWS), a leading provider of wireless audio solutions and RF management, was on site at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, wher...

01/04/2026

AgileTV powers Liwest next generation TV experience with...

AgileTV, a leading provider of end-to-end TV technology solutions, has deployed next , the new IPTV platform of the Austrian telco LIWEST, marking the first st...

01/04/2026

LTN and Ateme partner to deliver integrated video process...

LTN, a leader in fully managed IP video transport, and Ateme, a global leader in video compression and delivery solutions, today announced a collaboration integ...

01/04/2026

Adobe Unveils Powerful New Innovations for Creative Pros in Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Unveils Powerful New Innovations for Creative Pros in Adobe Illustrator Deepa Subramaniam April 1, 2026 0 Comments I'm excited to share that...

01/04/2026

Boland Communications Introduces QD4K315HDR10 QD-OLED Series Monitors for Live Production, Film, Post, and Broadcast

Boland Communications Introduces QD4K315HDR10 QD-OLED Series Monitors for Live P...

01/04/2026

2026 NAB Show Exhibitor Insight: Evertz

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/04/2026

Judge Blocks Order Barring NPR and PBS From Funding

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/04/2026

Nikon to Sell Mark Roberts Motion Control

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/04/2026

Mediagenix Showcases Semantic Intelligence-Powered Title Management, Schedule Optimization, and Personalization at NAB 2026

Mediagenix Showcases Semantic Intelligence-Powered Title Management, Schedule Op...

01/04/2026

FCC Approves WJAX-TV License Transfer to Cox

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/04/2026

Scripps Sports Ink Deal for Ion to Air 2026 Teal Rising Cup

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/04/2026

UK Group Companies Unveil NAB Show Plans

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/04/2026

Victoria Mont Brings the Multi-Hyphenate Mindset to Career Jam 2026

Victoria Mon t Brings the Multi-Hyphenate Mindset to Career Jam 2026 The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and producer shared how versatility and self-inves...

01/04/2026

UKTV announces expanded remit for Jonathan Newman and appoints David Swetman as Director of Content Partnerships & Sales

UKTV today announces that Jonathan Newman has formally stepped into the role of ...

01/04/2026

Rite of Spring - Save on Ivory 3 German D and American Concert D

A New Season of Expression: Save 30% On Ivory 3There are moments in music when everything changes-when new ideas break through and redefine what's possible....

01/04/2026

Binghamton University Strengthens StudentRun Productions With Riedel's SimplyLive RiMotion R12

Wuppertal April 1, 2026 Binghamton University Strengthens Student Run Producti...

01/04/2026

A Demon Falls for a Human in 'Long Vacation': Netflix Greenlights New Romance Series from Director of 'Crash Landing on You'

Back to All News A Demon Falls for a Human in Long Vacation: Netflix Greenlight...

01/04/2026

All WWE Is Now Live Only on Netflix in Italy

Back to All News All WWE Is Now Live Only on Netflix in Italy Entertainment 01 April 2026 GlobalItaly Link copied to clipboard ALL WWE IS NOW LIVE ON NET...

01/04/2026

TDF Expands Broadcast Channel Lineup with Harmonic

Harmonic's Media Processing Solutions Maximize Bandwidth Efficiency for Terrestrial Broadcast Delivery SAN JOSE, Calif. - April 1, 2026 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...

01/04/2026

RT and Virgin Media Television kick off comprehensive freetoair coverage of the 2026 Women's Six Nations Championship

Rugby fans won't miss a moment of the action this spring, with full Women...

01/04/2026

Bluey as Gaeilge starts on RT KIDSjr on Easter Monday

T Bluey ag teacht go RT ! Beginning on Monday 6 April 2026, Bluey will be available as Gaeilge on RT KIDSjr and RT Player. Children will be able to connect w...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

31/03/2026

MeyerPro Delivers LED Production for Microsoft Ignite 2025

MeyerPro delivered the LED production for the Microsoft Ignite 2025 keynote at Chase Center in San Francisco, using more than 2,700 ROE Visual panels across mul...

31/03/2026

MC-IF Expands Membership to Include Smaller Technology Companies to Drive VVC Adoption

The Media Coding Industry Forum (MC-IF) is expanding membership outreach in 2026...

31/03/2026

ViewLift and MyOutdoorTV Launch Conversational AI Search

ViewLift and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) have announced the launch of ViewLift Conversational AI Search on the MyOutdoorTV platform. The feature enables natural language...

31/03/2026

Atlanta Braves and Gray Media to Simulcast 25 Regular Season Games on Over-the-Air Television

The Atlanta Braves and Gray Media have announced a multi-year agreement to simul...

31/03/2026

Gravity Media to Deliver Broadcast Coverage of the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival

Gravity Media has delivered broadcast services for TAB Golden Slipper Day at Rosehill Gardens on March 21 and will now cover The Star Championships at Royal Ran...

31/03/2026

Mileto Tecnologia Selects Synamedia Go for OTT Expansion

Synamedia has announced that Mileto Tecnologia, a Brazilian pay-TV operator, has selected the Synamedia Go platform for its OTT expansion. Mileto is also deploy...

31/03/2026

NAB 2026: KMH Integration to Present AV Casting Philosophy

KMH Integration will attend NAB Show in Las Vegas with a focus on what the company calls AV Casting - an approach built on the idea that professional AV and bro...

31/03/2026

Prime Video to Air First and Second Rounds of 2026 Masters Tournament

Prime Video will carry live coverage of the first and second rounds of the 2026 Masters Tournament, beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 9 and Friday, A...

31/03/2026

NHL, ESPN, TNT Sports and Sportsnet Launch Joint Marketing Campaign for 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The NHL and its U.S. and Canadian broadcast partners have announced a collaborat...

31/03/2026

Daktronics to Install New Video Display and Show Control System at Wake Forest's Allegacy Stadium

Daktronics has partnered with Wake Forest to manufacture and install a new end z...

31/03/2026

NFL Announces Las Vegas to Host Super Bowl LXIII in 2029

The National Football League has announced that Las Vegas will host Super Bowl LXIII in 2029 at Allegiant Stadium. The announcement was made at the NFL Annual M...

31/03/2026

NFL Partners with TMRW Sports to Launch Professional Flag Football League

The NFL has announced a partnership with TMRW Sports to develop and operate a professional flag football league for women and men. The league will launch with i...