Photo credit: Responsive Digital
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For 11 days, from 9 to 19 October, the Cape Town International Film Market and Festival (CTIFMF) ensured the focus of the media, the public and key industry stakeholders on the importance of films and filmmaking within the socio-economic eco-system. The gathering of industry professionals and film-lovers was unprecedented in terms of the profile and numbers of those in attendance.
The eleven days of film screenings commenced with the festival's Opening Night, one of the most high-profile events the city has seen in years with over 1 300 guests descending on the massive red carpet that draped the Artscape Theatre's piazza. South Africa's submission for the Oscars, and the film that went on to win Best South African Feature at the festival, Sew the Winter to My Skin, was screened to commemorate the occasion.
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Throughout the remaining 10 days, Nu Metro and Ster-Kinekor Cinema Nouveau at the V&A Waterfront saw a host of red carpet premieres and multiple sold out shows for some of the 160 films from South Africa, the rest of the continent and further afield. International juries, filmmakers, members of the media and thousands of Capetonians including over 500 students who were brought in from across the Cape Flats, were able to enjoy the eclectic selection curated by festival director Leon van der Merwe and the larger festival team.
In terms of both the market and the festival, the 2018 edition of the CTIFMF saw exponential growth in attendance, partnerships, as well as industry and public support. This year the festival reached an estimated 70 million people through social media and press coverage. Increased attendance this year also impacted positively on tourism with an emphasis on breaking cultural barriers and unlocking new markets such as the Muslim and MENA regions through a partnership with Africa Halal Week.
Moreover, this year the festival screened no less than 10 films that are official submissions from their respective countries for the Oscars. Namely, Sew the Winter to my Skin (South Africa), Supa Modo (Kenya) and Dogman (Italy) to mention a few. The latter of which went on to win the Best Actor, Best Director as well as the Grand Prix Award. This exceptional quality of film submissions is testament to the rising prestige that the CTIFMF has already achieved over just two years and asserts its relevance within the global film festival fraternity.
As CTIFMF executive chairman Rafiq Samsodien explains, The international market's response to the quality of our content delivery is yet another validation of the innovative steps we are taking to connect and provide global insights and solutions for the challenges facing the creative industries. This year's event galvanised the industry and reached out to share this spirit across the continent. More than ever, there is now a keen willingness for more open collaboration and dialogue between stakeholders across disciplines and even borders. We will further develop the sustainability of our industry, but also give new opportunities to markets within the MENA region and beyond.
Adding to this, festival CEO Nazeera Hartley Roach had this to say, One of our main objectives is to effect meaningful change by creating opportunities for youth from under-served communities, ensuring that transformation and job creation remain top priorities. This was demonstrated in our focused youth programme this year that engaged more than 500 youth from across the Cape Flats and as far as Paarl.
Woman in film was another key focus, as gender equality was another key priority for the festival. This was underscored by the many woman filmmakers, jury members and panel speakers who participated in the festival this year. Women took home the majority of the awards in the Works in Progress programme, as well as winning The Writers Guild of South Africa Pitch Competition. The CTIFMF also hosted the launch of the Ladima Foundation's A-List, South Africa's largest searchable database of women film industry professionals, added Roach.
This year's Cape Town International Film Market and Festival's Industry Programme, meticulously programmed by market director Elias Ribeiro and his team, saw over 300 industry professionals and experts taking part in four days of intensive discussions and sessions that focused on skills transfer, best practice and intellectual capacity building.
The CTIFMF Market programme included the incredibly important Works in Progress programme, the ENGAGE Audience Development programme, the ADAPT book adaptation programme, as well as the Writers Guild of South Africa's Screenwriting pitch competition.
One of the key sessions within the Industry Programme was the unique Work Caf - a full day devoted to harnessing the collective power of the some of the more exciting emergent national film industries across Africa through a focused discussion where policy makers and experts could develop best practice to move the industry forward.
All of the participants, which included Wesgro, the Dti, the Kenya Film Commission, The Nigeria Film Corporation, the NFVF, and the KZN Film Commission, were aware of the uniqueness and importance of the rare opportunity for so many key African film policymakers to be in one room and that the discussion was only the start of what now must become a Pan-African collaborative effort to bridge the gaps between bureaucracy and practicality, and to create a fertile environment in which developing film industries can flourish.
A major announcement was also made during the festival, the confirmation of IFFR as official partners with the CTIFMF to ensure that the festival will now be part of the on-going annual EAVE programme. Five African and five European producers will be selected to
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Photo credit: Responsive Digital
