SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE
SIGN IN SEARCH MENU
SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE


Encounters Film Festival: Left High And Dry

Written by TVSA Team from the blog News on 20 May 2009
Favourite this post


The future of the 2009 Encounters Film Festival hangs in the balance. The SABC, it's prinicipal sponsor, has withdrawn their financial support for it - they've introduced cost-cutting measures to deal with their debt debacle and this is the unfortunate impact.

Encounters is now faced with the daunting emergency task of raising sufficient funds in the coming week if it's to take place as planned.

The dates of the festival are 2 - 19 July in Cape Town - with no Johannesburg venue. The festival always runs in both Jozi and Cape Town but has had to withdraw from Jozi because the Gauteng Film Commission has also withdrawn its financial backing.



"We are appealing to individuals, government and the corporate sector to come forward to help save the festival. We now have one week to solve our funding crisis", says Festival Director Mandisa Zitha.


The festival, now in its 11th year, showcases South African and international talent and promotes the growth of the documentary industry. Over the years Encounters has screened hundreds of documentaries to an audience of over 80,000 people. It has commissioned over 40 documentaries and runs access programmes, outreach programmes, schools programmes, workshops, masterclasses and seminars.



"We hope that we can still receive sufficient support to ensure a successful festival this year. We believe, if we can get through this current crisis we will be able to produce an even stronger 2010 edition" Zitha says.



For more about the Festival, see their website: Encounters.



3 Comments

tha - bang
21 May 2009 08:29

ja nee mense this sabc debt thing is having dire repurcussions for the industy.i wonder whats going to happen to the short documentary film competition,if encounter goes under

Tashi
21 May 2009 10:44

I know I was wonerding the same - if you go for it and make it and it doesn't happen keep me posted and let's feature it on TVSA.

Tashi
25 May 2009 04:24

Been thinking - the festival's planned to take place at Nu Metro cinemas - they'd be an ideal alternative sponsor for it. Even though they don't do documentaries it's at Cinema Nouveau which all ties up by way of films that aren't big budget commercial etc.

Also big brand hi-tech equipment who make broadcast/film cameras e.g. Sony, Panasonic, Cannon etc.

If SABC does a broadcast about it or whatever coverage it was gonna get - either as a special or in shows that are suited to covering it it could be a win-win all round.


Only TVSA members can reply to this thread. Click here to login or register.






LATEST ARTICLES

New on TV today: Saturday 5 July 2025

Anime series The Summer Hikaru Died is available on Netflix and Jan Braai vir Erfenis returns to kykNET.


M-Net movies popcorn pack: July 2025

A guide to fliks on M-Net and the movie channels. Titles include Wicked, The Marksman and Chiwetel Ejiofor's Rob Peace.


New on TV today: Friday 4 July 2025

Anton & Giovanni's Adventures in Spain commence on BBC Earth and Blink Kant Bo returns to eExtra.


Die Brug 2 Teasers - July 2025

New leaders will be chosen soon - by... guess who?


Top Shows on DStv Stream: Ka-ching! Mzansi Magic's Inimba hits No. 1

Thumeka's heartbreak puts the show in its Most Popular position since its debut.


New on TV today: Thursday 3 July 2025

The Sandman 2 drops on Netflix and Season 38 of The Pioneer Woman begins on Food Network.


Suidooster crystal ball: life together and life apart

Moving out, moving in, moving on. The soup on five of this month's headline storylines.


New on TV today: Wednesday 2 July 2025

SharkFest 2025 kicks off on Nat Geo Wild and millennial rom-com Smothered begins on M-Net.


Soapie Digest: July 2025

Stay cosy, stay tuned in with this wrap of all the teasers on TVSA in this TV luvvas month.


Sweet Diva Teasers - July 2025

Téo and Agno convince Jô to invest in risky investments to make her lose all her money.

LATEST SITE ACTIVITY


More activity at TVSA Central



LATEST SOAPIE TEASERS



LATEST SOAPIE TEASERS





×
×

You browser doesn't have Flash, Silverlight, Gears, BrowserPlus or HTML5 support.