African women make movies
17 November 2003
The African Women Filmmakers Awards, a first for the film and television industry on the continent, was launched during the Southern African International Film and Television Market - Sithengi 2003 - over the weekend.
The awards, designed to honour women filmmakers in Africa, is an initiative of Women of the Sun, a non-profit media network and resource organisation of African women filmmakers.
The department of communications and the South African Broadcasting Corporation will sponsor the first African Women Filmmakers Awards ceremony at Sithengi 2004, the key categories being:
- Lifetime achievement award.
- Best film.
- Best director.
- Up and coming filmmaker (including director, writer and/or producer).
- Best actor.
- Most active Women of the Sun member of the year.
Eve Rantseli, executive officer of Women of the Sun, said the awards would mark "a new dawn in the industry. The hard work and
competence of women filmmakers will be exhibited in an industry that has always been perceived as a male domain."
To mark South Africa's 10 years of democracy and women's emancipation in 2004, Women of the Sun will also be upgrading its annual Women's Film Festival to make it a fully African event. The African Women's Film Festival will be held in Johannesburg in August 2004 under the theme "film from a woman's perspective".
The festival will showcase films of all genres by women, about women, and from women's perspectives, with special focus on the continent.
Although the focus will be on African women, Women of the Sun will also screen films and showcase women filmmakers' perspectives from other developing countries, such as Asia and South America.
The festival will also serve as platform for selecting films for entry in the African Women Filmmakers Awards.
Women of the Sun facilitates networking among African women filmmakers to share visions and
experiences and to commercially exploit filmmaking opportunities. It has invested resources to assist both aspirant and established filmmakers, and its members include women filmmakers from South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Namibia.
For further information, contact Women of the Sun
Source: Women of the Sun
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