|
|
Film Industry: Lights, Camera ... South Africa is All Action in Hollywood
('South African American Business Chamber ", 25 November 2009)
 LOS ANGELES: Has anyone noticed the scores of recent movies featuring South Africa? There’s been “District 9” (rumors are out that it’s up for an Oscar!), “Disgrace”, “Skin”, “Endgame” and, if you’re in the US and passed a TV screen lately, you can’t miss the trailer for “Invictus” produced and directed by Clint Eastwood—releasing in theatres Friday December 11.
Apparently Hollywood has also connected the dots if a recent write-up in LA Times is anything to go by. The extensive article included a mention of the recent trek to Hollywood by one of South Africa’s own film industry businessmen, Cape Town Film Studios (CTFS) CEO Nico Dekker.
Dekker was touring Tinsel Town marketing the new Cape Town based ‘Hollywood quality’ film production complex scheduled to launch in 2010. The private facility on the outskirts of Cape Town will comprise of 75,000 square feet of sound stages, support facilities, workshops and production offices, providing a base for local and foreign filmmakers and crews. Read more...
|
|
Hollywood eyes Western Cape
('FIN24.com ", 02 December 2009)
 Cape Town - Thanks to the international success of District 9, Hollywood is showing great interest in the Cape Town Film Studios (CTFS), which is being built outside Somerset West.
Nico Dekker, the chief executive of CTFS, has recently returned from his first major marketing visit to the six major film producers in Los Angeles - namely Fox, Paramount, Disney, Sony, Universal and Warner. He also met a number of smaller production companies.
While his company had not funded District 9, the film put South Africa on the map for the American film industry, Dekker said.
Apart from a saving of up to 50% on production costs for foreign producers, the greater maturity of the local film industry has, according to Dekker, demonstrated to them that the Western Cape has the necessary technical expertise to compete internationally. Read more... |
|
|
South African films in the Spotlight
('FilmContact.com ", 29 November 2009)
 Ever since 1948, when South Africa's racially segregated policy of apartheid was introduced, filmmakers have been fascinated by the brutality of its methods, the resistance movement that sprung up to combat it and the individuals on both sides who fought for their beliefs - no matter how twisted. And even though the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela as South Africa's first black president signaled the official end of apartheid, narrative and documentary films about the era and its long-lasting effects keep on coming. by Lewis Beale
This year alone, three films have dealt with the South African tragedy: "District 9," although outwardly a sci-fi flick, was, with its brutalized aliens forcibly moved into heavily guarded slums, an obvious apartheid metaphor; "Skin," released earlier this year, told the bizarre but true story of how the country's rigid racial classifications affected a black girl born to white parents; and "Invictus," opening Dec. 11, is director Clint Eastwood's take on the factual tale of how Nelson Mandela used an international rugby tournament to unite his racially fractured land. Read more...
|
|
Cape Town Film Studios to boost surrounding neighbourhoods
('IOL Property website ", 23 November 2009)
 Cape Town Film Studios (CTFS) - the 200ha development on Baden Powell Drive 10 minutes' drive from Somerset West on the N2 - will have positive spinoffs for industrial property in the area, says Broll Property Group's area specialist, Andre van den Ordel.
The R430-million project is due to be completed in the first quarter of 2010.
Local filmmaker Anant Singh's Dreamworld consortium won the bid to develop the project in 2004, but the process suffered serious delays and construction only began last year.
Early this year, work started on sound stages one and three. The steel skeletons of these studios are in place and the concrete cladding is set to be finished by the end of the year. The bulk infrastructure for electricity, sewerage and water has also been laid.
The economic impact of the new studios has the potential to be vast, says Van den Ordel. Read more... |
|
|
Clear (64 oF • 18 oC)
