AFDA is proud to announce that two AFDA Durban films have been selected to compete in the Isiphethu student programme at the Durban International Film Festival 2023. Congratulations to the cast and crew of the 2022 honours graduation film, “Winterslaap”, directed by Leandros Brown and Daniel Howells and the 2022 Experimental Festival film “Catch My Baby”, directed by Luyanda Ngcobo on their selection.
“I’m beyond proud of the students who put so much effort into the two productions that have been selected for DIFF. Catch My Baby was wrought after the terror of the Durban riots left the KZN community in deep shock. The team decided to use one of the most disturbing and iconic moments when a woman threw her baby out of a window of a building that had been set on fire, so that the baby could be saved. Photographers captured that moment which represented the innocence which was under attack from brute force during the riots. The team worked so hard, finding the woman whose baby it was, to document the awful moment of an unspeakably terrifying time.
“Winterslaap was made by the Honours team who set their sights very high to make a stylised film in black and white which tried to define the hardships endured by members of a family through the bitter winter in the Karoo, or similar fictional place. They succeeded in making a film which has powerful imagery and unforgettable moments of performance.
“Both sets of cast and crew gave of their best to produce two remarkable works. I’d like to commend their lecturers who guided the students to a place where they could excel. None of this could have happened without their expertise and guidance.” says AFDA Durban Dean, Dr Janet van Eeden.
“Catch My Baby” has received a lot of critical attention and acclaim. It was nominated for the DSTV content creator awards in 2022.It will also be screened on the ‘IsiPhethu on Tour’ during the film festival. IsiPhethu on Tour is an outreach programme that takes place during the festival at 5 different community centres.
The Isiphethu programme is aimed at young, emerging, community arts filmmakers. Its commitment is to develop and promote an industry-relevant programme, in alignment with the curatorial strategy of the annual Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), the Centre for Creative Arts (CCA) at the University of Kwazulu-Natal (UKZN). The Isiphethu programme plays a significant role in the skills development value chain and is a key driver of social transformation and economic empowerment in the film industry.
The Isiphethu programme was born out of a commitment to provide skills and training to young aspiring filmmakers and expose new audiences to filmmakers that represent South African demographics. Since 2016 the CCA has catered for micro-budget films as part of the DIFF programme, by 2018 the idea to merge the DIFF industry programme and other activities at the CCA took shape creating a bridge between the University, emerging filmmakers, their community and the industry.
