SA's first Fashion Film Festival

"Our involvement with fashion is a central component of our lifestyle marketing activities and the Mercedes-Benz brand partnership with the Bokeh Fashion Film Festival plays an important role in highlighting our perspective in the world of fashion film," said Claudia Walters, marketing communication manager, Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars. "Fashion and automobiles are actually more closely linked than one might imagine at first glance. Design and image govern both industries, and are among the most important determining factors to the success of both automobile and fashion brands."

The Fashion Film is a genre pioneered by fashion's greatest minds, including Karl Lagerfeld, Bruce Webber and David Simms, and has garnered unprecedented response from leading fashion houses and brands as the quintessential way to introduce collections to a global audience. The festival will include several designers showcasing their unique collections featured in the motion picture affording the audience to connect with the film on an emotional level, further personifying the brand.

Created and produced by Adrian Lazarus of Steam 1886 fame - the fashion film that won Best Art Direction at the International Fashion Film Awards in Los Angeles; the Best Fashion Award in Miami, Florida; as well as The Most Beautiful Object in South Africa award at the 2014 Design Indaba - the director who "loves beautiful things and beautiful people" said that the event is positioned to hold its own on the international fashion film calendar.

Opportunity for up-and-comers

The festival, created and produced by Adrian Lazarus will provide the opportunity for up-and-comers across the local and international fashion landscapes to showcase their films on the same stage as top-tier, international brands, such as Chanel, Prada, Christian Dior, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Givenchy - all of whom have embraced this genre and have experienced remarkable success with their films going viral on the Internet.

Invitations for film submissions opened online on 26 August, 2013, and will close on 1 May, 2014. Films need to be edited to between one and 15 minutes and span the themes of fashion, beauty, chic brands and products, lifestyle and current trends. Fifty-two films will be officially selected from the submissions. The panel spanning the international fashion and film industries, film directors, fashion magazine editors, designers, stylists, fashion bloggers, brand managers and art directors will utilise their specialist knowledge in their chosen fields to judge the finalists.

Subject matter for the films will include a treasure trove of thrilling scenes and depictions including collaborations; day-in-the-life-of style documentaries; behind the scenes on the set of top fashion shoots; street-style coverage and look-book collections.

To begin a legacy

The festival, to be held at the Crossley & Webb automotive showrooms in Wembley Square, will not only entrench a strong sense of fashion and film culture, it also seeks to begin a legacy positioning Cape Town as a fashion film capital alongside stylish cities such as Berlin, Miami, New York and Madrid, further communicating the tone of common ground shared by fashion and film. South African participants will be exposed to an international audience, placing them in an esteemed position on the world fashion and film stage of this emerging but bustling genre.

Gaining traction as one of the most exquisite locations for photo shoots, fashion exhibitions and filming, South Africa's natural beauty and culturally rich setting is a great platform for the fusion of fashion and film. As the creative hub of sub-Saharan Africa, Cape Town and its majestic cosmopolitan backdrop with Table Mountain as its guardian is the idyllic destination for Africa's first Fashion Film Festival. Coinciding with the city's appointment as World Design Capital certainly adds gravitas to the event.

Rounding off the three-day fashion and film festivities will be a red carpet Oscar-style award ceremony where five films will be nominated.

Garnering even further exposure, the winning film will be nominated into the International Fashion Film Awards in Hollywood in July. The winning film will also be screened at the world-renowned Afrovibes Festival in The Netherlands.

An uncompromising pursuit of quality, passionate design and innovation, are hallmarks of the Mercedes-Benz brand and aligns them with those at the forefront of the fashion industry. To celebrate this collaboration, Mercedes-Benz will present its own Mercedes-Benz Award - more details on www.bokehfestival.co.za in the ensuing days.

Event Programme:

• Thursday, 5 June: Opening party/event. 7pm till late - Venue TBC.

• Friday, 6 June: 1am - 4pm: Retail Fashion Pop-up Store. Networking. Industry talks from advertising agencies, experts on the future of fashion films as a growing genre, directors, fashionistas; international fashion houses. Fashion-Film Retrospective. Talks and Discussions from leading fashion designers. 5.30pm to 7.45pm: Red Carpet Event at Crossley& Webb. 8pm to 10.30pm: Screening programme at Crossley& Webb.

• Saturday, 7 June: 1am to 4pm: Retail Fashion Pop up Stores. Networking. Industry talks from advertising agencies, experts on the future of Fashion Films as a growing genre, directors, fashionistas. International fashion houses fashion film retrospective. Talks and discussions from leading fashion designers. 5.30pm to 7.45pm: Red Carpet Event at Crossley& Webb. 8pm to 11.30pm: Oscar-style awards and Screening programme at Crossley& Webb.