The 19th Encounters South African International Documentary Festival offers “...an extraordinary, wide-ranging selection of non-fiction experiences,” according to Encounters Festival Director Darryl Els. This popular annual festival returns to Ster-Kinekor's Nouveau cinemas at Rosebank Mall in Johannesburg, and the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, from 1 - 11 June 2017.
In addition to hosting the festival at these two sites, Nouveau is excited to announce its partnership with the festival organisers to sponsor the inaugural Eye (Encounters Youth Experience) Award. This award will be adjudicated by a panel of four exciting young industry jurors, and will be presented to the best South African short documentary screened during the festival.
“As the country’s leading exhibitor, our involvement with Encounters and sponsoring the first Eye Award gives us a great opportunity to entrench further our commitment to developing the local film industry, and supporting South Africa’s exciting, rising young talent,” says Motheo Matsau, Chief of Marketing and Sales at Ster-Kinekor Theatres.
“This follows on our successful sponsorship of the Youth Achievement Award at the Saftas earlier this year. Focusing on growing the youth market audience at our cinemas is a key sector within our marketing strategy. This sponsorship opportunity further strengthens that strategy, and enables us to interact with some of the country’s developing young talent within the sector, whose careers are just starting to take off.”
The Encounters Youth Jury panel comprises:
- Anele Hlongwane (20) was born in KZN but has been living in Cape Town for 15 years. Studying at UCT currently, he has a passion for all areas of filmmaking, but his goal is producing.
- Yoza Mnyanda (23) is a UCT Screen Production graduate whose passions include cinematography and storytelling. She is currently a freelance videographer and editor and runs her own small production company called Wildflower Worx.
- Taryn McCabe (21) is studying film at CPUT and is currently working on a number of film projects. She has a passion for European and avant-garde cinema.
- Lloyd Soudien (19) is from Mitchells Plain, studying web publishing and interactive media at Friends of Design.
The four-member jury of young Cape Town-based film enthusiasts will adjudicate and present the first Eye Award for the Best South African Short Film (less than 20 minutes), in addition to cash prizes for two winners.
This year the festival will also launch the Encounters Youth Experience, a comprehensive screening and workshop programme aimed at bringing South African documentary to young audiences. This initiative will serve as an introduction to the genre and to the practical craft of documentary filmmaking.
With a selection of 70 local and international features and short films, including 32 South African films and 19 world premieres, the 2017 version of the Encounters Documentary Festival promises to challenge, provoke, inspire and entertain audiences. This year’s youth focus and award encourages younger audiences and filmmakers to attend the festival and appreciate this wide-ranging genre of filmmaking.
Bookings are now open and festival tickets prices are R55,00. For more information about the Encounters Documentary Festival screening at Nouveau, click here. Follow the festival on Twitter @nouveaubuzz using #EncountersDoc2017, and on Facebook at Cinema Nouveau. For any queries, call Ticketline on 0861Movies (668 437).
