Three AFDA 2019 graduations films selected for CILECT Prize 2020

AFDA is proud to announce the selection of three AFDA 2019 graduation films to compete for the prestigious CILECT Prize 2020, the first-ever award bestowed to a student film based on review from the whole community of CILECT Full Member Schools. This includes 160 institutions from 60 countries, of which AFDA is a full member. Each CILECT Member School is permitted to submit one film in each category.

The CILECT Prize, founded in 2005 at the proposal of the (then) Vice-President Conferences and Festivals Prof. Dr Stanislav Semerdjiev, Rector of the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA), Sofia, Bulgaria. It appeared as a result of his long-term research on world student festival activities and after a thorough survey between all CILECT Full Member Schools on the eventual importance of such a competition.

The formal ceremony of presenting the award is usually held at the annual Conferences of CILECT. The first such ceremony took place at ECAM, Madrid, Spain, on 21 November 2006.

CILECT, The International Association of Film and Television Schools (Centre International de Liaison des Ecoles de Cinéma et de Télévision), was founded in Cannes, France, in 1954 and is most strongly committed to maintaining the highest possible standards of audiovisual educational in its member schools by establishing and organising global and regional forums for the exchange of managerial, pedagogical, methodological and research best practices.

CILECT also strives to contribute to the world cultural and communication processes by stimulating a multitude of networking and sharing collaborations among its members (workshops, conferences, symposia, festivals, co-productions, joint degrees, etc.).

AFDA has submitted films in three categories. AFDA Cape Town postgraduate film, You, Me & Everything In Between, directed by Esther Jo Mbulawa, represents AFDA in the fiction film category. The animation category slot is taken by third-year AFDA Johannesburg film, Hadeda, directed by Nuha Suliman, and AFDA Johannesburg third-year television documentary, Spina Daai Deng, directed by Paballo Seletisha, is selected in the documentary category.

Congratulations to all the cast and crew!