Afda alumni share Best Actor Award at International Pan African Film Festival in Cannes

Luntu won for his role as Vusi Matebula and Francois for his role as Braam Visser in the film produced and directed by Luntu and fellow Afda alumnus Alexander Ortsheit.

"I am so honoured to win the Dikalo Award for Best Actor alongside Francois Immelman for our performance in Some Mothers' Sons at the International Pan African Film Festival in Cannes. A big thank you to everyone who's involved in this incredible film. I am so proud to have been given the opportunity to tell a South African story to the world, and of course give credit to Mike van Graan who wrote this brilliant play and gave us permission to adapt it to a short film," says Luntu.

"Luntu Masiza and Francois Immelman won Best Actor Dikalo Awards for their performances in Some Mothers' Sons at the International Pan African Film Festival in Cannes. Luntu, with director Mbulelo Grootboom, were to produce this two-hander play in 2020. When Covid struck, they - together with cinematographer Alexander Ortschelt and producer Alexis Burg - decided to adapt my script into a short movie. On a shoestring budget, they did an excellent job (my role was simply to give them permission to use the script). Delighted at this affirmation of Luntu in particular, a tireless, optimistic, committed and talented individual who makes things happen despite incredible odds," says Mike van Graan.

The International "Festival International du Film Panafricain" (FIFP) in Cannes is a platform that exhibits cinema and its professions, arts and entrepreneurship, as well as innovation, culture and events.

As a driving force behind the pan-African cinema and arts industry, the festival is constantly seeking specific solutions for the development of pan-African cinema and arts.

With a booming pan-African market (from Africa to the Americas through the Caribbean, Europe and Asia), the festival benefits from expertise in the development of cinema and fashion as well as the development of cultural affairs.

Since its creation in 2006, the Dikalo Awards (meaning "message" in the Cameroonian language Douala) has been awarded by a professional jury for the best short and feature films (fiction), the best long and short documentaries, the Dikalos Peace Award, as well as the best actor and actress awards.

The FIFP is a felt moment. It is a unique experience where pan-African cinema and African cultures and those of its diaspora around the world are the central focus. An exceptional energy is felt.

Since 2018, the FIFP in Cannes has included along with its projections, a market: the Entrepreneurship Salon for Culture and Well-Being. The objective is to enhance the economy of pan-African cinema.