SA filmmakers upbeat about Canadian festival
South African filmmakers, departing for Canada to attend the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), are upbeat about the opportunity of marketing their projects to the international market.
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Trade and Industry (dti) Deputy Minister Mzwandile Masina is leading the 20 film makers to the festival that kicks off on Thursday.
Pretoria based film maker John Wani says he is travelling to Toronto in order to negotiate with possible co-production partners, sales agents and international distributors for the movie that he is currently working on, titled Sunnyside.
The film is about the world's most wanted Mexican drug lord, who is on the run from international police agencies and settles in Pretoria. He escapes to Nigeria where he joins Boko Haram when the South African police try to track him down.
"I am already in discussion with an international film director from Canada with the aim of turning Sunnyside into a film that can sell globally. I am optimistic that my trip to Toronto will be a success," said Wani.
Meanwhile, North West film maker Kea Malao is optimistic that his participation in the festival will enable him to accomplish his mission of finding an international distributor for his latest movie, Dimpho.
"I am travelling to Toronto with the aim of finding a distributor who will take Dimpho to international markets. The festival provides us with a good opportunity to meet with film distributors from various parts of the world and showcase our productions to them. I'm optimistic that the film will attract the attention of international audiences," said Malao.
Budding Mdantsane filmmaker Nokulunga Jimana-Mntwapi also expressed optimism about the trip. In her bag will be a work-in-progress script and a trailer of her first movie that she is currently working on titled Ndon'e bani'phi? (Who have I wronged where?). She will be pitching the movie, which tells the story of a girl who is a product of incest, to potential international film buyers.
Western Cape film maker Faghrie Salie said his main aim of travelling to Toronto is to find an international film buyer for his company's documentary, Inside. The 52-minute documentary chronicles the devastating impact of gangsterism and drugs in the Western Cape.
The festival will end on 20 September 2015.
Source: SAnews.gov.za
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