“There was such a positive response from the critically acclaimed directors taking part in the festival,” says Mobfest co-founder Emma Kaye. “Each film was shot using Nokia N93 or N95 handsets, and the quality of the material produced was a true testament to both the talent of the filmmakers, and the medium on which the work was displayed.”
“We really are so pleased and excited that the first Mobfest collaborative effort was such a success, and that the film community as a whole can now see how useful mobile content can be as a means to distribute and share one's creative work to the masses,” continued Kaye.
The first new media component was a new media discussion panel aimed at both educating and exciting the filmmaking community and audience about the benefits of using the growing mobile platform as a medium on which to display work. The panelists chosen were key players in the current local digital and mobile climate and related industries.
The second was an exhibition of films made specifically as mobile content. Seven hand-picked documentary directors, including winner Raimondo, were presented with Nokia handsets on which a three-minute movie on “How a cellphone changed my life” had to be produced. This is allegedly the first time that documentary filmmakers were exposed to the mobile medium – while showcasing content produced specifically for this platform.
Raimondo walked away with the R6000 cash prize from M-Net New Media. Other major sponsors included Nokia and the Refinery, which handled all post-production work.
Karin Slater's Ten Trillion Cells in Flux was awarded second place, while Jacquie Trowell and Fiona Macpherson's collaboration, Dark Angel received third prize – each winning R2000 from M-Net New Media.
Mobfest is Africa's first made for mobile content festival and kicks off in 2008. The event aims to act as a pioneer driving force behind the acceleration of the South African market into the new media and mobile entertainment sectors.
