Four SA films to premier at international film festival

Jesus and the Giant director Akin Omotoso

The three NFVF-funded films are Jesus and the Giant by Akin Omotoso, Skin by Anthony Fabian and Sea Point Days by Francois Verster. The fourth film is Disgrace by Steve Jacobs, a film adapted from a book by local Nobel Prize award in Literature winner, JM Coetzee.

Comments Ryan Haidarian, NFVF's head of production and development, “It's phenomenal to have films that we have supported being recognised by a prestigious film festival such as TIFF... [W]e have had successive award-winning films at TIFF with Hotel Rwanda, a UK, SA and Italy co-production which received the top prize under the category, AFG People's Choice Award in 2004, and Tsotsi, a co-production between the UK production company UK Film and television production company MoviWorld from SA, the NFVF and IDC, which won the Audience Award at the 2005 TIFF.”

NFVF has worked with the co-director and programmer of TIFF, Cameron Bailey, to facilitate entry of SA films into the festival since 2004, when for the first time, TIFF had a special focus on SA film.

Regarding the relationship between TIFF and the NFVF, says Haidarian, “it has to be the best relationship we have with a festival. Having the co-director of the festival come down to SA every year for the past few years on scouting trips shows a tremendous amount of commitment for providing a platform for tales from this part of the world. We are extremely grateful for Cameron Bailey's commitment to see and help South African cinema grow.”

The NFVF is also supporting director Akin Omotoso and producer Robbie Thorpe of Jesus and the Giant and Sandra Laing, whose life story is adapted on Skin, to attend TIFF.

Enthuses Omotoso over having audiences at TIFF seeing his work, “I am very excited! Toronto is one of the top film festivals in the world and it is an honor to have Jesus and The Giant screened there. This is also all the more exciting because the festival doesn't usually program shorts.”

For more info go to www.tiff08.ca and www.nfvf.co.za.