12th kykNET Silwerskerm Festival - Spotlight on filmmakers and the SA TV industry

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For more than a decade, the Silwerskerm Festival is regarded as one of the most respected development projects in the local film industry, and this year kykNET will build further on this strong foundation.

One of the festival’s key elements is the already successful short film mentorship project that enables kykNET to provide a springboard for launching a new generation of filmmakers’ careers.

In 2023 the project expanded to include documentaries, and this year the exciting shotgun short film initiative will feature prominently. The shotgun shorts concept was launched last year when established filmmakers were invited to submit proposals for professional short films, and in August these films will be introduced at the festival.

Besides the six shotgun short films, six feature films, eight short films (by emerging movie makers) and five short documentaries will debut this year.

The inclusion of pilot episodes of brand-new series on television and streaming services, proved to be a hit last year, and this year festivalgoers can again look forward to exclusive previews.

As in the past, kykNET will bring several experts to the festival to present informative workshops, panel discussions and masterclasses. Among the topics to be discussed are intimacy management on film sets, the process of adapting books for the silver screen, and all the ins and outs of coproductions.

KykNET will conclude the festival with a glitzy Silwerskerm award ceremony for Film and TV, to honour the best films on the festival as well as top television work. This glamorous event will be held on Saturday 31 August at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), where the coveted Silwerskerm trophies will be handed out to achievers at the film festival and in television over the last year.

“The kykNET Silwerskerm Festival aims to do everything possible to discover new storytellers, put talent in the spotlight, and to provide the industry with a space where people can talk, show and come together, with Afrikaans as the glue that binds us,” he says Waldimar Pelser.

"The film industry changes constantly, and it certainly faces many economic challenges. Therefore, it is important for kykNET to produce, and help produce films and TV that are commercially amenable, and that will reach the biggest possible audiences in order to keep the industry sustainable. We will also continue, even if on a smaller scale, to invest in niche projects that are less commercial but valuable in the context of our culture and our country."

After the festival, all the Silwerskerm films will find their way to screenings on kykNET, and later they will be available on the Showmax streaming service.

For the complete Silwerskerm Festival programme, visit the festival’s website