Canal+ is moving to AI to cut production costs. (Graphic by Nicola Mawson, with images from Freepik & Pexels) MultiChoice owner Canal+ is deploying artificial intelligence (AI) through partnerships with Google Cloud and OpenAI, to cut production costs and make the impossible possible on screen. During the company’s recent results presentation, Maxim Saada, CEO of…
The trade, industry & competition department has announced a number of measures to help South Africa’s ailing film and television industry, including raising funds and implementing an automated system to reduce processing time and improve effectiveness for financing. Minister Parks Tau and deputy minister Zuko Godlimpi briefed parliament on Tuesday on the department’s plans. This…
Jury chair Wim Wenders said filmmakers ‘have to stay out of politics’ when asked about German support for Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. Listen to this article | 3 mins info Indian author Arundhati Roy has announced that she is withdrawing from the Berlin International Film Festival after what she described as “unconscionable statements” by its jury…
Just a few years ago, the local film industry was booming. South African production was at record levels and getting global recognition. We were one of the world’s darling destinations for shooting foreign productions. Billions of rand came into the country and the Avengers landed in Joburg. Local work also thrived: Inxeba made the Oscar…
The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, in central France, is the largest of its kind in the world, with more than 500 films screened during a week-long event. Its African Perspectives section this year tackles themes from social media to colonial archives. Tim Redford, in charge of the festival’s international competition and the African Perspectives…
The film Rafiki is a charming love story that plays out in urban Kenya. It follows two teenage girls whose close friendship slowly turns into first love. Directed by rising filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu, it was celebrated as groundbreaking by critics and at festivals when it was released in 2018. But back home in Kenya, where…
Abuja — Gospel Cinema International has launched the Africa Gospel Film Project (AGFP), a new initiative aimed at building capacity among Christian filmmakers across Africa and expanding the continent’s presence in the global faith-based film industry. The project, described as a multi-year programme, is designed to combine professional filmmaking training with spiritual development and access…
The African Diaspora International Film Festival has just completed its 33rd year–and it has reached a turning point at exactly the moment the world’s relationship to storytelling is being transformed. Technology has shifted exhibition, production and attention: everyday people are now content creators, character narrators, and archivists of their own realities. Audiences are no longer…
Magatho Mello takes on the role of SITA MD. New chief executives have been appointed for the State IT Agency (SITA) and Film and Publication Board (FPB), the communications ministry announced today. The new appointments are Magatho Mello, who takes on the role of managing director (MD) at SITA, while Nketheleni Norman Gidi will head…
The 33rd African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) opens with a bold lineup of contemporary African and Afro-diasporic films exploring resilience, artistic freedom, and identity. From riveting historical epics to politically charged dramas, this year’s programme reflects the complexity and creativity of African storytelling across generations and geographies. For over three decades, ADIFF’s co-founders and…
