Cape Town filmmaker and tech founder Zoe Ramushu is not interested in being treated as an exception. Cape Town filmmaker and tech founder Zoe Ramushu. Image supplied Fresh off her third consecutive shortlist nomination at the Global Production Awards during the Cannes Film Festival, Ramushu is building something much bigger than representation alone. Through her…
Does the absence of African films in the main competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival point to a glass ceiling? Or is African cinema still slowly but surely finding its way to the top table? The absence of African-made films among the 22 contenders for this year’s Palme d’Or might suggest African filmmakers are…
Analysts say he is entering a landscape still dominated by the DMK and the AIADMK – a duopoly that mostly appears stable on paper, yet shows signs of fatigue on the ground. That, they argue, is opening space for new political experiments – and for figures like Vijay to test how far star power can…
Think of how many surfaces you touch every day, from your kitchen bench to the hand rail on the bus or train, your work desk and your phone screen. A range of nasty viruses and other germs can easily spread via these surfaces. The typical route of infection involves touching a contaminated surface – and…
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…
