Encounters Names Audience Award winners

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The Village Under The Forest

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Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present

The Village Under The Forest has won the Audience Award at Encounters South African International Documentary Festival for Best South African Film, while Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present was voted Best International Film. The 15th Encounters South African International Documentary Festival ran from 6-16 June 2013 at The Bioscope in Jozi and at Nu Metro at the V&A Waterfront and The Fugard in Cape Town.

The Village Under The Forest explores the hidden remains of the destroyed Palestinian village of Lubya, which lies under a purposefully cultivated forest plantation called South Africa Forest. Directed by Emmy-winner Mark J Kaplan and written and narrated by scholar and author Heidi Grunebaum, The Village Under The Forest unfolds as a personal meditation from the Jewish Diaspora.

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African Arts Indaba 19 – 21 June 2013

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You are invited to the Arts and Culture Indaba by the African Arts Institute to be held from 19-21 June 2013 at the City Hall, Cape Town, South Africa.

This 3-day live and interactive research event organized by the Arts and Culture Department of the City of Cape Town, will seek to engage significant decision-makers and experts in various arts and culture-related fields to share their expertise and develop strategies to influence the arts and culture arena in Cape Town.

The African Arts Institute (AFAI) was launched in February 2009 with a grant from Spier to establish an entity that would work in the creative sector across the continent. It was also launched to house the secretariat of the Arterial Network, a continent-wide body dedicated to advancing the African creative sector. Africa has a wealth of creative talent and abundant natural and human resources. It is also a continent that faces numerous developmental and political challenges, many of which interface with culture. Artists and cultural workers play significant roles in addressing these challenges but conditions on the continent are not always conducive to the rights and the status that artists should enjoy.

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Encounter the World’s Best Documentaries

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The 15th Encounters South African International Documentary Festival runs from 6-16 June 2013 in Johannesburg and Cape Town.  

Africa’s premier documentary event will screen the most-talked about documentaries from around the world, including two 2013 Oscar nominees (The Gatekeepers and How To Survive A Plague) and winners from Berlin (Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present; In Heaven Underground), DOK Leipzig (Colombianos), and Sundance (Queen of VersaillesThe House I Live In). 

Documentaries broaden our experience of the world, showing us places few of us would otherwise see. We’re incredibly excited about this year’s streamlined lineup. Every year, most of the screenings sell-out, so we recommend booking early. 

– Festival director Lesedi Oluko Moche


 

 

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Call For Entries | Encounters Masterclass with IDFA Bertha Fund

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With an ever-increasing demand on the limited funding resources available for filmmakers, it has become crucial to present a persuasive proposal and sound finance plan to potential funders. During Encounters South African International Documentary Festival, six participants will be given the unique opportunity to meet IDFA Bertha Fund manager Isabel Arrate and receive one-on-one counsel and guidance on their proposals.

With previous experience in festival production, programming and film financing, Arrate has been fund manager for 10 years.The IDFA Bertha Fund is the only fund in the world solely dedicated to stimulating and empowering the creative documentary sector in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe.

Submissions
Interested parties should send not more than:
1. A one-page synopsis of their film
2. A budget summary
3. Provisional finance plan (not compulsory)
4. A one-page biography, including complete contact details (telephone no, city of residence, home and work address)

To:  Nikissi Serumaga (manager@encounters.co.za) on or before 4pm, Monday 27 May 2013.

Selections will be confirmed by Friday, 31 May 2013.

The 15th Encounters South African International Documentary Festival runs from 6-16 June 2013 in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

For more information, visit Encounters.