Industry Events

UCT OPEN SESSION

The UCT / Sunshine Cinema Film Impact Screening Facilitator short course hosts a panel discussion with the Murder in Paris impact team. We’ll dive into the film’s impact goals, change dynamics, and impact strategy design and hear about the impact roll-out plans for the coming months. Join us to learn more about the MURDER IN PARIS Justice for Dulcie campaign and how you can get involved. See the film on Encounters Friday 11 June / 6pm which will be followed by a Panel Discussion at 7.45pm.

INDUSTRY EVENT: GENERATION AFRICA PANEL DISCUSSION

A general discussion about Generation Africa & its many forms of collaboration:
Co-productions, organisations collaborating across Africa as well as professional support & collaboration with experienced filmmakers who are mentoring a young crop of new voices.

LIVE PANEL: MURDER IN PARIS

SWISS Focus Masterclass with Nemesis director Thomas Imbach

Watch Nemesis beforehand and join us for an in-depth look at this documentary with prolific Director and Producer Thomas Imbach. Thomas is an independent filmmaker based in Zürich, Switzerland. He founded Okofilm Productions together with director/producer Andrea Staka. All of his films have been released theatrically and Imbach has won numerous awards for his work, both in Switzerland and abroad.

LIVE PANEL: Remembering Alvin Ailey

Thinking about embodied humanity against the spectre of the body politics of race, gender and sexuality. In this webinar, through discussion with the filmmaker and invited South African dance makers, this panel will negotiate the life of Alvin Ailey – and Jamila Wignot’s extraordinary documentary on his life – as a fulcrum towards opening discussions that negotiate the body politics of race, gender and sexuality. And of interest is the relationship of the African American oeuvre of 1960s ‘Black dance’ that will also be a navigation point that raise issues around how dance can be/is a way of navigating unspoken and marginalised histories – and indeed, how this might connect to South Africa and the African continent.

LIVE IN-CONVERSATION: I Am Here

LIVE IN-CONVERSATION: Faya Dayi

DocA / ENCOUNTERS PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAMME

Co-Production — Pan-African Focus

The aim of the event is to advance and stimulate the documentary industry’s ecosystem on the African continent by encouraging co-productions amongst countries and to introduce information on services, funding opportunities and legal frameworks of the Film Commissions and Funding bodies across the region.

LIVE PANEL: DECRIMINALISATION MARKS OUR FREEDOM

DocA/ENCOUNTERS PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAMMES

Co-Production Focus — Producers

GENERATION AFRICA PANEL DISCUSSION

Work in Progress — Rigorous Editing

LIVE IN-CONVERSATION: Writing With Fire

LIVE IN-CONVERSATION: King Bansah & His Daughter

BETWEEN IMPACT AND DOCUMENTATION

Documentary films are traditionally viewed as acts both of documenting social phenomena and of providing progressive societal education. Recent years have seen a greatly increased focus on the so-called “impact film”, a form which actively aims to translate social insights into concrete social or legal change – but what space is there for documentaries that open up questions concerning social experience, in other words, opening up a cinematic space to think, rather than providing solutions? This session will explore this question by excavating the complex dynamics between activism, documentation and truth, and the various commitments faced by filmmakers and funders on the continent.

UWC/HBF Panel Discussion – Case Studies: I am Samuel & I, Mary

LIVE IN-CONVERSATION: Red Card

LIVE IN-CONVERSATION: The Colonel’s Stray Dogs

AFRICAN DOCUMENTARIES – THE STATE OF PLAY

This discussion will explore current trends in the production, distribution and curation of documentaries from Africa. What kinds of films are being made on the continent, and by whom? And how does content, form, production and consumption differ regionally? Who are the local and international audiences these films are being made for, and how are they responding to films? We look at the role of international funding and co-production on what is being made, at what buyers and festivals are taking on board, and at what critics and journalists are writing about.

LIVE PANEL: President

In an exclusive post-screening Q&A, join law specialist Dr Alex Magaisa in conversation with President director Camilla Nielsson and award-winning print and broadcast journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono. 

The Documentary Filmmakers Association docShare presents:

GET YOUR FILM OUT THERE!

An interactive panel discussion about distribution strategy

DFA invites you to the launch of docSHARE – an interactive learning session where the film teams from I, Mary, The Colonel’s Stray Dogs and I am Here will share their distribution strategies. Sivu Giba hosts the powerhouse panel!

docSHARE is an initiative of the Documentary Filmmakers Association of South Africa to create opportunities for experienced film professionals to share their knowledge and engage with the work and concerns of our existing and prospective members.

docSHARE is supported by the Gauteng Film Commission.

The Documentary Filmmakers Association DocCHAT with Netflix Africa Team

ONLINE DISTRIBUTION OPPORTUNITIES

DFA hosts a docCHAT with the Netflix Africa team, which unpacks the process and opportunities and pitfalls of online distribution opportunities. docCHAT is a bi-monthly webinar, designed to keep the conversation going with our members. During Encounters we open this session to festival-goers.

docSHARE is an initiative of the Documentary Filmmakers Association of South Africa to create opportunities for experienced film professionals to share their knowledge and engage with the work and concerns of our existing and prospective members.
docSHARE is supported by the Gauteng Film Commission.

About Netflix:
Netflix is the world’s leading streaming entertainment service with 208 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

LIVE IN-CONVERSATION: All-In

LIVE IN-CONVERSATION: Mutant

SWIFT Panel Discussion: Women in Wildlife and Natural History Filmmaking

The presence of women in wildlife and natural history filmmaking is not a common occurrence globally. The hardships and economics of this sub-genre discourages women from participating within the various roles of cinematographers, directors, researchers and production coordinators. There is hope, with a few pioneering women breaking barriers and pursuing unique and inspirational stories about nature and conservation.

The panel will also feature organisations advancing the entrance of a new generation of female filmmakers as well as influential broadcasters who commission Wildlife and Natural History Programming.

The conversation will explore current opportunities, challenges, and barriers for women entering this aspect of the industry.

GLOBAL SHORT DOCS FORUM 2021

Global Short Docs Forum: How to get your short doc commissioned?

Join us for the launch of applications for the Global Short Docs Forum, and a chance to get advice and tips on pitching in the international documentary market.

Run by One World Media, Global Short Docs Forum brings together documentary filmmakers from around the world to attend an intensive online training, and one-to-one pitch meetings. Following 4 weeks of workshops and mentoring, the Forum connects filmmakers with media platforms looking for short docs, such as Al Jazeera, BBC, The Guardian and Vice.

This year, Encounters is partnering with One World Media to launch the call for applications for the Forum, and hosting an online session for filmmakers in the region.

The conversation will cover key points to consider while pitching your short documentary to international platforms, how to present your story and supporting materials, and how to prepare for an application for the Global Short Docs Forum.

Listen to the GSDF team and mentors for practical tips, and the GSDF 2020 filmmaker who got her film commissioned at the Forum.

Following the workshop, there will be a chance for 8 selected filmmakers to have a 20 min individual consultation session with the GSDF Team. To be considered for these sessions, please sign up by 14 June 2021, 5pm GMT with your project details.

Consultation session with GSDF team SIGN UP HERE

LIVE IN-CONVERSATION: I, Mary

LIVE IN-CONVERSATION: Watch Over Me

LIVE IN-CONVERSATION: The Khoekhoe Saga