The long-awaited “Blade Runner” sequel looks to be more an impending reality than it ever has before, and fans of the sci-fi classic should be thrilled to hear that not only is Ridley Scott back in the director’s chair but the co-screenwriter of the original film, Hampton Fancher, will be developing the script.

The filmmakers have also confirmed that this new project is indeed a sequel to the 1982 original, though the only plot points being revealed at this time is that the story will take place some years after the first film concluded.

The National Film & Video Foundation (NFVF) in association with the Department of Arts & Culture (DAC) will lead the delegation to the 65^th Cannes International Film Festival. Cannes International Film Festival is an annual prestigious event that allows global filmmakers and key decision makers in film to gather with the core aim of conducting film business.

“The growing number of South Africa’s participation at international level, including Cannes, demonstrate that our filmmakers are global competitors in the field, their projects are authentic stories that resonate in the international market place. It is therefore imperative to ensure that the local film industry is adequately supported and well represented in order for our productions and talent to receive the global recognition our productions deserve. We are especially excited about the South African presence this year with the accompaniment of the Ministry of the Dept. Of Arts & Culture who will be signing the South Africa’s 8^th film treaty, this time with Ireland.” says Zama Mkosi NFVF CEO.

Azania Muendane, Head of Marketing & Public Affairs concurred with Mrs Mkosi and added that “Cannes is recognised as the world’s premiere film festival where the world’s distributors, financiers, festival programmers buy film projects, negotiate distribution deals and funding. Cannes is a key strategic platform for the NFVF to meet its objectives of promoting the country as a co-production partner, a filmmaking destination of choice, and a country that tells authentic stories.”

While in Cannes the country, led by the Ministry of the DAC will sign a co-production treaty with Ireland. The treaty will enable productions from both territories to qualify for the different incentives associated with home-grown content and enable collaborations between producers. The first South African co-production treaty was signed with Canada in 1997, followed by Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, France, Austrialia and New Zealand. Out of these treaties films such as Skin (SA/UK), The Bang Bang Club (SA/Canada), Death Race (SA/Germany), Skoonheid (SA/France) and A Million Colours (SA/Canada) were produced. The treaty will be signed on Sunday 20^th May in Cannes.

The NFVF will once again host the Showcase of South African films presenting 20 projects which comprise 12 feature films and 8 documentaries. These include; Otelo Burning, Semi-Soet, Blitz Patrollie, 31 Million Reasons, Five Finger for Marseillas , One Last Look , The Umbrella Man, Tok Tokkie, RollaBall, Sobukwe, Wandering Fever and I am Craig.

Other events that will be hosted by the NFVF include a co-production forum where all the co-production treaty partners will be invited. The purpose of this event is to strengthen relations with the partners and also establishing ways of ensuring that each year the countries come up with a co-production.

The South African pavilion will be situated at the Village International #119. The pavilion provides a business environment for all South African delegates to host meetings. It also provides screening facilities for filmmakers who wish to showcase their film trailer during their meetings.

For more information visit the NFVF website  www.nfvf.co.za

Announcing the changes last week, Davies said South Africa’s film sector had enormous potential to bring investment into the economy, along with technology transfers that would upgrade the country’s skills base.

“The South African government takes cognisance of the contribution the film industry potentially has in stimulating the country’s economic growth, strengthening the country’s profile in the global creative environment, and in the facilitation of employment creation,” Davies said in a statement on Thursday.

“This is one of the best platforms … to promote and showcase the country’s creative skills.”

Among the incentives offered to foreign-owned productions that meet the qualifying criteria are: up to 2.5% of qualifying South African post-production expenditure (QSAPPE) for post-production expenditure of R1.5-million to R3-million; and up to 5% of QSAPPE for post-production expenditure of more than R3-million.

According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the revised incentive is effective from April and will be administered for a period of three years, up to 2014.

“The objective of the incentive is to create an environment that takes advantage of the country’s diverse and unique locations as well as low production costs and favourable exchange rates, which makes it significantly more cost-efficient to produce a movie in South Africa than in Europe, the US or Australia,” the DTI said.

Davies said that promoting South Africa as an international destination in order to attract more international productions, while encouraging local content production, would ensure that the country continued to enjoy the benefits of a vibrant and growing film industry.

As to the quality of South Africa’s offering, Davies said this had been attested to by “productions like Invictus, which was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, and District 9, which was nominated in the 2010 Saturn Awards for the Best International Film.”

Source: www.southafrica.info

The range includes the Alexa, Alexa Plus, Alexa M and Alexa Studio.

The Alexa M is a flexible solution consisting of a separate camera head and body; it is tailored for action and aerial photography, tight corner shots and 3D productions. Based on cutting edge Arri technologies, the M model features the same sensor, image processing, build quality, efficient workflows and exceptional image quality that have made Alexa such a worldwide success. The head and body of the M are connected with a fibre optic cable, which in a hybrid form can also be used for powering the head. Weighing well under three kilogrammes, the compact front end offers multiple mounting points and versatile manoeuvrability. Meanwhile, the body provides various options for recording images, sound and metadata, accommodating as many different workflows as the standard ALEXA.

Zuma said the film industry generates over R5.5 billion in economic activity annually and employs an estimated 30 000 people.

He said that this demonstrates why arts and culture are sometimes called ‘the golden economy of Mzansi’, and continued to say that ‘the support of small business ventures in these fields would certainly yield results.’

The full address can be found here.

Falls the Shadow: The Life and Times of Athol Fugard by the award-winning director Tony Palmer is the first ever full-length profile of Fugard which explores his past, his influences, his artistic development and his continuing themes. At the centre of the film is an extensive interview with Fugard.

The film features unprecedented access to some of the world’s most remarkable performers and associates who are most familiar with his craft including ex-Presidents Nelson Mandela and F.W de Klerk, Alan Rickman, James Earl Jones, Dame Janet Suzman, Nadine Gordimer, Sir Ben Kingsley, Sir Antony Sher, and Pieter-Dirk Uys.

The amendments to the incentive scheme will see foreign film makers benefit from government rebates.

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies announced the amendments last week, saying they could boost the film industry and also enable post-production companies to attract work that is not necessarily being filmed in SA.

The local film industry has been on a drive to position SA as a world-class film-making destination and the amendments to the foreign film and television incentives could go a long way to achieving that goal.