Prizes at South African event include award sponsored by Videovision Entertainment

The Durban FilmMart (July 22-25) has announced that a total of seven awards will be available to participants at this year’s event, including a new award from South Africa’s Videovision Entertainment valued at R75,000, for the best South African film project. The prize, redeemable once the winning film is complete, will go towards nurturing and developing emerging South African filmmakers.

PUMA.Creative is also offering three awards: thePUMA.Creative Mobility Award, the PUMA.Creative Catalyst Award for ambitious and creative documentary ideas and the PUMA.Creative Impact Award, which comes with a substantial cash prize, for the documentary that has created the greatest social impact.

All the PUMA.Creative awards will be adjudicated by Channel 4’s BRITDOC Foundation. 

Other awards being made this year are from the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA) and the Jan Vrijman Fund for the most promising documentary projects. They will offer accreditation and accommodation at IDFA 2011 for two selected documentary projects. Three projects will also be invited to the Rotterdam Producers Lab as part of the partnership with Cinemart and the International Film Festival Rotterdam.  The Hubert Bals Fund will again award €5000 for the most promising fiction project.

“The increase in the number of awards we will be making at this, the second edition of Durban FilmMart (DFM), is a tangible sign of the increasing support for the growth of African film product and an encouraging endorsement of the Durban FilmMart, which has found its place as a highlight in the South African film Industry calendar,” said Durban Film Office (DFO) acting CEO Toni Monty.

“We are delighted to be offering a prize at the Durban FilmMart in support of South African film projects,” said Videovision Entertainment CEO Anant Singh. “South Africa has a wealth of filmmaking talent that needs to be supported. Our sponsorship of this prize is designed to nurture and develop emerging South African filmmakers. We remain committed to the South African film industry and to creating a platform for local films, both in South Africa and abroad.”

Durban FilmMart is a joint venture between the Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) (July 21-31) created to raise the visibility of projects from the African continent and to facilitate financing and networking opportunities with potential co-producers and other industry players.

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