3rd Ugu Film Festival Award Winners

Our Ugu Film Festival winners:

Best Short Film
Games People Play

Best Documentary
Nation on Fire

Best Local Perfornance
Nqobile Dlomo (Film - Luthando)

Best Foreign Performance
Marta Villa ( Film - Candela)

Best Foreign Film
Palm To The Sun

Best Local Film
Indoda Ayikhali 2

Senzo Zindela Honorary Awards Winners

Senzo Zindela Honorary Awards

Most Innate Actor
Mr Roland Mqwebu

Most Improved Actress
Mbali Ngiba

Most Promising Actor
Quinton o' Dwyer

We meet Madoda Ncayiyana and two cast members!

Izulu Lami ' s  Madoda Ncayiyana,  Sobahle Mkhebase,  and Tshepang Mohlomi meet and greet our workshop' s attendees!

Acting-Producing Workshop is on right now!

...In the Umthunzi Hotel;  Port Shepstone, KwaZulu Natal!

XOLILE TSHABALALA GIVES IT TO THE WORKSHOP ATTENDEES HARD AND UNAPOLOGETICALLY SO!

The Acting-Producing Workshop is on now at Umthunzi Hotel in Port Shepstone !

Mr Iwasaki from Japan arrives for Ugu Film Festival

Our Viper Bodyguarding and Protection Services provider CEO Mr van Greuning has just met Japanese Mr Iwasaki,  a film maker who submitted the film Palm To The Sun!  He arrives today for Ugu Film Festival and he will attend all our events from start to finish! 

Ugu Film Festival family is saying: "THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AND WELCOME TO SOUTH AFRICA,  MR I"

Thanks to our funders:
National Film and Video Foundation,  KwaZulu Natal Film Commission, Department of Arts and Culture,  Ugu District Municipality,   Coca-Cola,  South Coast Tourism,  Isolezwe,  Ukhozi,  Radio Sunny South,  Sollywood Films , Herminic IT Solutions,   Viper Protection and Bodyguarding,  SMG, South Coast Herald.

SPOTLIGHT ON INDODA AYIKHALI FILM SUBMISSION

Q: Please introduce yourself and your role in the film.
A: My Name is Zamo Ngcobo and I am the director of the film.


Q: What does the film title mean? Who came up with the title and what was the inspiration behind it?
A: The film title means A Man Does Not Cry. I came up with the title of this film after witnessing cases of violence against men.The film was inspired by a series of research for a documentary about domestic violence against women and wanted to find the root cause of this social pandemic and do a documentary that might remedy the problem. Men do not want to discuss their cases of abuse in public and this inspired me to do a film that will give a voice to these men.


Q: Who wrote the story?
A: The story has been written and produced by Nombulelo Malandula.


Q: What is the lesson in the film? Who are you directing the lesson to and why?
A: The film is directed to parents, men who are unable to voice out and share their pain with others and the society as a whole. This will create an awareness of such cases and also reach out to the many men who does not have a voice because of society’s expectations of them. Men suffer in silence, and when a man is speaking of his pain it is considered a taboo or he is stigmatized for being weak since society expects men not to cry, never to show emotion but to remain strong.


Q: How many other films have you made?
A: I have done two films a comedy called The Fly Motion, Indoda Ayikhali I and Indoda Ayokhali II this is the third one.


Q: Who selected your cast? Where do your cast members come from?
A: The cast selection was done by myself and Nombulelo Malandula. They are all talented youth from different backgrounds in Kwazulu Natal who we auditioned and cultivated their acting skills to give them a platform in the film industry.


Q: How do you feel about the film industry role in shaping the South African community?
A: It is slowly growing and empowering communities which is a positive thing to see, by continuing to grow it will create more employment and inspire communities to support locally produced content.


Q: Is it cheap to make a film in SA? Is it easy to find sales and distribution agents?
A: Making a film in South Africa is not cheap and not easy if you do not have the budget and the right equipment. Finding distributors is a biggest challenge and not an easy task, and we have piracy to compete with which is destroying the film industry in the whole world.


Q: What makes your team members of your crew and cast trained in Film production and tv acting?successful?
A: We are a family with a really strong passion for the film industry and that is the glue that keeps us together. We also respect one another.


Q: If there's one piece of advice you can give to a new film producer before they make a film what would it be?
A: Before making a film, you must have passion for what you are doing, be willing to do the work and the rest will fall into place