By: Zamangwevu Sangani
Scores of Buffalo City youths were gathered at the Gompo and Mdantsane Arts Centres over the weekend for the Film and Television production masterclasses.
The master classes were organized by SMG Media and Business services and the Eastern Cape Arts and Cultural Council to train local emerging film producers on various essential skills in the film industry.
Highly skilled facilitators and celebrated actors such as Andile Nebulana of Generations: The Legacy, SivuBuhle Media, and Sisanda Hena of Sisanda Hena Films were among the facilitators who spent the entire weekend upskilling the youth of Buffalo City Metro on the film industry.
The local filmmakers were trained in various areas of the industry such as location scouting, script writing, video editing, production, film screening, and more.
Buhle Ndamase of SivuBuhle Media has told aspiring filmmakers that they must not look to places like Johannesburg to produce a film.
“Eastern Cape is rich in history and culture you need to consider that when making documentaries and films, by doing so your production can be interesting even abroad the country because other countries are interested to learn more about African cultures and their lifestyle,” said Buhle.
Bonganjalo Marala from the Eastern Cape Provincial Arts & Culture Council (ECPACC) encouraged film producers and artists to open their businesses as it is easy for companies to get funding from ECPACC.
Speaking to the actors and film producers, Duncan Village Arts Centre organizer Samora Gxala has encouraged the youth to use the Art Centre presented to them by the government in building their future and developing themselves.
“We aim to capacitate filmmakers in developing films and training them in the film industry, by gathering the youth in this art center, it is our way to keep them away from crime and to assist them to develop themselves,” said Gxala.
The founder of the newly opened School of Arts South Africa, Gcobisa Mzola was also part of the event and applauded the organizers of the event. Explaining about her Art school she said;
“This is a great initiative and I am happy to be part of it. Our role is to sign, train and develop actors. We have partnered with many production companies such as Uzalo and Gqeberha: The Empire. Already we have actors from the School of Arts South Africa showcasing their talent on the show, Durban Gen, and in other telenovelas. Our goal is to see actors coming from the School of Arts on big screens,” she said.