As Cape Town currently hosts the Fame Week Africa annual festival, the City has appointed an interim advisory board to evaluate funding applications to guide it on which film and media projects to support.
The Film Fund has been established to finance or provide support of municipal services for short films, feature films, music videos, commercials, and reality TV series, among others.
This comes as the Fame Week Africa festival showcases 31 thought-provoking films by filmmakers from across the continent under four pivotal themes from September 1 to 7.
Speaking during the official opening of the festival, mayco for safety and security, JP Smith, said: “We are looking for projects that will drive local economic development and create jobs through the film and media production’s value chain. These projects should have the potential to bring direct investment into Cape Town, drive sustainability, diversity and inclusion in Cape Town. We know that we have these project scripts in abundance here in Cape Town and we want to help you, the filmmakers, turn them into reality.”
Smith added that the City’s Film Office will publish a funding call later this month for the first tranche of applications.
“The funding call will be published on the City’s website, Film Cape Town website, as well as media publications, with detailed criteria for the applicants to follow,” Smith said.
Supporting emerging filmmakers, Smith also opened the City of Cape Town/Film Cape Town stand on the Fame Week Africa exhibition floor.
“For a third year in a row, the stand will showcase and highlight short films by emerging filmmakers from some of Cape Town’s tertiary and film institutions.
“The City and Film Cape Town is partnering with students from AFDA, UCT, Film School Africa, the Animation School, the SA Film Academy and City Varsity whose short films will be on show at the amphitheatre set up.
“The short films will play between 10am and 2pm daily during the festival run,” Smith said.
The Fame Week Africa festival is taking place at the Labia Theatre.
Cape Argus