The South African delegation lead by the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa in partnership with KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, Durban Film Office and WESGRO will this year celebrate 20 Years of Freedom at the 67th Cannes International Film Festival. The festival has been scheduled to run from the 14th until the 25th of May in Cannes, France.

"As we celebrate the 20 years of Freedom we reflect on the strides that we have made both as a nation and the local film industry. From a tool that served as propaganda tool for the apartheid regime, the industry has evolved to a conduit for social cohesion and economic vehicle that creates jobs and contributes to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” says NFVF CEO Zama Mkosi. In addition to the national celebrations, South Africa’s participation will be driven by the NFVF message, “Attracting new markets and investments”.

South Africa’s key objective in participating at the festival is to expose SA film industry and to market South Africa as a location and as a filmmaking country of choice by networking and interacting with international sales agents, distributors, funders and other global players. To ensure that the objectives are met, the NFVF has once again offered financial support to filmmakers who will be conducting business in Cannes. Moreover, the foundation will screen films that speak to the country’s 20 years of freedom, amongst these films is: Miners Shot Down, Nelson Mandela: The Myth and Me, iNumber Number and One Humanity. “We hope that this year’s selection of films will resonate with our liberation, the freedom and the ideals our national icons Govan Mbeki, Walter Sisulu and our first democratic elected president Nelson Mandela fought for,” says NFVF CEO Zama Mkosi.

To coincide with the theme the NFVF will also showcase three films that celebrate 20 years of freedom, made by women. In addition, the NFVF has also sponsored 5 South African filmmakers to attend the Creative Minds producers network programme; a programme that guides filmmakers as they get introduced to international platforms and ways of conducting film business. NFVF will also host co-production forums with New Zealand, UK and Brazil to introduce filmmakers from these countries with the objective of future collaborations.

Participating officially for the first time at the festival is the KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, which aims to market the KwaZulu-Natal province as a location for film. With its vast array of locations, provincial incentives and filmography of major films that have already been shot in the province, the commission looks forward to a promising visit to the Cannes Film Festival. “The province of KwaZulu-Natal is positioned to be the next big film destination. Our mandate is to stimulate the economy in the area of film and thereby contribute to the GDP of the country. Over and above being a destination for film, we plan to grow the film industry from a skills and facilities point of view, our plans includes being a content generator through our film fund, funding films by local filmmakers, as well as those from elsewhere who are planning to shoot their film in the province,” says KZN Film Commision CEO Carol Coetzee.

The NFVF, its partners KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, WESGRO and Durban Film Office, and South African filmmakers will be based at International Village Riviera, Pavilion 120.