The Apollo Film Festival, South Africa’s showcase for independent film, will be held from 20 to 27 September 2003 and filmmakers have until 30 June to submit their entries for this prestigious event. The festival, now in its third year, takes place in the Karoo town of Victoria West and is held at the Apollo Theatre, South Africa’s only remaining art deco cinema.

“This year’s event promises to be more sensational and sophisticated than ever before,” says Gail Robbins, manager of the Apollo Development Association Project and Festival. “The vision behind the Apollo Festival was to provide a platform for films and documentaries from South Africa and other African countries in a drive to boost the local film industry. Interest and participation has grown enormously since it first kicked off in 2001, and it is now bigger and more representative of the industry. We are urging all local filmmakers to ensure they submit their entries before the closing date.” 

Robbins says in addition to the more than 30 films that will be shown, film and television personalities will also be attending the festival and participating in discussions on the various aspects of filmmaking. 

There are five categories to this year’s festival: 

feature films; 
documentaries; 
short films (less than 35 minutes); 
student films; and 
Best African Film (feature, documentary or short film). 

The Adjudicators’ Special Award has been instituted for films that demonstrate excellence in some aspect such as cinematography, directing, scriptwriting or technical achievement. Films in any language will be accepted, but English subtitles are required to facilitate judging. Winners in each category will be announced at the Gala Award Evening. 

Entries must be accompanied by a synopsis of the film and, if possible, a photo of the director and stills from the film. There is an entry fee of R80 per film to cover administration costs. Further information is available from the Apollo website at www.apollotheatre.co.za The Apollo is one of the best-equipped cinemas in the country and has the multimedia facilities to project films in any format. 

Entries from the rest of Africa are particularly welcome for the “Best African” film category. All films submitted will be pre-selected and pre-judged prior to the festival with only a selection of the top films in each category being exhibited at the event. 

This year’s adjudicators include Letebele Masemola-Jones, Martin Botha, Darryl Accone and Helen Kuun. 

A highlight of the festival is a retrospective of the work of Ousmene Sembeme, one of Africa’s foremost filmmakers, who has also been invited as a special guest to this year’ event. 

Aspiring scriptwriters should also take note of the scriptwriting workshop which will take place from 15 to 19 September. “The workshop is aimed at young writers in the 18 to 30 age group,” says Robbins. “We’re looking for fresh, original ideas and for South African stories that have a local flavour.” 

In addition, the Sundance Scriptwriting Lab in the US has again requested that the Apollo Film Festival recommend scripts and filmmakers from their entries. 

Coinciding with the festival is a creative writing competition for 15 to 19 year olds. Entrants are required to write an 800- to 1000-word essay on any aspect of local film. There is a first prize on R1 500, a second prize of R1 000 and a third prize of R500. Entries close on 23 July 2003. Winners will be required to attend the Gala Award Evening. Further information on this competition is available from the Apollo website. 

Film submissions must be posted to Gail Robbins, P O Box 96306, Brixton, 2019. 

* For further information please contact Gail Robbins, 082 572 1682, or dgrwrite@iafrica.com

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