ENCOUNTERS AND STER-KINEKOR ANNOUNCE SEARCH FOR THE BEST SOUTH AFRICAN SHORT DOCS
After a three-year hiatus, Encounters South African International Documentary Festival and the cinema chain Ster-Kinekor welcome back the 4th Ster-Kinekor Encounters Youth Experience (EYE) Award for the Best South African Short Film.
The Ster-Kinekor EYE Award recognises both emerging and established filmmakers and gives them a platform to demonstrate their talents. The winning filmmakers will be awarded cash prizes to assist with their future projects. The 1st prize winner will receive R10,000 and the 2nd prize winner will receive R5,000. Both films will be screened at the awards ceremony over the closing weekend of the Festival.
“The Youth Jury will serve as an inclusive mechanism, bringing documentary cinema to a younger audience and encouraging them to actively participate in the process of the Festival, promoting film literacy and local documentaries to new viewers,” enthuses Encounters Festival Director, Mandisa Zitha.
“Using our cinema spaces for more than screening the latest blockbusters is a strategic focus for us. As such, we are excited to be partnering with Encounters once again to present the 4th Ster-Kinekor EYE Award. We are constantly amazed at the incredible young talent in this country and this is a wonderful opportunity to recognise and reward it in the genre of short film,” says Lynne Wylie, Chief Marketing Officer at Ster-Kinekor Theatres.
“Sitting in a darkened cinema and being transported into other worlds and realities through what is portrayed on the big screen is a wonderful experience. We are looking forward to welcoming new and younger audiences into our cinemas to view, and vote on, the Best South African Short Film at Encounters this year.”
Encounters, in partnership with Ster-Kinekor, will select three jurors who represent leading South African film schools and who will spend three days reviewing cinema screenings of a shortlist of selected films.
The Ster-Kinekor Encounters Youth Experience (EYE) Award was launched in 2017. Winners from previous years include:
EYE Awards 2017 Winners: 1st prize ‘Nanlaban’ by Shaun Swingler, 2nd prize ‘Can I Please Go to the Bathroom’ by Jessie Zinn
EYE Awards 2018 Winners: 1st prize ‘The Art of Healing’ by Rui Assubuji, 2nd prize ‘Masquerading: To Hell and Back’ by Sofia de Fay
EYE Awards 2019 Winners: 1st prize ‘Waves’ by Jessie Ayles, 2nd prize ‘Gereza’ (Hustler) by Shaun Nelson
Submissions can be made via the link below found on the Festival website:
SA/African Entries : https://www.encounters.co.za/submit-african-documentary/
South African film submissions are exempt from paying a submission fee.
The deadline for applications is 10 March 2023. The Ster-Kinekor EYE Award is awarded to documentaries shorter than 20 minutes.
For enquiries, please contact:
Encounters Team Email: info@encounters.co.za / pr@encounters.co.za
About Encounters
Now in its 25th year, Encounters is the premier Documentary Festival in Africa attracting documentary lovers in Johannesburg and Cape Town over a ten-day in-person event and online. Encounters showcases South African productions and the best on offer from the rest of the world. The Festival prioritises documentary and the exploration of issues that face communities and societies. For many years, Encounters has organised festivals, masterclasses and film training workshops with local and visiting international guests acting as mentors and facilitators. Current programmes prioritise emerging filmmakers and support a transformed and diverse industry. The Festival draws on past experience to design training programmes with a focus on social justice and human rights.
About Ster-Kinekor Theatres
Ster-Kinekor Theatres is the largest movie exhibitor on the African continent. To most South Africans, the word ‘movies’ is synonymous with the name ‘Ster-Kinekor’. The company operates 45 commercial cinema complexes in South Africa, with six international sites based in Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. As one of South Africa’s most loved brands, it is Ster-Kinekor’s ongoing mission to become synonymous with the unrivalled magic of the cinema experience, by providing ‘Great Moments at Their Greatest’. As the market leader, Ster-Kinekor aims to spearhead the advancement of cinema across both South Africa and the rest of Africa, to ensure that consumers continue to experience movies as they were made to be seen – on the big screen. See more at: www.sterkinekor.com