Litnet

A selection of Afrikaans short films made by the students of The South African School of Motion Picture and Live Performance (Afda) will be shown at the Clover Aardklop Festival. Reney Warrington asked Garth Holmes, co-founder and chairman of Afda, about the films and the industry.

Is there a market for short films outside of galleries and short film festivals?

Currently a very small market exists for short film sales and distribution. This is changing with global cinema acquiring the capacity to lock short films to feature films; “sharing partnerships” for advertising with Google and YouTube are increasingly creating new revenue streams for aspiring film-makers.

There is no entry fee? Is that to the benefit or detriment of short films in South Africa?

Most definitely a benefit, as it gives audiences an opportunity to see relevant South African cultural content: stories, characters, problem-sourcing, aspirations, challengers and fulfilments.

You group the short films together in a 50-minute viewing. What is the average length of a short film?

They are mostly 12- or 24-minute films, except for Lyfstraf, which is a short feature of 60 minutes.

Can any of these short films be seen outside of this festival? What about organising pop-up cinemas (compare what the Open Air Cinema is doing in Braamfontein, for example).

Most of these films have either shown on local TV (M-Net and SABC) or at a number of local and international festivals.

Why choose Aardklop as a venue?

It provides South African artists with a large audience made up primarily of Afrikaans-speaking citizens.

Is there a film that will spark some controversy?

Lyfstraf is a controversial film, as it chooses horror as a genre for examining the Afrikaner “psyche” post-apartheid.

Silwerskermfees - AFDA Afrikaanse kortflieks

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