A phrase we heard often during 2010... Very few projects during the soccer World Cup, then renewed World Economic Wobblies clearly began to squeeze budgets, so the re-start was slower than we'd hoped. The strengthening of our currency has probably also cramped projects already committed to shooting dates.

Editing audition DVDs and Uploads is in some ways a thankless task. It's not particularly "creative", but the pressures of modern film production mean that it has to be done accurately and fast. We've been looking for a technical trainee for years, but have not found any suitable candidates with the right potential. Then we found Ben, at a time when I need to get away from the Studio for a month or so....


Ben is a bit of a "Da Vinci Child" as the saying goes. He has built his own computer from second-hand parts and taught himself how to use it - and boy, does he know how to use a computer! (I'm hoping he'll teach me some of his sneaky keyboard short-cuts!)
Ben is also a self-taught musician and graphic artist. He has created storyboards for How To Steal Two Million and a promotional comic-strip for the movie Max & Mona. While in Johannesburg Ben will also be working with friends Damon Berry and Karen van Schalkwyck on a feature film script at present in the final stages of the NFVF development process.

Ben is hoping to find work in the film industry, but he hails from Moloto, way North-East of Pretoria. so we hope to introduce this amazing young man to as many people as we can. If you have suitable work for Ben, please contact Christa.
View some of Ben's diverse talents at http://www.myspace.com/bentjibe

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Requests for auditions to be placed on-line have increased dramatically over the past year. We have also needed to manage upoads from other cities, which has prompted some changes. The new layout is more compact and is also quicker to update.
If necessary, we can now also arrange uploads from other cities in South Africa - or across the world. We recently handled auditions from Los Angeles, New York, Nairobi (Kenya) and Kampala (Uganda) - oh, and Cape Town too!
 

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Film makers on a limited budget need to be innovative - and brave! Michael J. Landon Jr. had a short movie to make for a religious organisation. Although the events on which the story is based took place in Uganda, it was at first planned to film in South Africa. After discussions with Christa about languages and the cultural authenticity  required, Mr. Landon decided to have a second look at the possibility of filming on the real location. A brief return to Uganda persuaded him that it offered the best possibilities for the film.
Much as Christa was eager to revisit East Africa, budget and commitment to other projects in South Africa made that impossible, so the next best thing was to work with good people.


Usually, foreign Directors or Producers seem to sit in on casting sessions in Uganda, but Michael Landon's second scouting trip was of necessity very short. The auditions, therefore, had to be set up from a distance. We were very fortunate to connect with Actress, Director, Playwright and Casting Director Joanitta Bewulira-Wandera, who set about finding, auditioning and coaching scores of Ugandan boys and girls for the demanding leading roles.




Joanitta did excellent work with the children - as one would expect from a Director! The first uploads from Kampala gave both Christa and Michael a good idea of the range of talent available. It was also clear that we had found a very capable contact!







We were also lucky to find Ali Bakka, a documentary cameraman of some twelve years experience. Ali has worked for numerous Ugandan, European and American clients over the years, several NGOs, the University of Edinburgh and often for CNN. Encoding and uploading was however a new experience for Ali, but with the help of  e-mails, Skype and long telephone conversations, we all climbed the learning curve. It is always a pleasure to work with conscientious and enthusiastic people, and we  appreciate Ali's contribution. With foreign producers becoming more adventurous in Africa, we look forward to working with Ali again.






Michael & Joanitta working together to guide the selected children through the Call Backs in Kampala.

(Uganda has an excellent broadband connection to the rest of the world via the SeaCom fibre optic cable which connects South Africa to East Africa, South Asia and Europe.)

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