The poorly advertised Cine-mazing Films on the Fringe programme had gone quite unnoticed over the duration of the Arts Festival this year.
The poorly advertised Cine-mazing Films on the Fringe programme had gone quite unnoticed over the duration of the Arts Festival this year.
These documentary, feature and short films were shown downstairs at the Glennie Festival Centre since the first day of the Festival but have been poorly attended.
The programme included established and new filmmakers from around South Africa and tickets cost R15. Most of the films are watched as a set, consisting of shorter films played consecutively.
Locating the venue was difficult as it was poorly marked and there were no posters advertising the films. The Cine-mazing Short Film Programme, AFDA Short Films, Ghetto Proverbs and Cine-mazing Documentary Shorts Programme 2 seem to have been the more popular choices but with the capacity to seat 60 people, audience numbers were below five at times.
AFDA is South Africa’s film and live performance school situated in Johannesburg and Cape Town and had six 12 minute pieces showing.
They were written and created by their 2009 third year graduate students from both campuses for last year’s graduation film festival and form part of the AFDA Short Films programme.
Most of the films are rather heavy but with Shaving Sheep, the mood is slightly lifted by a touch of humour. According to Lanna Claasen, in charge of AFDA’s film festivals, it is the students’ own responsibility to advertise their work on show at the Arts Festival.
One Festino who saw Ghetto Proverbs said the documentary was “awesome” but added that she would not pay R15 to watch the other films on offer.
The second documentary programme being screened is made up of three short films documenting the lives and identity of the contemporary Afrikaner, the methods of Zimbabweans illegally digging for gold and a look into a senior white sangoma spiritually preparing his initiates.
None of the films were locally produced this year but with the recent establishing of a provincial film structure, the local film-makers could be getting the support they need in which to finance, develop and show their works at next year’s Festival.
Advertising and putting up posters around Grahamstown is a major factor to consider for attracting audiences to these short films and getting more recognition in the future.
