Film students, budding film and TV producers, as well as the broader youth in the Free State are in for a treat as the Cherry Film Festival makes a comeback for its second edition, as part of the backdrop at the annual Cherry Festival that happens during cherry harvest time in the province.
Intended for township and rural communities with particular focus on youth from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, this year’s Cherry Film Festival will take place in Ficksburg over a six-day period, from Monday, 25 November 2019 to Saturday, 30 November 2019.
“We are building a new generation of filmmakers and film industries from scratch, while creating spaces where small town and rural-based creatives can realise their dreams of becoming Mzansi’s exceptional filmmakers,” commented Lebo Motaung, Project Director of the Festival. “The Cherry Film Festival seeks to prepare and groom young filmmakers to explore a career in Film and Dramatic Performance Arts, subsequently making them aware that the performing arts has a vast ray of careers other than being in front of the camera.”
The Cherry Film Festival is the first of its kind, as the executions prioritise mobile phone film creation as a major feature of its workshops, thereby empowering young people to use smartphones to create content that they can leverage and earn an income from. Furthermore, the Festival will accommodate online content creators by inviting them to screen and showcase their work at the Festival as well take part in masterclasses and panel discussions.
Last year’s installation comprised a large group of youth and film graduates and small production houses from Ficksburg who took part in the workshops and panel discussions. Funded by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), this year, part of the Festival’s objectives include enhancing social and cultural cohesion among previously disadvantaged communities where film and television is not a respected career, as well as generate and maintain interest in original African content which relates to African heritage.
“Ficksburg is filled with talented aspiring actors, producers, directors and writers who need to be nurtured and exposed to opportunities. As such, a Film Festival like this helps a great deal to achieve that,” added Neo Rathebe, Co-Project Director of the Festival. “When we hosted the Festival for the first time, we noticed an eagerness from the local community to experience film screenings. As a result, we figured that there needs to be an ongoing dialogue involving the youth on film and TV and we also got exposed to smaller production houses based in Ficksburg through this Film Festival.”
The Cherry Film Festival is organised by Immortal Media and is supported by the NFVF. For more details on the event visit and chat to us on Facebook at Cherry Film Festival, or join the conversation on Twitter via @CherryFilmFest and on Instagram via @CherryFilmFestival using the hashtag #CherryFilmFestival.
