In celebration of Africa Day and a decade of excellence, the KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission (KZNFilm) has announced that it has added a new category, Best African Film, for the upcoming Simon Sabela Film and Television Awards.
In its 10th year, the awards have grown from five categories to more than 29. The Simon Sabela Film and Television Awards are strategically aligned with the Durban International Film Festival, one of the biggest and longest-running film events on the continent.
The festival is due to take place from July 20.
“The 2023 edition will celebrate both the 2021 and 2022 eligible productions,” says Mr Victor Senna, KZN Film Commission’s acting CEO.
“In 2021, the awards were planned to celebrate the 2022 winners, however, as the awards faced unforeseen circumstances, the 2021 awards were postponed to 2022.
“Furthermore, as we are celebrating the 10th anniversary, it is critical to bring in a twist to the awards and give the industry a double dose of the winners in each category, maintaining consistency of an annual event.”
Elsewhere, the Mobile Film Festival Africa also celebrated Africa Day and described it as “an opportunity to showcase the amazing talents of the Mobile Film Festival Africa, 54 films by young filmmakers from 21 countries on the continent”.
Bruno Smadja, the founder of the Mobile Film Festival Africa, added: “It’s the beginning of a great edition, thanks to the generous and enthusiastic participation of young creators from all over the continent.
“Above all and as you will discover it, their films are particularly committed: committed to this planet that we mistreat, committed to women's rights, committed against child labour and committed to the migratory crisis.
“At the Mobile Film Festival, we are proud to be able to share all of these young Africans’ visions with as many people as possible, in Africa and around the world.”