The nomination judges agreed that the level of entries were extremely high this year and that it was satisfying to see the quantity and quality of work produced in the Western Cape, making the region a worthy representative showcasing the best talent in South Africa in short film, television and new media.
The nominations ranged from the much talked about documentary Cosmic Africa in the professional competition (due for release on November 14), to Anthony Silverston's animated short The Slipper Cycle, telling the story of a pair of married slippers, which was made using a stills digital camera, a computer, one lamp and a lot of patience.
An important aspect of the competition is the Newcomer section, focusing on emerging talent from film schools and training institutions as well as new entrants. Nominations this year went to students from City Varsity Film and Television School, Cape Town International Film School, AFDA, Media Village and Universal Computer Arts Academy.
The nominees include Shoot The Breeze Productions with 11 nominations for the magazine show 'Free Spirit'; Tswelopele Productions received 8 nominations for the magazine talk show Top Billing; and Griffin Films received 8 nominations for the talk show Vuyani Mzantsi!
The Documentary category in the Professional Competition awarded nominations to Francois Verster for his documentaries A Lion's Trail and When The War is Over; Sonja Roets from Wiz TV was nominated for Psycho Factory Part One and Two; Miki Redelinghuys from Plexus TV for Bioscope; Girls for Africa Media Works for Just Life; Kali van der Merwe from Other-Wise Media for Doing It; Cosmos Studios' Cosmic Africa (Craig & Damon Foster - directors; Carina Rubin & Anne Rogers - producers), and Dianne Vermooten from Media Village for Chronicles of Africa.
The nomination for music videos in the Professional Competition went to Atomic Visual Effects for Jago's Dream, Blast for the Hootie and the Blowfish video Exodus, Monkey Films for Freshly Ground's Castles in the Sky, Splash Productions for the Rudimentals Noh TV, and Warner Broers Pictures for Spirit of Healing and Flipside.
The NTVA Western Cape's Stone Awards 2003 takes place at Theatre on the Bay on Monday, November 17. For more information and a full list of the nominees, visit the website: www.ntva.org.za or email .
