DStv launches BoxOffice Online

DStv has officially launched an online version of its popular BoxOffice movie rental service, available to anyone living in South Africa.

BoxOffice Online offers movie fans a wide selection of great new releases and popular classics that customers can rent and stream directly from the BoxOffice website, or rent and download via the DStv Desktop Player app – which is available to download here.

No DStv subscription is required to access the service. All customers need to do is sign up for a BoxOffice Account, which will allow them to use any of the flexible payment methods available to rent and watch movies online or via the DStv Desktop Player.

BoxOffice Online works in a similar fashion to the service on PVRs, giving customers a selection of movies that they can rent and watch as many times as they like for a 48 hours period. Once the rental period is up, the movie simply expires, meaning no returns and no late fees.

DStv BoxOffce Online currently offers a wide variety of movies available to rent, some of which are also available for rent on PVRs. As the service grows, customers can expect the catalogue to expand as new movies are added each week.

Rental prices range from R30 for New Releases to R10 for Classics.

Downloads via the DStv Desktop Player and streaming movies on the BoxOffice website are both compatible with most PCs and MACs. It is, however, recommended that customers check that their systems meet the minimum system requirements for the service.

BoxOffice Online is also open to all Internet Service Providers and, while not required, it is strongly recommended that customers access BoxOffice Online from a Wi-Fi network connected to an uncapped ADSL line to avoid high data bills from their network providers.

To find out more about BoxOffice Online, to sign up, or to see the movies that are Now Showing, please visit http://www.dstv.com/boxoffice.

Oscar Awards handed out

The Academy Awards, now officially known as The Oscars took place recently. Enough has been said about this star-studded affair so I am not going to waste any more time on the subject. However, I will give a huge shout out to Best Documentary winner, ‘Searching for Sugar Man’. The movie details the efforts of two Cape Town fans in the late 1990s to find out whether the rumoured death of American musician Sixto Rodriguez was true, and, if not, to discover what had become of him. 

Take a look at the rest of Oscar Awards 2013 winners:

 Best Picture - Argo
 Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis for 'Lincoln'
 Best Actress - Jennifer Lawrence for 'Silver Linings Playbook'
 Best Direction - Ang Lee for 'Life of Pi'
 Best Writing - Original Screenplay - Quentin Tarantino for 'Django Unchained'
 Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay - Chris Terrio for 'Argo'
 Best Original Song - Adele for 'Skyfall'
 Best Original Score - Mychael Danna for 'Life of Pi'
 Best Production Design - 'Lincoln' - Rick Carter (Production Design); Jim Erickson (Set Decoration).
 Best Film Editing - William Goldenberg for 'Argo'
 Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Anne Hathaway for 'Les Miserables'
 Best Foreign Language Film – ‘Amour’
 Best Documentary - Feature – ‘Searching for Sugar Man’
 Best Documentary - Short Subject - `Inocente`
 Best Short Film - Live Action - Shawn Christensen for `Curfew’
 Best Make-Up and Hair Styling - Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell for `Les Misérables`
 Best Costume Design - Jacqueline Durran for ‘Anna Karenina’
 Best Visual Effects - `Life of Pi`
 Best Cinematography - Claudio Miranda for `Life of Pi`
 Best Animated Feature Film - `Brave`
 Best Short Film - Animated - John Kahrs for `Paperman`
 Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz for `Django Unchained`

The 86th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

AMAA meets in Malawi

Malawi was recently announced as the host country for the 2013 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) Nomination Night. The awards, to be held on 15 and 16 March 2013, will be preceded by a training programme and the Africa Film Academy trademarked Training program "Film in A Box" that will commence the programme on 1 March 2013.

The Africa Film Academy will be offering training to about 500 people who wish to learn Film making for two weeks from the 1st to the 14th of March 2013. The training is free. The trainees will only have to register with the sum of 1000 Mk which is the equivalent of $2.50.

AMAA organisers are calling for filmmakers with the skills to teach in any area of filmmaking be it script writing, directing, producing, acting, set designing, production design, editing and sound engineering for assistance. Those willing to help AMAA develop this budding film industry should visit http://www.ama-awards.com/.

Malawi has a long and rich history of filmmaking. One of the great movies to come out from the country is ‘The Last Fishing Boat’ by Malawian movie producer and director Charles Shemu Joya created a lot buzz on the international festival circuit.

‘The Last Fishing Boat’ is about a once successful fisherman on Lake Malawi who is now struggling while his cultural values are being threatened by the expanding tourist industry. His son has become a tourist guide. The film is Joyah’s second production after the 2009 award-winning ‘Seasons of a life’ which was screened in over twelve international film festivals around the world and won seven awards.

Jozi Film Festival to wow city

This year’s Jozi Film Festival takes place from 15 – 17 February at three venues across Johannesburg: The Bioscope in Maboneng Precinct, Villa Arcadia in Parktown and an open air screening in Kliptown, Soweto where we are partnering with Kliptown Youth Program.

The festival opens at The Bioscope on the evening of Friday, 15th February. Guest speaker will be film director Akin Omotoso. Omotoso’s film Man On Ground was the opening film at last year’s festival and went on to win awards the world over. Our opening night film for 2013 will be announced soon.

  

A selection of feature films, student films, short fiction and documentaries will be screened at The Bioscope, Villa Arcadia and in Kliptown over the following two days, culminating in our closing ceremony that will be held at Villa Arcadia on the evening of the 17th of February. Comedian John Vlismas will once again host

the awards ceremony.

The top three films of the Vodacom Mobile Phone Film competition will also be screened at the closing event and the winners announced.

A Hebert Baker building in Parktown, Villa Arcadia as a venue has been made possible by our partnership with Etana Insurance. JFF extends our gratitude to Etana for their support of the festival over the last two years. Their energy and enthusiasm for the project is manifest in all our dealings with them. Our line-up for this year’s festival will be available on our website shortly.

AMVCA nominees announced

he nominees for the first-ever AfricaMagic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCAs) were revealed during a special edition of lifestyle program 53 Extra. Held in association with MultiChoice, and headline sponsor Amstel Malta, the AMVCAs recognizes and rewards excellence in African film and TV.

Announcing the nominees were stylish Eku Edewor and Dolopo Oni, joined by Jara co-hosts Uti Nwachukwu (Big Brother All Stars winner) and Helen Paul, Biola Alabi (M-Net Africa MD), Femi Odugbemi (AMVCA Executive Judge), Lizz Njagah (Kenyan soap and reality star) and Edem Vindah (Media and Public Affairs Manager, Nigerian Breweries PLC). Also in studio was the elegant AMVCA trophy!

Encompassing 28 awards in 26 categories, the AMVCAs includes 6 categories where viewers will vote for winners and 18 more technically focused categories where winners will be selected by an expert industry based judging panel (judges will be announced at a later date).


This judging panel will also select the rising star TrailBlazer of the Year, and the Industry Merit recipient, a veteran industry professional whose long term contribution will be honored.

And ensuring the awards specifically recognize outstanding achievement, the AMVCAs did not name nominees in two categories (Best Documentary and Best Online Video) as the nominee selection team had preferred to award certificates of encouragement instead to all entrants.

Understanding that there will be a great curiosity about the initial selection team responsible for the nominees list, tonight’s show revealed their identities. They are Allison Triegaardt, Armand-Guy de Beer, Bongiwe Selane, Deborah Odutayo, Ebou Waggeh, Eileen Sandrock, Njoki Muhoho, Phad Mutumba and Richard West. Together this expert team has an extraordinary range of experience and an impressive passion for the art of African storytelling. More info on these accomplished individuals is available at www.africamagic.tv.

Joining this nominee selection team in January was the accounting firm Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo, who will also verify all winner results going forward.

M-Net Africa MD Biola Alabi says, “We want the AMVCAs to be transparent, credible, respected and fair. So we selected people to the nominee selection team who embrace this philosophy. We will do the same when selecting the industry judging panel that will pick winners in certain categories. We know that everyone associated with these awards must be diligent and conduct themselves with integrity during what are challenging, tough processes. At this time, I must also say that we are truly delighted with the list of nominees and we wish them all well. Roll on March, we couldn’t be more excited about the big night and promise TV audiences an event to remember!”
However, the focus of the night was the nominees and leading the way was South African hit Otelo Burning with 14 nominations while Nigeria’s brilliant The Mirror Boy grabbed 11, just in front of Man on Ground, another powerful Nigerian offering which garnered 9 nominations.

Other titles scoring multiple nominations included Perfect Picture (8), Two Brides and a Baby (7), Maami (5) and Skeem (5). In total, there were 110 nominees chosen from 43 different productions from countries as diverse as Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Meanwhile, some of the most eagerly awaited categories also boasted high profile nominees.
In the category for Best Actress in a Drama, the nominees are Bubu Mazibuko, Genevieve Nnaji, Nolwazi Shange, Funke Akindele and Jackie Appiah while in the Best Actress in a Comedy category Funke Akindele, Lilian Esoro and Mercy Johnson are all in the running. In the Best Actor in a Drama category, the nominees are Fabian Adeoye Lojede, O.C Ukeje, Kenneth Uphopho, Edward Kagutuzi and Jafta Mamabolo. Nominees for Best Actor in a Comedy are Hafiz Oyetoro, Kunle Bamtefa, Bovi Ugboma, Francis Odega and Ikhide Isaac.

And in the Best Movie Overall category are Skeem (Tim Greene), Man on Ground (Akin Omotoso, Fabian Adeoye Lojede, Hakeem Kae-Kazim and Rosie Motene), Jozi King (Jamie Ramsay), Otelo Burning (Sara Blecher) and The Mirror Boy (Obi Emelonye).

MultiChoice Africa CEO, Nico Meyer congratulated all the nominees: “Well done to all the selected nominees. The AfricaMagic Viewer’s Choice Awards recognises your hard work, passion and dedication to your trade. The contribution you have made into the development of the African film and television industry is very significant and tonight we honour your role. Keep up the good work and we wish you all the best for the big announcement of winners in March.”

Speaking for the sponsor, Edem Vindah (Media and Public Affairs Manager), said: “At the core of the Amstel Malta brand is the conviction that everyone has what it takes to be the best. The brand therefore believes in providing platforms that not only give opportunity to young talented individuals but also inspiration. AMVCA is a platform that recognizes and celebrates the best in the movie and TV industry; a platform of inspiration to encourage young talents in the industry to ensure they make smart choices that will show their originality and that they are unique and discerning individuals that deserve to be recognized and rewarded.”

Now, while the judges deliberate on the non-viewer voted categories, viewers can also start casting their votes for the 6 all-important viewer voted categories. Voting begins tonight (January 28) at 23:00 CAT and closes at midnight CAT on March 3, 2013. Viewers can vote via WEB, WAP or SMS.

And keep watching the AfricaMagic channels which will profile the nominees over the next few weeks to ensure you know who’s who! Remember the first- ever AfricaMagic Viewers’ Choice Awards will be screened on DStv and GOtv on Saturday 9 March, live from Lagos. So get ready to check out the fashion on the red carpet, to hear the winner’s speeches and of course, to celebrate great African talent!

African movies to watch from 2012

As January 2013 slowly reaches its tail end I have had to sit down and reflect on African cinema in the year 2012. The results of my contemplation show that I have not been watching as much African Films as I ought to be. I am embarrassed to say that I did not watch any productions from the year 2012, which is a very sad state of affairs, especially since many filmmakers were hard at work last year.

As part of my New Year’s resolutions I have made a commitment to reform my erratic movie-watching. I have challenged myself to make a consented effort to watch more movies from our beloved motherland.   The exciting thing about my resolution is the abundant movies that I will get to watch.  

In recent times, films coming out from Africa are showing more and more diversity in terms of genres and themes. Gone are the days when African cinema focused solely on social and political themes. African filmmakers are now presenting fresh subject matters and styles that cater for the varied tastes that are synonymous with our continent.

Here are ten great movies that were made across the length and breadth of Africa in 2012 that are on my Must-Watch list for 2013 (in no particular order).

1      1.       Nyaminyami Amaji Abulozi (Zimbabwe)

‘Nyaminyami amaji abulozi’, a 39-minute film directed by author Tsitsi Dangarembga .  The film is based on the legendary fable of a dragon-like creature said to reside in the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe.

2     2.       After the Battle (Egypt)

‘After the Battle’ is a 2012 Egyptian drama film written by Omar Shama and directed by Yousry Nasrallah. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

3     3.       The Marshal of Finland (Kenya)

‘The Marshal of Finland’, directed by a Kenyan Gilbert Lukalia, is a Finnish fictional film based on the life of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim.  The film's world premiere was on The Helsinki International Love & Anarchy Film Festival on September 28, 2012.

4    4.       Otelo Burning (South Africa)

Shot in Durban and directed by Sara Blecher (Surfing Soweto), the film tells the story of a group of township kids who discover the joy of surfing. It's set in 1989, against a backdrop of brewing conflict between two political groups in Lamontville.

5    5.       Last Flight To Abuja (Nigeria)

The 'Last Flight to Abuja' is a film written and directed by filmmaker Obi Emelonye. The feature film was inspired by a series of aeroplane disasters that rocked Nigeria in 2006.

 

6.       ASAD (South Africa)

The story of ‘Asad’ takes us into the lives of ordinary people in a seaside village in Somalia, providing the audience with a glimpse into the daily struggles of ordinary Somalis living in a dysfunctional and failed state.Asad is a young boy faced with choices in a land where survival is a daily challenge. The film received an Oscar nomination in the Best Short Film category in 2013.

7    7.       Ties That Bind (Ghana)

The film, Ties That Bind, directed by Leila Djansi, and is a story of three women Adobea (Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde), Buki (Ama K Abebrese) and Theresa (Kimberly Elise). Though the three are from different backgrounds, they are bound together by the shared experience of losing a child.

8    8.       The Legend of Ngong Hills (Kenya)

Based on a Maasai folktale, the short animated film "The Legend of Ngong Hills" tells the story of the creation myth of the beautiful hills that backdrop present day Nairobi. The short film won the Best Animation award at the 2012 AMAA Awards in Lagos Nigeria.

       9.       The In-Laws (Zimbabwe)

‘The In-Laws’ —written and produced by United Kingdom-based Zimbabwean, Demetria Karonga, depicts a very common family setting in the UK, where Munya (Ashley Majaya) is married to Shaniqua (Julie Burleton) a white English girl with low regard for the African culture.

1     10.   Mad Buddies (South Africa)

‘Mad Buddies’ is a comedy film directed by Gray Hofmeyr, co-written by Gray Hofmeyr and Leon Schuster and starring Leon Schuster, Kenneth Nkosi, Tanit Phoenix and Alfred Ntombela.