Green Lights All Around as 2017 kykNET Silverskermfees Kicks Off in Cape Town

It's green lights all around as the 2017 kykNET Silverskermfees kicks off in Cape Town this week. The film festival's short film project is a highlight of the annual event this year's short films promise not to disappoint.

The Silverskermfees short film project serves as an incubator for new talent, whether it arrives in the form of established personalities that are trying out new roles behind the scenes or fledgeling directors that are making their first film. There are 21 short films in competition on the festival program this year that vary between 12 and 24 minutes respectively.

The industry very much supports the making of the films, and it is always a highlight to see which established actors leap into the deep end of the imagination of these filmmakers. Karen Meiring, the director of M-Net's kykNET Channels comments:

We are very proud of the short film project and the talent that has gone on to achieve bigger success in the film and television industry. Two of the previous short film winners have been developed into feature films - VUIL WASGOED, NOMMER 37 - and a television series - BUURTWAG.

Filmmakers such as Christiaan Olwagen, René en Corné van Rooyen, Nosipho Dumisa, Travis Taute, Bennie Fourie and Bouwer Bosch to name only a few, are previous winners that have become key role players in the industry. Meiring continues:

The financial contribution that kykNET makes towards this project is an investment in the future of Afrikaans film.

Filmmakers enter the competition by submitting a one-page proposal, which is judged anonymously and on concept only. This year, 258 entries were received, and 31 films were invited to take part in the script workshops in Johannesburg and Cape Town. When the final scripts were submitted, the top 21 were selected.

Ten mentors guide the filmmakers through the process from script to post production. This year, the screenwriting mentors included Beer Adriaanse, Bennie Fourie, Brett. M. Innes and Etienne Fourie, while Johan Kruger, Josh Rous, Jozua Malherbe, Luke Rous, Nosipho Dumisa and Travis Taute offered production support.

The full programme and trailers for the films that will be shown this week are available on the 2017 kykNET Silwerskermfees website. The films will be available on Showmax in November.