The awards were held at The Inanda Club, Joburg on the 23 November.
Rocks was directed by Sarah Gavron and stars Bukky Bakray and Kosar Ali. Flatland was directed by Jenna Bass and stars Faith Baloyi, Nicole Fortuin and Izel Bezuidenhout.
Our Lady of the Nile (France) received a Special Recognition Award from the festival’s prestige Juror panel, comprising multi-award winning author, Zakes Mda; NCIS: New Orleans and Avatar actress, CCH Pounder, South African screen star Florence Masebe, renowned Nigerian documentary filmmaker, screenwriter and cinematographer Femi Odugbemi and Canadian academic & writer, Nataleah Hunter-Young.
Legendary Producer Richard Green was recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the festival.
The winner of the Joburg Film Festival’s Youth & Audience Development Programme were also recognised. The programme was designed to encourage and empower young emerging filmmakers across Gauteng. The JFF, in partnership with the MultiChoice Group and Gauteng Film Commission (GFC), embarked on a province-wide skills transfer initiative that reached more than 100 young people in a series of workshops in Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, Mogale City and Sedibeng. Aspiring filmmakers between the ages of 18 and 25 were encouraged to submit a video with the theme ‘Your Kasi, Your Story’, which served as the entry to participate in the two-day workshop in each region. The workshops specifically targeted youth living in townships and involved industry professionals sharing their extensive experience and knowledge on the amazing craft of cinematic storytelling with enthusiastic audiences. The overall winner was Sedibeng’s Malefetsane Masitha.
Joburg Film Festival headline sponsors MultiChoice Group also recognised some of Africa’s finest storytellers with the inaugural ‘MultiChoice Africa’s Most-Loved Storytellers Awards’. Activist, actress, storyteller, poet, playwright, director and author Gcina Mhlophe received the ‘Legend Award’ for her longstanding contribution to continental storytelling and internationally-acclaimed author Deon Meyer was honoured with the ‘Global Storyteller Award’ for his work in spreading stories from Africa around the globe. Creative duo Jahmil X.T. Qubheka and Layla Swart were honoured with the inaugural ‘Emerging Storyteller Award’ for their status as exciting new voices in African storytelling and investigative journalist Karyn Maughan claimed the ‘Fearless Storyteller Award’.
