"We love Jozi and we love film," says Lisa Henry, one of festival's founding members. "A lot have people have aspirations about making a film. Here's your chance, Jo'burg."
"The film can be about anything that inspires you; makes you happy, makes you sad. A slice of life. A homage to your gogo. A rant about rush hour traffic. An ode to jacarandas. Go mad, get creative, get out into our city and make a film on your phone," says Henry.
The criteria are the films must be 1-3 minutes long and made in Johannesburg or by a Jo'burger anywhere. JFF sponsors Audio Network, a production music library, is also offering free music downloads to entrants and a R1 000 prize for Best Usage of Music in a Mobile Phone Film.
All the info you need to enter can be found at www.jozifilmfestival.co.za (live on the site from the 15th). The winners will be announced at the JFF closing ceremony, to be held at Villa Arcadia in Parktown on 17 February 2013. The top three entrants will all win a Blackberry 9790, 1 year RIM plus airtime courtesy of Vodacom and the winner, R5 000 in cold hard cash from the Jozi Film Festival.
"In the past, a network provider might have exclusively used television and radio advertising to reach and impress potential consumers," says Vodacom's Sergio Martins (Brand Manager: Youth).
The Jozi Film Festival launched in February of this year with the South African premiere of Akin Omotoso's Man On Ground which has gone on to acclaim all over the world. "It's time Johannesburg had something like this. I'm excited about the festival and hope it grows in the coming years. I love Jo'burg and I feel, as filmmakers, we haven't yet managed to fully capture its essence." says Omotoso.
The brainchild of film-makers Lisa Henry and Shareen Anderson and community activist Brendon Burmester, the festival was born out of a desire to create a platform for local talent and to reach new audiences by taking films to venues not traditionally associated with film. Tickets for the festival are a mere R20 and some screenings will be free. Workshops will also be held during next year's three-day festival, taking place from 15-17 February and launching at The Bioscope Independent Cinema in Maboneng Precinct.
