THE Zimbabwe International Film Festival Trust (ZIFFT) has extended the deadline for film submissions for the Zimbabwe International Film Festival (ZIFF) by local filmmakers to July 21.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
The 19th edition of the festival is scheduled to run between August 26 and September 2.
ZIFFT had initially set June 15 as the cut-off date for submissions by both local and international filmmakers for the fiesta to be hosted in collaboration with Women Filmmakers of Zimbabwe flagship, International Images Film Festival for Women.
Festival consultant, Nakai Matema, yesterday told NewsDay that they have received over 300 films so far.
“If there are local people with other projects for submission, they can bring them to our offices, as we have extended the deadline, only for local filmmakers, to July 22,” she said.
“We are now in the selection process and will release the programme at the end of this month.”
The festival, to be held under the theme The Business of Film, will see outstanding filmmakers rewarded for their efforts in the Feature, Short Film, Documentary and ZIM Calabash categories.
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Meanwhile, ZIFFT has called on emerging filmmakers interested in participating in the Hi-5 Short Film Competition to submit their films by August 22.
Matema said the competition, which began in 2015 and is only open to Zimbabwean filmmakers resident in the country, was a platform for young and emerging filmmakers to showcase their skills in fully packaged films of not more than five minutes.
“The highly-popular competition has now opened its doors for film submissions and we are urging filmmakers to submit their films before the closing date. All films must be uploaded online or submitted to the ZIFFT offices before the deadline,” she said.
Matema said this year’s competition was meant to test aspiring filmmakers’ pedigree.
“Filmmakers are invited to produce and submit original documentary films or drama films on a subject of their choice in a narrative manner in five minutes or under. If they submit a documentary they should not use interviews, but rather be clever with their use of sound and images to tell their compelling stories.
The film must have a strong visual language,” she said.
The competition, she said, is held in partnership with Media Matrix Rental and will have three prizes of film rental equipment worth $500, $300 and $200 respectively.
Winners will be announced on September 2 during the ZIFF 2017 Zambezi Magic Awards Night.
