SA filmmaker makes it into top 10 at international 60 Hour Film Challenge

Johannesburg - At the 60 Hour Film Challenge 2014, which took place in Colchester, Essex in United Kingdom, South African team ‘The City Slickers’ lead by writer/director Yolande Botha were chosen as finalists out of over 600 teams.

Their 5-min film, Every 6 Months, is an offbeat comedy drama about a woman who finds herself locked in a room full of taxidermy after a night she can’t remember.

The competition was judged by industry leaders including Martin Ruhe and Benjamin Caron.

The Colchester Film Festival is an international film festival dedicated to discovering and showcasing the best filmmaking talent, where finals took place at the end of October 2014. The festival showcases the best new short and feature films from the UK and around the world, as well as offering a programme of workshops, master classes and panel discussions from top film industry professionals.

The 60 Hour Film Challenge is one of the biggest competitions of its type with over 600 teams registered this year. The challenge is accessible to all filmmakers, because it is free to enter and is open to filmmakers of all skill levels, whether they are shooting on a smart phone, DSLR or cinema camera. The challenge aims to nurture the next generation of filmmaking.

South African creative, Yolande Botha, is an independent scriptwriter and director who is breaking into the film industry after 13 years in advertising as a copywriter and conceptualiser. She believes that like in other forms of communication and storytelling, the same applies in film: "concept is king". She believes the strength of their story, along with good production values, got her team into the top 10.

"Even though we didn’t win, just to be shortlisted is a major achievement. I think it’s important for South African filmmakers to put themselves up on the global stage and not just aim locally. With the power of the internet, there really is no reason we can’t work from here, but market ourselves internationally and attract more business and co-productions. More and more international production companies are using our crews and creative talent for their productions, whether it’s for film, TV series or TV commercial production. It is an exciting time in our industry."

Watch the short film here:

Every Six Months from Pascale Neuschäfer on Vimeo.