Washington [US], Match 16 : Taiwanese director Julian Chou's 'Blind Love', a drama about a sensitive teenager who discovers his mother's secret affair with a mysterious woman, won the top prize at the 7th Joburg Film Festival.
Chou's sophomore feature, which premiered in the Tiger competition at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, won the jury's praise for its "fearless and brave voice whose point of view is necessary," reported Variety.
In a pre-recorded video message, Chou said she was "honored and humbled" to receive the festival's top prize and paid tribute to her fellow filmmakers whose "incredible work has brought such special energy and inspiration to the world." The director added that she would "keep working harder to turn this honor into more meaningful films."
"We're living in a crucial time right now, where it is important that we tell the South African story in the midst of all these false narratives around South Africa that are revolving around the world. It is critically important that we are deliberate about finding the South African narrative," Africa said, drawing a round of applause.
"To everybody who is in the room, we all have a responsibility not to negate our place as storytellers, because once we negate our place as storytellers, we are opening the door to all the false narratives that are currently dominating. Can we all be patriotic citizens of this country and defend this country with everything that we have?"
A special mention in the documentary category went to director Eloise King for "The Shadow Scholars." The award for best editing went to Dominican filmmaker Johanne Gomez Terrero's "Sugar Island," and the award for best short film went to Phumi Morare's "Why the Cattle Wait." The festival's Young Voices award, meanwhile, went to the film "Checkmate," with Joburg Film Festival head Timothy Mangwedi taking the opportunity to reaffirm the fest's support for young filmmakers, as per Variety.
"One of our missions at the Joburg Film Festival is to nurture emerging talent. It is no small feat to step into the world of cinema for these young creatives, facing countless obstacles along the way," said Mangwedi. "All the up-and-coming filmmakers, we want you to know that we see you. We see your passion. We hear your voices. And we stand ready to support your films," as per the outlet.
The ceremony concluded with an emotional presentation of a Special Recognition Award to pioneering South African producer Mfundi Vundla, best known as the creator and executive producer of the breakthrough telenovela "Generations," as per Variety.
During his acceptance speech, the 78-year-old industry legend recalled walking into the offices of public broadcaster SABC in 1993, where the chief of the station's TV division urged him to write a telenovela for the channel as the country entered a new period of democratic governance.
Inspired by the many Black entrepreneurs that failed to attain success under the discriminatory apartheid system, Vundla wanted to create a series "to honor those pioneers in Black business as symbols of excellence."
The show was set in an advertising industry "where Black people are in charge of their own destinies and create their own narratives," he said.
"'Generations' would not have happened had it not been for democracy it was very much a product of democracy," Vundla said. "Before 'Generations,' in the SABC, the [white] Afrikaners were writing stories for us, and the Africans were just there to translate stories by other people for us," reported Variety.
The Joburg Film Festival runs March 11 - 16.
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