The IPO represents, protects and promotes the interests of independent South African film, television and digital media producers and, in turn, all who work in and are suppliers to the industry value chain.

Events NEWS 

16th SAFTAs

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The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture, the custodians of the South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs), is delighted to note the officially released entry statistics and Award Ceremony Dates for the 16th Annual South African Film and Television Awards (#SAFTAs16).

The call for submissions for local production companies to submit their entries was released on 15 December 2021 and was extended to 6 March 2022, in order to afford the industry sufficient time to submit entries.

The total tally of entries received for #SAFTAs16 was confirmed as 488, with 426 of those entries meeting the entry guidelines to move forward to the judging process. In 2021, the SAFTAs Committee updated its entry guidelines to include a genre specifically for online content alone to acknowledge increased  consumption of digital content. For #SAFTAs16, this genre has proven to be somewhat of a new preference for South African filmmakers as it received the highest number of compliant entries (25). The genres, Feature Films and TV Drama each received 23 compliant submissions.

Judges have had  the difficult task of assessing and reviewing the entries, a process which concludes today on 9 June 2022. Entrants, stakeholders, and the public can mark their calendars for 14 July 2022, when nominees for #SAFTAs16 will be announced. Celebrations will kick off with the Craft Awards show, which honours excellence within the technical craft of the industry, on 2 September 2022. The main #SAFTAs16 Award Show will follow on 3 September 2022 as a simulcast broadcast once again with Mzansi Magic and S3, (SABC 3).

“The industry might be surprised by the later than usual dates,” said Ms. Makhosazana Khanyile, the NFVF CEO . “The SAFTAs used to take to the stage in March, but we have moved the date as we needed to rethink our approach due to the domino-effect impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the industry, how that affected the timing and quality of productions, and social distance protocols. Furthermore, we also recognise the re-emergence of other industry award ceremonies which need fair industry engagement.”

The SAFTAs Awards are presented annually under the custodian leadership of the NFVF and were instituted to honour, celebrate, promote, and reward the creativity, quality, and excellence of South African Film and Television talent and content. The Awards also aim to encourage entrepreneurship and the development of new talent within the industry.