Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda rounds up festive season highlights

DURBAN and surrounding areas were abuzz with visitors and residents alike during the festive season. The Mayor, Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda, in a media statement, acknowledged and thanked visitors who made Durban their home during this festive season. He went on to thank residents and tourism product owners for the warm reception they provided to holiday makers. As a result of heightened police visibility on the roads and in our communities, few incidents of crime and road crashes were reported during this festive season. The municipality's systematic preparation and planning for the festive season, yielded positive results for safety and security especially at the beach as only 47 children were reported separated from their minders and were quickly reunited with their families within 24 hours. The planning for the festive season included an integrated approach to law enforcement between the Province, SAPS and the municipality. It was able to achieve the following results from 15 December 2022 to 11 January 2023:

• 15617 traffic fines issued;
• 1503 vehicles stopped and searched;
• 70 Compliance inspections to businesses. 

''As eThekwini municipality, we are encouraged that despite the challenges we experienced with some of our beaches, thousands of visitors still descended on Durban. This holiday season provided us with an opportunity to showcase other hidden gems in Durban and surrounding areas. The success we have achieved during this festive season has laid a solid foundation for us to prepare for the Easter holidays'', said the Mayor. 

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Interruption of water supply 

THE Municipality is faced with a challenge of water supply in most areas partly due to infrastructure damaged during the floods and load shedding. The municipality acknowledges and apologises to communities in the affected areas and assures residents that it is working tirelessly to address the challenges. The water supply challenges are mostly in the areas that are supplied by the Phoenix, Verulam and Ntuzuma reservoirs. The interruption was due to inadequate supply of Water from Durban Heights Water Treatment Works to these areas. 

''We are confident that the commissioning of Reservoir 3 of this treatment plant will eradicate the challenge of water supply in Ntuzuma, Verulam and Phoenix'', said the Mayor. 

Other areas that have been experiencing water supply challenges include Umlazi and Folweni. These challenges were caused by several pipe bursts from the trunk main supplying water to these areas from Chatsworth. The municipality is working with Umgeni Water, to finalise plans to replace this bulk pipe at an estimated cost of R900 million. 

''We call upon residents to work with us to address other challenges which lead to the disruption of basic services such as theft and vandalism of our infrastructure'', said the Mayor. 

Call for Projects for DFM 2023

 

By Fred Felton | 27 Jan. 2023

The Durban FilmMart (DFMI) has opened the call for a variety of projects in development for the 14^th annual Durban FilmMart.

Durban FilmMart now accepting projects from filmmakers. | Photo: DFM

The Durban FilmMart is a pan-African finance and co-production market which aims to create partnerships and help with the development and production of African cinema. UNESCO’s 2021 Film Trends in Africa Report recently named DFM as ‘’the continent’s best film market’. The Durban FilmMart will return as an in person event in Durban, South Africa in July 2023.

The following DFM programmes are still open for application:

Pitch and Finance Forum – Deadline 10 February

This is for fiction, documentary and series film projects with Africans in the major creative roles (writers, directors, and producers) seeking co-producers, financiers, sales agents, and funders are invited to submit their projects that are in development.

A director and producer must be attached to the project. The DFMI independent adjudication committees will select 10 documentaries and 10 fiction film projects from the submissions. These projects will undergo a 6-8 week packaging and mentorship programme prior to the DFM, followed by a pitching session to a panel of global decision makers at the DFM event with one-on-one meetings afterwards.

For more information and to submit a project visit:

https://durbanfilmmart.co.za/pitch-and-finance-forum-application/

Talents Durban - Deadline 17 March

The DFMI in cooperation with Berlinale Talents, an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, invites participants to apply for the 16^th edition of Talents Durban. Talents Durban is open to African screenwriters and directors with fiction, animation, documentary and hybrid projects in development – this includes all media formats such as film, television series, web series and content for mobile platforms. Those selected by a panel of industry experts will participate in mentorship labs, workshops, discussions, and specialised programmes for specific disciplines including scriptwriting and directing.

The Talents Press section invites emerging film critics and journalists from digital and traditional media to apply for mentorship and hands-on training. Prospective Talents must have a portfolio of their previous work and a current project which is in progress.

For more information and to apply visit:

https://durbanfilmmart.co.za/talents-durban-application/

Jumpstart – Deadline 31 March

Jumpstart is an incubator programme for scriptwriting presented by the Durban FilmMart Institute in partnership with Produire au Sud, Nantes, CNC and Institute Francais, South Africa. The programme will focus on project packaging for the international market; filmmakers are introduced to key techniques and tools for scriptwriting and storytelling processes.

For more information and to apply visit:

https://durbanfilmmart.co.za/jumpstart-appliction/

‘’We are committed to providing filmmakers with a platform which gives access and creates opportunity for growth,’’ said Magdalene Reddy, General Manager for the Durban FilmMart Institute.

The Durban FilmMart 2023 is presented by the Durban FilmMart Institute with principal funding from eThekwini Municipality and the Durban Film Office.