Writers Guild of South Africa

𝗪𝗚𝗦𝗔 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 The Writers Guild of South Africa will be closed from 17 December 2024 and reopen on 6 January 2025. During this time, email communications will be checked periodically on a part-time basis. We wish you a restful holiday season and look forward to reconnecting in the new year.

𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮, 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘄𝗲 𝗡𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘆-𝗟𝗲𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 We are thrilled to congratulate Tracey-Lee Rainers, co-owner of Story Oasis and one of the founding members of the Writers Guild of South Africa, for her outstanding achievements! Tracey-Lee recently won the prestigious Content London International Drama Series Pitching Competition. Additionally, she was honoured with the Entrepreneur Award at the Leading Women of Africa Awards recently, recognising her outstanding contributions to the industry.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻/𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 - 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟯 By popular demand, join Zunaid Mansoor and Guests, as we continue our robust, hard-hitting, prismatic conversation and interviews tackling AI's impact on screenwriting, filmmaking, content creation, academic scholarship, public funding for the arts, and on our democracy and leadership. One Job Lost Is Too Much! Copying or Sampling Text Without Permission, Acknowledgement and Fair Compensation is Theft! AI Generated Text presented as the Fruits of Human Labour is Fraud! No, to Manufactured Consent! No, to Structural and Systemic Coercion! Yes, to Human-Centrality! 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀: Date: Saturday, 25 January 2025 Time: 10:00 - 12:00 SAST Location: Online (The Zoom link will be distributed via email by 12pm on 24 January 2025. Please add [email protected] to your contact list) 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: https://lnkd.in/gAFrQj7B

𝗣𝗨𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗘 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹 Robert McKee calls it ‘taking the forces of antagonism to the end of the line’, whilst others call it the ‘negation of the negation’. In this interactive session for working writers, Julie will explore what she calls the Value Framework, which is working strongly with the central theme or dramatic issue of your story. We will discuss why sticking to a central theme is so crucial in writing for cinema or TV, discuss ways to identify the central theme, and then to work with it to its strongest dramatic potential. 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 Date: Saturday, 18 January 2025 Time: 10:00 - 12:00 SAST Location: Online Registration closes at 12:00 pm on 17 January 2025. Please add: [email protected] to your contact list 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: https://lnkd.in/dKk3bTbp 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 Julie Hall is a Screenwriter, Story Consultant, Lecturer and Voice Over Artist. TV Series worked on as Head writer include BARE for Netflix, the dramedy 016FM for Showmax, Tempy Pushas Seasons 2 & 3, Mamello Season 1, Bedford Wives and Ikhaya Season. Julie has worked as Story Editor on multiple projects with SA’s film commissions, including commercial breakouts: Hard To Get, Happiness Is A 4 Letter Word, Keeping Up With the Kandasamys, Kandasamys, The Wedding, Trippin’ With The Kandasamys and Kandasamy’s The Baby. More recent releases include Indemnity (Netflix) and the multiple award-winning Valley of a Thousand Hills (Netflix and Festival Circuit). Feature film scripts as screenwriter include co-writing the rom-com Zulu Wedding which won the Festival Director’s Choice for First Feature at the Pan-African Film Festival LA 2020. Julie mentored on the NFVF Sediba-SPARK programme from its inception and served as Discipline Chair of Screenwriting for AFDA Johannesburg from 2014 to 2021. Julie has a special interest in Animation and works as a Creative Producer on select projects

Reflecting on the 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 From 25–29 November 2024, nine accomplished African film professionals, including 𝗪𝗚𝗦𝗔 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 Bongi Ndaba, gathered in Durban for the Future Mentors Programme. This initiative, led by the Durban FilmMart SA Institute equipped participants with tools to become effective mentors, fostering the next generation of African filmmakers. The programme emphasized building strong mentor-mentee relationships, preparing mentees for success, and creating a sustainable mentorship culture for Africa’s film industry. Access the open-source Future Mentors Programme Guide via DFMI’s website.

𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗱 A session on documentary storytelling with Peter Goldsmid, an award-winning writer and director. On 22 January 2025, he will explore the strengths and limitations of fiction story structure for emotionally engaging documentary narrative. Creatively dealing with reality offers challenges, unexpected joys and pitfalls; Peter will offer suggestions and examples of how to make the best of all three. 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: Date: Wednesday, 22 January 2025 Time: 18:00-19:00 SAST Location: Online (The Zoom link will be distributed via email by 12pm on 22 January 2025. Please add [email protected] to your contact list) Registration: https://lnkd.in/dKk3bTbp (Registration closes on 21 January 2025 at 18:00 SAST) 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 Peter Goldsmid began his career as a film editor and film critic, reviewing for The Star and other print media, before transitioning into writing. He was inspired to adapt Athol Fugard's magical play, The Road to Mecca, into a feature film—a project he had longed to direct for years. Ultimately, he accomplished both, and the film won Vita Awards for Best Script and Best Production.   Since then, Peter has continued writing, primarily to create opportunities for himself as a director and independent producer. His work includes four seasons of the documentary-based legal drama series Justice for All for SABC 2. His experience with documentaries also led to the creation of the SABC 2 mini-series Riemvasmaak, set during the forced removals under apartheid, which won the 2008 SAFTAs for Writing, Direction, and Producing.   Peter's documentaries have been shown at film festivals such as Cannes, the United Nations Association Film Festival, and Encounters. His 2010 documentary Difficult Love, made with lesbian visual activist Zanele Muholi, was broadcast by SABC and on Dutch and Swedish television, as well as nearly a hundred film festivals worldwide. More recently, Our Land, focusing on land rights activists from the Alliance for Rural Democracy, was the Runner-up for the 2023 Encounters Youth Experience Award.   A major catalyst for Peter's growth as a writer was his six years teaching screen, television, and documentary writing at AFDA, Cape Town, culminating in an MFA (cum laude) in 2020. He has since led documentary courses for both the NFVF and SAE. Currently, Peter is writing, directing, and producing a True Crime series on femicides for SABC 3, David Klatzow - Looking into Darkness.   𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://lnkd.in/dKk3bTbp (Registration closes on 21 January 2025 at 18h00 SAST) NB: Registration is essential.WGSA members may attend free of charge. We also invite members of our sister organisations Safrea and DFA to attend free of charge. Non-members pay ZAR 75.00

An open letter from the WGSA regarding the appointment of the new NFVF Council.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗺𝗮𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼 𝗞𝗮𝘂 | 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 Unearthing memorable characters 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 Date: 20 November 2024 Time: 18h00 - 19h00 SAST RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/dhawQzKQ Location: Online (The Zoom link will be distributed via email by 12pm on 20 November 2024. Please add [email protected] to your contact list) Registration closes on 19 November 2024 at 18h00 SAST 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 Mmabatho Kau holds a Master of Science in Media Management from Stirling University, Scotland as well as a Journalism and Media Studies degree from Rhodes University, South Africa. In her 20-year strong creative journey, Mmabatho has worked as a producer, broadcaster, development executive as well as a script consultant. Roles that have harnessed her love for story and helping writers find their voice as storytellers. Her catalogue of work, as a script consultant, ranges from novel adaptations to politically potent films brought to life through titles such as Kalushi: The Solomon Mahlangu Story. She worked on the Netflix hit, “Big Nunu’s little Heist” as well as Cattleya Killer (Amazon Prime, Philippines). Mmabatho’s creative flair has also been injected into the Lesotho based film; This is not a Burial, it’s a Resurrection (Venice Biennale College Cinema, Sundance Visionary Award). In 2017 Mmabatho was invited to co-mentor in REALNESS, a Pan African writing residency. Beyond Realness; she has mentored in Canal+ Poland’s Series Lab (2021), the Philippines (2019-2024), Maisha Producers Lab (Uganda 2019), Jumpstart PRODUIRE AU SUD (South Africa 2019/2020), For Film’s Sake- Attagirl Lab (Australia 2020 /2022), The Pro Series Lab (Kenya 2020), BoostNL (Netherlands Film Festival/IFFR 2020-2023), Dramatic Producer’s Lab (Ethiopia 2019), EAVE Access Canada 2022-2023. She also mentored Italian filmmakers for the Biennale College Cinema, Italia (2022-2024). In 2023 she was invited to mentor on feature film projects in Indonesia for the Lock X Full Circle Lab. 2024 brought with it an opportunity for Mmabatho to work as Development Executive for Netflix Indonesia’s Growth Creative Programme. Where she helped writers develop series and feature films for the platform. She was invited to be a Development Executive on the same programme for Netflix Brazil, working on four series projects in early development. In addition to being a mentor and script editor, she has had the honour of being invited to participate in The Torino Script Lab; EAVE (European Audio-Visual Entrepreneurs) and The Rotterdam Producer’s Lab.