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Film, theatre and TV production, as well as post-production are hands-on for these students.
AN old municipal building in the suburb of Glen Anil has been transformed into a New Age academic space by the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance, Afda, which is finally setting up shop there.
Founded in 1994 by Garth Holmes, Bata Passchier and Deon Opperman, the institution, which already has campuses in Cape Town and Joburg, has a list of South African alumni that runs a mile long.
Newly appointed dean Franco Human says all extensive research pointed to the fact that Durban was ready for an institution of this nature.
“It’s exciting times for Durban with much happening in the film arena, and the school has all the potential to be a key force in developing a sustainable local entertainment industry,” he enthused.
Afda is niche, well-equipped, internationally accredited and, judging from the staff contingent that has been assembled, is ready to serve as an arts community hub.
Heading the live performance school is the respected, multi-talented, award-winning playwright, director and actor Rajesh Gopie.
Film, theatre and TV production, as well as post-production are hands-on for these students.
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His counterpart in the film school is award-winning film director and producer Richard Green.
Green has a string of well-known films to his name including Spud, District 9 and Otelo Burning, with his most recent one being as assistant director on Anant Singh’s Long Walk to Freedom, now in post-production.
Janet van Eeden, also an award-winning scriptwriter and educator, has been appointed head of academic coursework and assessment.
Other core staff members of the new venture include lecturers Damien Tomaselli and Stuart Strydom. Tomaselli has an honours degree in media and communication studies and dramatic performance and has worked as a performer, editor and producer across both theatre and film genres. Strydom graduated cum laude from the Durban University of Technology with a Bachelor of Technology (Video) and has extensive experience in video and sound editing.
The production design lecturer is Sam Kelly, who worked for the UK’s Channel 4 and BBC for a decade before running her own production company in Cape Town for four years.
Afda chairman Garth Holmes says they aimed to fill positions with people who have academic and practical industry experience to bring a dynamic and hands-on approach to the learning processes at the school.
Franco Human, the dean of the Durban Afda campus, which opens in February.
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“Students can always draw their information from a myriad sources, but being taught and guided by people who have worked in their respective fields adds a richness to the experience of learning that no book or website can match.”
Human is an experienced producer and film-maker. He has produced many short films, musical theatre productions, a celebrity campaign for M-Net and the SABC, a television series for CTV and an Afrikaans horror feature film as part of his Master of Fine Arts degree (which played to rave reviews), to name a few.
He has worked with the lifestyle show Expresso on SABC3 and you may recognise him as “the guy in the green shorts” doing Zumba.
Human is clearly thrilled at his ensemble cast.
“Key among our goals is to interface the industry and the school. The likes of Anant Singh live here in Durban and there’s a wealth of information people such as him have to share with students who up until now haven’t really had a direct path into this industry.”
With the national perspective he brings, Human is certain the Durban campus will develop a distinct identity of its own.
Cape Town has long being about servicing international projects while Joburg has always been engineering – making things happen, if not in a sometimes serious, dark and dramatic way, explains Human.
The Durban building, architecturally structured to look like a Russian warship by the time it has reached its final phase, will tap into a diverse array of sub-cultural context – everything from African tradition stories to Bollywood musicals are at our doorstep, he says.
Also on his agenda is to develop an entrepreneurial spirit among students.
All of these goals are structured into the full-time three-year degree the school is offering to a maximum of about 70 film, television and performance students a year.
The school’s academic year starts on February 4.
For more information about Afda contact Milena Gevers at milenag@afda.co.za or call 031 569 2252.
