A masters student in dramatic arts at Stellenbosch University (SU) is part of a team that was recently nominated for several awards at a Los Angeles (LA) film festival.
The student, Gizela Conradie, was assistant director for The Last Laughter Guru, a film which was created for, and screened at, the 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP) in Los Angeles. This was according to Jacques Adriaanse, producer of The Last Laughter Guru.
“The 48 Hour Film Project first ran in Cape Town in 2012, and I was lucky enough to be part of a team that participated that year – it was a fantastic learning experience,” said Annel Pieterse, film studies lecturer at Stellenbosch University. PHOTO: Alistair Seymour
The 48HFP gives teams 48 hours to produce a short film within an allocated genre, and using a specific prop, character and scripted line, according to the festival’s website.
“You have to really focus your ideas to work as a team to a specific brief, in order to produce a short film in less than 48 hours. So there is a lot of adrenalin…you have to manage your time really well, and there’s no room for interpersonal politics,” said Annel Pieterse, a film studies lecturer at SU.
Shooting for glory
The Last Laughter Guru was shot in Cape Town by a team of 21 filmmakers from 6 to 8 August, according to Adriaanse. It was screened for the first time in the Regal Theatre in LA on 22 August, where it was nominated for the best female filmmakers award, he said.
“It was great to work with people who’re still emerging in the industry, and to learn from the people, to see how they operate, which was such a bigger capacity than how we do,” said Gizela Conradie, a masters student at Stellenbosch University. Conradie recently participated in the Los Angeles 48 Hour Film Project with a team of 21 filmmakers. PHOTO: Alistair Seymour
“To be nominated as [an] SA team in a 48-hour festival – the LA 48-hour festival at that – is incredible. But the connections that we made were much more valuable,” said Conradie. “We are planning future projects together. I mean, I met with the director, and I am going to be working with her again shortly.”
Of the 110 teams that participated in the 48HFP, 28 teams will have their films screened at a ‘best of’ event on 12 September, according to Adriaanse. The Last Laughter Guru will be screened at this event. If the film wins, it could go to the Cannes film festival, said Adriaanse. Otherwise, it will likely be sent to other competitions and be made available for viewing on platforms like Youtube or Vimeo, he added.
While the team has been informed that their film will feature at the ‘best of’ event, they have not yet been told which awards, other than the best female filmmakers award, they were nominated for, according to Adriaanse.
“Our genre was a comedy and our character was Jeff Haan the guru. Our prop was a ‘wanted’ sign. Then the line that they gave us, that everybody had to use, was ‘I have been waiting for this’,” said Adriaanse.
The team has organised a Cape Town screening for The Last Laughter Guru on 17 September, which will take place through Photohire, according to Conradie.
Teams are sent to the ‘best of’ screening for the 48 Hour Film Project if they have been nominated for at least 2 awards, or if they have won an award, said Jacques Adriaanse, producer of The Last Laughter Guru. The Last Laughter Guru, the film which Adriaanse worked on for the festival, was nominated for several awards, including the best female filmmakers award. PHOTO: Alistair Seymour