The inaugural Bokeh South Africa International Fashion Film Festival, which took place in Cape Town, aims to challenge traditional form of film. to challenge traditional form of film, reports Bambina Olivares Wise.
“If you build it, they will come.” Trite as the famous line from Field of Dreams may be, the thought did cross Adrian Lazarus’s mind when he decided to create the Bokeh South Africa International Fashion Film Festival, which took place in Cape Town from June 5 to 7. Barely nine months ago, his short film, Steam 1886, had won the award for Best Art Direction at the International Fashion Film awards in La Jolla, California. Before that, it won the Best Costume award at the Miami International Fashion Film Festival.
The steampunk-inspired film that he co-directed with Nicky Felbert, would go on to be named Most Beautiful Object in South Africa for 2014 at the Design Indaba.
“That really encouraged me,” the filmmaker, who runs the Cape Town video production company, Mercury Productions, says. “I’d been a film producer for ages, and I had a background in events. I knew I could put it together. Plus, a city like Cape Town should be hosting an event of this stature. It’s the creative capital of South Africa.”
“It would have been simpler to call it ‘Cape Town International Fashion Film Festival,’ but there was already a Durban Film Festival and a Cape Town one. So the idea was to find a name that would translate easily as a brand, and ‘Bokeh’ came to mind.”
‘An aesthetic effect’
Lazarus explains that “bokeh” is a photographic term that is Japanese in origin. “In essence, it’s an aesthetic effect that results from rendering points of light out of focus. So the light kind of explodes, creating what looks like orbs. It’s one of the important film anchors used to enhance depth of field.”
German luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz stepped in to partner as title sponsor, and the Mercedes-Benz Bokeh South African International Fashion Film Festival was born.
As headline sponsor to fashion weeks around the world, including New York, Paris, Stockholm, Berlin and Johannesburg, Mercedes-Benz is no stranger to the world of fashion. According to a spokesperson for the company, Selvin Govender, who is divisional manager of product and marketing, Mercedes-Benz already enjoys an established and strategic alignment with the fashion industry as a central component of its lifestyle marketing activities.
“This inaugural festival,” he adds, “has provided an excellent platform that will continue to grow and bring the worlds of fashion film and fashion design ever closer.” And to seal their commitment, the Mercedes-Benz Award was established, which included a $5 000 cash prize, “presented in recognition of an uncompromising pursuit of quality, passionate design and innovation”. It went to Wanderlust, by Cape Town-based fillmmaker Ernst Heusser, who does mostly corporate and commercial work.
“It’s a whole new genre. Anyone who has a DSLR camera, a Mac and internet connectivity can shoot a film. It’s a challenge to the big players.”
The festival in numbers
500 international entries submitted
60 nominated
19 screened on the night
10 awards categories
The winners
Best actress – Alive with Kim Lysette
Best actor – The Long Road (Un Largo Camino) with Oliver Baggerman
Best hair – Quimera
Best make-up – Immortal Game
Best fashion – Lovers Game
Best visual effects – Black Era – Court of the Ants
Best art direction – Arcade by Kirsten Goss
Best cinematography – Pasos de Sirena by Manuel Portilla
Best director – Alive by Samuel A Martin
Best picture – Urban Hippie by Damien Krisi
Mercedes-Benz award – Wanderlust by Ernst Heusser
Full report: Mail & Guardian
Editors Note: something to know about and look forward to next year!
