In the context of my current obsession with the “South African film industry“–where the national film commission acknowledges that a paltry 8 to 10 high budget films are completed every year which nobody watches*–comes the news about a small, but sustainable film industry in the minority Venda-language.
South African public television screened a documentary about “Vendawood” last month.
I have not seen the film yet, but the PR suggests that the films, mostly comedies, focus on “ordinary life” and have “have become favorites around the country.” Budgets are small, and the actors are “the actors are friends and family members.” As for the old distribution and exhibition question, “… all their films are made for the DVD market and they usually break even within the first month of release.”
The documentary, while noting that films in Venda is aimed at a niche market, asks: “Is this the way to go for South African filmmakers?
HT: Ryan Fortune
* A rare exception is a film like the new fiction feature, “White Wedding,” which equaled the takings of “Slumdog Millionaire”‘during its opening weekend at South African multiplexes.
