Call for entries to the Inaugural WGSA Muse Awards: Extension of closing date to 15 November 2013

Press Release

Call for entries to the Inaugural WGSA Muse Awards

Extension of closing date to 15 November 2013

Contact: Thea Aboud

Writers’ Guild of South Africa

admin@writersguildsa.org

 

Immediate release: 31 October 2013

 

Entries are open for the inaugural Writers’ Guild of South Africa’s Muse Awards. In its continued endeavour to unleash the potential of South African writers, WGSA has launched the Muse Awards to honour its members. With the growth in the South African film and television industry it is critical that credit is given where credit is due. Often it is an overlooked fact that it is the writers who are the backbone of the Film and TV industry, as without their vivid imaginations there would be nothing to watch on our screens.

 

“WGSA has created the WGSA Muse Awards to recognise the hard work done by our members in the SA film, TV and entertainment industry. It is an award by writers for writers, which finally shines the spotlight on the often forgotten custodians of SA arts and culture,” says Harriet Meier, Chairperson of the WGSA.

 

There are six categories for which entries will be accepted for the 2013 WGSA MUSE AWARDS:

 Feature Film

 TV Drama

 TV Comedy

 Documentary

 Stage Play

 Unproduced in any genre

 

While the main language of the entries should be English, short dialogue sequences in other SA official languages are acceptable as long as English translations are supplied.

 

As the Muse Awards grow, more categories will be added, including new media, gaming, animation, shorts and a category for student writers.

 

The WGSA Muse Awards forms part of the WGSA’s schedule of initiatives to strengthen the writing profession by offering skills development programmes as well as protecting the interests of South African writers.

 

Entry for WGSA members is R100 per entry.  Non-members who join the WGSA now will get membership until end February 2015.  Terms and Conditions apply. Entries close on the 15^th of November and the winners will be announced at a gala event on 22 February 2014.

 

For more information or to submit entries, please visit www.wgsamuseawards.co.za or contact the WGSA office on admin@writersguildsa.org, Tel: 011 888 4349 or mobile 082 575 6901.

Call for entries to the Inaugural WGSA Muse Awards

Press Release


Call for entries to the Inaugural WGSA Muse Awards

Contact: Thea Aboud

Writers’ Guild of South Africa

admin@writersguildsa.org

Immediate release: 4 October 2013

Entries are open for the inaugural Writers’ Guild of South Africa’s Muse Awards. In its continued endeavour to unleash the potential of South African writers, WGSA has launched the Muse Awards to honour its members. With the growth in the South African film and television industry it is critical that credit is given where credit is due. Often it is an overlooked fact that it is the writers who are the backbone of the Film and TV industry, as without their vivid imaginations there would be nothing to watch on our screens.

"WGSA has created the WGSA Muse Awards to recognise the hard work done by our members in the SA film, TV and entertainment industry. It is an award by writers for writers, which finally shines the spotlight on the often forgotten custodians of SA arts and culture," says Harriet Meier, Chairperson of the WGSA.

There are six categories for which entries will be accepted for the 2013 WGSA MUSE AWARDS:

•  Feature Film
•  TV Drama
•  TV Comedy
•  Documentary
•  Stage Play
•  Unproduced in any genre

While the main language of the entries should be English, short dialogue sequences in other SA official languages are acceptable as long as English translations are supplied.

As the Muse Awards grow, more categories will be added, including new media, gaming, animation, shorts and a category for student writers.

The WGSA Muse Awards forms part of the WGSA’s schedule of initiatives to strengthen the writing profession by offering skills development programmes as well as protecting the interests of South African writers.
Entry for WGSA members is R100 per entry and R425 for non-members, which includes automatic membership to the Guild for the 2013/14 membership cycle. Terms and Conditions apply. Entries close on the 31st of October and the winners will be announced at a gala event in February 2014.


For more information or to submit entries, please visit www.wgsamuseawards.co.za or contact the WGSA office on admin@writersguildsa.org, Tel: 011 888 4349 or mobile 082 575 6901.

Right2know plans to protest the SABC's canning of the Big Debate show ahead of national Media Freedom Day

The Right2Know Campaign is outraged at the decision of the SABC to pull the independently produced current affairs talk show, ‘The Big Debate’, off air directly before the start of this show’s second season. We note with disgust that the public broadcaster enacted this decision a mere two days before South Africans celebrated national media freedom day on 19 October, since it makes a mockery of the principle of freedom of expression in the media and amongst citizens generally.

One of the shows that has been banned focused on Right2Know's Vula 'ma Connextion campaign for the right to communicate. The show featured a robust debate with cell phone operators and senior government officials from the Dept of Communications as well as State Security focused on the impact of failed government policy and profiteering in undermining the public’s right to know.

The SABC’s canning of the Big Debate smacks of political censorship and an abuse of the public broadcaster to protect certain individuals' political interests. In its first season of 10 episodes the Big Debate offered viewers high quality programming and deep level debates on various current affairs pertinent to South Africa.

We wholeheartedly reject Kaizer Kganyago’s (SABC’s head of group communications) statement that the show was pulled for reasons of editorial oversight, and that news and current affairs programmes should not be outsourced. It is telling that the SABC suddenly discovered this so-called ‘lapse’ once the first season had ended, and the show had earned a reputation as a tough-talking debate where Ministers went to be ‘sliced, diced and fried’ . It would appear that the SABC wants to insource current affairs because the programme producers are too independently-minded for the broadcaster, and they have developed cold feet with a national election looming.

This has happened as the SABC is on a nationwide roadshow to ensure public participation in the review of editorial policies. The decision flies in the face of the current and draft policies which both commit the public broadcaster to reflect the diverse range of South African attitudes and opinions. At recent public appearances the SABC GCEO Lulama Mokhobo held up the Big Debate as the best example of this diversity.

The SABC is being dragged back to the days when it was a state broadcaster practicing political censorship ahead of the public’s right to know.

In the wake of SABC’s acting chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s recent call for the production of 70% ‘good news’ we are witnessing the continued erosion of the broadcaster's independence. We do not want skewed and biased sunshine journalism from our public broadcaster – we want real news, culture and current affairs!

The public are fed a diet of cheap American sitcoms, aspirational soap operas and poor quality foreign programming in part because of the perennial underfunding and financial mismanagement at the SABC. The Big Debate is a massively popular exception to this that gives South Africans a taste of what a true public broadcaster can deliver.

The Right2Know reiterates our call for an SABC that is publicly funded and free of state or corporate censorship of editorial content.



PUBLIC CALL TO PROTEST AT THE SABC:
In protest at the continuing censorship and lack of editorial independence at the SABC, as well as the canning of the Big Debate, we are issuing a public call to protest: Thursday 24 October 2013 from 12:00am-14:00pm outside the SABC in Auckland Park, Johannesburg. 

For further comment contact:
Dale McKinley (Cell: 072 429 4086)

Julie Reid (Cell: 082 885 8969)


--

Mark Weinberg
R2K National Coordinator
NEW CELL 0849930591
OFFICE 0214471000
mark@r2k.org.za
www.r2k.org.za

OUT IN AFRICA FILM FESTIVAL - 18 to 27 October - www.oia.co.za

OUT IN AFRICA Film Festival starts on Friday, 18 October and runs until Sunday 27 October (Opening Nights on 16 & 17 Oct) An amazing line up of films for everyone - check the website here Our Festival guests are doing a series of workshops -  the Director of Lose Your Head, Patrick Schuckmann, will be giving two scriptwriting seminars, one in Jozi and one in CT.  Louis(e) de Ville, the subject of the film Portrait of a Bad Girl will be doing a couple of sensational live shows and also a series of Burlesque, Drag King & Love Your Body workshops in collaboration with Dr. Eve, The Rogue Revue & Miss Oh - for more info click here

Blue is the Warmest Colour the top prize-winner at Cannes this year, has its African première with Out In Africa. Jury chair Steven Spielberg handed over the Palme d'Or to the makers of this 3 hour lesbian epic.  Check the trailer here   Screening at Nu Metro, Hyde Park in Jozi and at Cinema Nouveau V&A Cape Town - tickets are already selling fast and seating is limited! SEE YOU AT THE FESTIVAL Best wishes OIA TEAM

breaking news: SABC pulls The Big Debate before start of second season

The SABC has pulled the plug on the second season of its popular news
programme The Big Debate.

The first episode of the new season of the town hall debate show, set
to run for the next 10 weeks, would have aired at 9.30pm tonight.

The series of debates on issues ranging from health to education, land
reform to racism were to have taken place across the country.

News of the decision not to flight tonight’s episode – one of three
already recorded by the show’s team – broke on Twitter this afternoon
after host Siki Mgabadeli tweeted that the show had been canned.

“Today was supposed to have been the debut of season 2
of#TheBigDebate, unfortunately we’ve been pulled off the air. We don’t
know why:-(. I cannot express how angry I am. #TheBigDebate is off the
air,’’ she tweeted.

Mgabadeli later tweeted that it seemed the decision to stop the show
“came from the very top of the SABC … No explanation was given.’’

The episodes which were to have been recorded this weekend would have
dealt with youth, and water and sanitation.

Yesterday, the show posted on its Facebook page: “Does any political
party in SA appeal to ‘born frees’? This Sat, Big Debate invites 200
youth to engage our leaders. What should they ask?”

SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago was unable to comment immediately,
but undertook to respond to written questions from City Press.