The inaugural Independent Mzansi Short Film Festival (IMSFF) in collaboration with WGSA will facilitate a discussion on:
"Remuneration of Scriptwriters and the exploitation by producers & broadcasters."
Date: 27 June 2014
Time: 14:15 to 15:45
Place: Maxi-Cineplex Hatfield, Pretoria (click here for more info about the venue)
The discussion will be led by:
The Executive Officer of the WGSA, Thea Aboud, who has been with the guild since almost the start of the Guild some 5 years ago. She is a strong believer and fighter for the rights of all script-, screen, play- and multi-media writers. Her constant involvement in the industry not only in South Africa but also on an international level, makes her the perfect person to ask about writers' rates, the Copyright Act, contracts and SABC residuals among other things.
Craig McKinnon, a.k.a. Graigy Mack, is currently a "writer for hire" whereby copyrights are held by the producers and re-writes negotiated by percentages based on budgets. He has been commissioned via local and international producers with differing styles and formats of negotiations. But he is also predominantly a feature film writer who can affirm the importance and relevance of copyright protection. And he has extensive experience with the co-operative nature of writers and producers working together on script re-writes. A skill every writer should adopt.
Gerhard Ehlers started making short films while he was still in school. Very Steven Spielberg of him. After school he studied 'Motion Picture and Television Production' at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and graduated with a B-Tech degree in Screenwriting and Directing. Since then his work as screenwriter as well as director has won a number of awards; locally and overseas. And he has worked with names such as Katinka Heyns. His experience include a varied number of genres such as teenage television show, KykNet reality show, a sport show, short films and feature films. Currently he is working on his own feature film and has a thing or two to share about his experience with an independent producer he dealt with.
And the session will be facilitated by the WGSA's Pretoria representative: Yolanda Lindeque-Strauss who has been a member of the guild since 2010. She is a self-trained script- and screen writer who has done many WGSA workshops (among others) and has become an experienced, commissioned TV script writer. She now has many upcoming projects of her own. As a social network butterfly she hears and sees the questions and difficulties of writers daily; from want-to-be's to professionals, both local and in the rest of Africa. And therefore the perfect person to liaise between the presenters and attendees.
Entrance: R25 (payable at the Maxi's Cineplex)
RSVP to: shinnelle@imsff.co.za
