Jozi Film Festival 2016 entries are now open

Entries for the 2016 Jozi Film Festival (JFF) are now open. Local and international filmmakers are invited to submit their entries on or before 30 June 2016. The festival showcases documentary and fiction films, from short- to feature-length. There is also a student film category.

Now in its fifth year, the festival will be held from 15-18 September 2016 at various venues across Johannesburg, including the Bioscope Independent Cinema in the Maboneng Precinct.

Although the festival is traditionally held in February each year, this year it will be moving to September.

“Moving the festival is a strategic move,” says JFF founder Lisa Henry. “Johannesburg mostly shuts down over December and early January and we found it too rushed to deliver the festival we wanted by February. Jury members were being pressured to watch films while they should be taking a break, and we found that the February dates clashed with Oscar releases and the Oscars themselves.

“The new timing will also give university students more time to enter their work in the student category.”

As proud supporters of the arts in South Africa (and good friends of Lisa’s) the CN&CO team has always enjoyed the JFF.

“We try to see as many of the shows as we can each year,” says CN&CO’s Carel Nolte. “Not only are the films really enjoyable, it’s also important for us as Joburgers to support events like the JFF to keep the arts alive in our city.”

The festival has the full support and backing of Business Arts South Africa (BASA), of which CN&CO is a corporate member. Carel also sits on the BASA board.

This year CN&CO will be handling the PR for the festival.

“Getting the word out there is crucial for events such as the JFF,” says CN&CO’s PR guru Gabbi Rego. “We will be working with the festival board and our media contacts to ensure as much earned media as possible at strategic times leading up to opening night. Budgets are always tight on events like these, which is why we always aim to place content at no cost.”

For more info visit the Jozi Film Festival website or Facebook page.