The University of the Free State (UFS) will today receive a special visit from the Emmy-nominated film producer, Carolyn Hepburn, also known for co-producing the Oscar-nominated film Life, Animated.
Hepburn will today help facilitate screenings, workshops, and master classes for up-and-coming and experienced filmmakers. She told BloemfonteinCourant that during her stay, which will include visits to Johannesburg and Cape Town, she wants to motivate local filmmakers not to be scared to tell their own stories.
“It is not as difficult as people think to produce a film. I want to encourage them to tell their own stories, make their own films. A diversity of voices is so important right now. People around the world want to know what’s happening, in Africa and specifically South Africa. At the end of the day it will help us to become a better global community.” “Today I will talk in depth about documentaries, filmmaking, the challenges faced by producers, the things filmmakers need to think about from all different angles. I am indeed very excited to be speaking to the students today,” says Hepburn.
“Today I will talk in depth about documentaries, filmmaking, the challenges faced by producers, the things filmmakers need to think about from all different angles. I am indeed very excited to be speaking to the students today,” says Hepburn.
Hepburn also helped produced the Emmy-nominated film, 3½ Minutes, Ten Bullets, which won the Special Jury Prize for Social Impact at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015. She says her love for filmmaking started at university.
She says her love for filmmaking started at university.
“It started at college, really. I was originally into literature and I happened to take a world cinema class and it literally blew my mind and made me very excited about filmmaking. I was fortunate enough to get an internship at a radio documentary company, I absolutely loved the deep dive into a subject and how to present it. I got to know lots of different people, cultures and ways of life and that is what I love about filmmaking.”
She says her trip to South Africa has been fantastic so far.
“I arrived in South Africa on May 31 and my trip has been fantastic so far. I did a couple of community screenings in Johannesburg, and arrived in Bloemfontein yesterday. I find the people in the country to be very warm and welcoming. It has certainly been a pleasure to be here,” says Hepburn.
Hepburn, along with social innovation strategist, Lina Srivastava, will be in South Africa from May 31 to June 10.
The filmmakers are participating in the U.S. Department of State’s American Film Showcase, which facilitates “film diplomacy” by funding the participation of American filmmakers in screenings and workshops around the world.
Mark Steenbok-Courant News
