Tri-continental film festival comes to Wits
This is the first year that Wits hosted the People to People International Documentary and Tri-continental film festival on its premises.
The People to People International Documentary Conference was held at the Wits theatre from last Sunday and ended this Wednesday.
Jeppe on a Friday Director Arya Lalloo talks to Wits Vuvuzela about the film festival
People to People
In 2007, People to People was inaugurated by the Encounters and Tri-continental film festivals, the two leading documentary festivals in the country as they believed the number of films about Africa or the developing world being made by filmmakers from these communities, were not enough.
Conference organiser and Director of the highly acclaimed independent film Jeppe on a Friday, Arya Lalloo said the conference was about filmmakers coming together to share the tensions involved in documentary production.
“Issues around representation, access and ethics are some of the topics that are discussed at People to People. We are dealing with very resource deprived filmmaking communities, it is about building collegial bonds between the continent’s documentary filmmakers,” Lalloo said.
The conference was created as a space to develop the voices with a broader south focus but particularly with a Pan African focus.
Advice for Witsies and aspirant documentary film makers
Lalloo commented that student apathy upsets her, “you should be using time best time in your life to define yourself to expose yourself”.
Lalloo said that there are many options available for students.
“It’s not going to suddenly come to you in a dream. It starts with understanding that there are options available to you.”
