For immediate release
Monday, 24 October 2011

CAN YOU COOK UP A STORM?

The search

is on for South Africa’s first MasterChef!

MasterChef South Africa, M-Net’s brand new cooking show, is on a country-wide search for South Africa’s most talented amateur chefs! This popular entertainment show has wowed viewers in over 33 countries, helping amateur cooks to realiz

e their food dreams, and now it’s your opportunity to become South Africa’s king or queen of the kitchen! Do you think you have what it takes to whip up winning dishes under the scrutiny of South Africa’s leading culinary experts? If you can stand the heat in the kitchen, your journey begins today!

M-Net’s Channel Head Pierre Cloete says that the entry process has been made as efficient as possible: “The MasterChef series has proven to be so popular around the world and with M-Net viewers that we expect a lot of interest in the show. As such, we’ve tried to keep the entry process for wannabe contestants as easy as possible. We have introduced a simple pre-entry mechanism. All that contestants need to do is fill out their entry forms as accurately as possible, and wait for our notification with more details about auditions. This will allow them a fast-track through the registration process on their audition day. After that it’s purely down to the cooking!”

“Auditions are open to the public who have not pre-entered on the day as well, but M-Net encourages contestants to pre-enter online if they would like to speed up their registration and audition process”, Cloete adds. Online entries close on 14 November.

Contestants who would like to be fast-tracked on the day can enter online on www.mnet.co.za and follow the MasterChef SA links. Once you submit your entry form you will receive an sms and email notification to confirm receipt of your entry. You will then be contacted again by the middle of November to confirm yo

ur audition date, venue, time and food specifications for your audition. Every person who fills out an entry form will be registered for auditions. Alternatively one can complete the entry forms in YOU, Huisgenoot or Drum magazines and follow the instructions indicated in the magazine.

MasterChef South Africa will be holding open auditions in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town this December at the following venues:

JOHANNESBURG: Saturday, 3 December at Montecasino
CAPE TOWN: Saturday, 10 December at Southern Sun The Cullinan,
DURBAN: Saturday, 17 December at the Suncoast  Casino

So how does the selection process work? You will be asked to prepare a cold dish which will be tasted by a member of the MasterChef SA professional preliminary judging panel. There are certain requirements for the dish as stipulated below:

· One must bring all products in an insulated cooler to maintain the cold chain.
· Products not suitably chilled will result in the judges not tasting your dish; which could mean disqualification.
· One must transport all food products in plastic containers.
· Glass containers will not be allowed in the competition area.
· Present your dish on a plain white plate that you have brought with you.
· NO actual cooking is allowed; the dish must be a cold dish.
· All that is required of you is to plate the food on the dish and then present to the judges within the time limit given.

Based on this dish you will either progress further in the audition process or not. All preliminary judges are SACA-certified professionals, and the show’s permanent panel of judges has yet to be announced. Contestants must also be able to make themselves available for possible call-back auditions the following day.

For more information about MasterChef South Africa and how to enter, visit www.mnet.co.za, check out the MasterChef SA Facebook page or follow us on Twitter @MasterChef_SA!

-ends

For media queries, please contact Ingrid Engelbrecht – ingrid.engelbrecht@mnet.co.za / 011 686 6020

South Africa’s Next Filmmaker Competition 2011 for aspiring filmmakers, in partnership with General Post and Curious Pictures with Industry sponsorship by Digital Film, Aces Up, Finetune, Ikaya Costumes and the Bladeworks.

After 8 weeks mentoring our five aspiring filmmaker teams, they have been put through their paces and made to hustle their way scouting locations, rehearsing actors, production design, special effects, sound design and grading.
The final films were judged by three industry professionals and their production mentors and the winners Sbu Zuma and Sihle Ngcamu for “What’s In A Name” and Keolebongile Moaisi for “The Intersection” were announced on October 13th at

the Da Vinci Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg for an audience of filmmakers, producers, creatives and representatives of the Department of Trade and Industry.

What we went in search of…..

Talented young filmmakers looking for a break into the exciting world of television broadcast production.
The competition provided young filmmakers with less than three years experience in the industry the chance to showcase their skills to the wider television community; experience the reality of creating a short film production under the mentorship of industry experts and compete for the chance to win a coveted paid internship working for one of South Africa’s premier production houses, Curious Pictures.

Why we put our backs into it….

South Africa has a wealth of production and post-production talent available. This is born out by the increasing number of international productions being shot in South Africa using local crew and the recent international success of South African films and series such as Tsotsi, Skoonheid, District 9, Hopeville, the television series, and others. If we want to build on this and create a sustainable industry producing quality content we have to develop young talent.

The competition was conceptualized by General Post in 2010 and embraced by Curious Pictures. It stemmed from the need to give young filmmakers a platform to showcase their talent and create opportunities for growth and mentoring.

The competition received over 70 entries and provided the five finalists with the opportunity to produce their own script and vision for their film production under the mentorship of top industry creatives and suppliers. The winning team receives the opportunity to win a 1-year paid internship with Curious Pictures. Providing a great opportunity for young filmmakers to get a foot in the door and learn from some of South Africa’s top professionals.

Keep watching this space for more internship updates.

Internship winners Sihle Ngcamu, Keolebogile Moaisi, Sbu Zuma

Luscious Dozi (finalist), Mariki Van Der Walt (Curious Pictures), Ian Jackson (finalist), Sarah Jurgens (SANTF PM), Sbu Zuma (Winner), Keolebogile Moaisis (winner), Kagiso Mako (finalist) Harriet Gavshon (Curious Pictures) Front: Sihle Ngcamu (winner), Kirsty galliard (General Post), JP Potgieter (Curious Pictures)

Curious Pictures is proud to have four featured productions from our archive screening at the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts event REPUBLIC: art, authority,nationhood from September 21- 25th at Cape Town City Hall.

In the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts’ latest venture in combining stimulating, innovative practice with critical thinking, and providing space for discussion; writers, choreographers, social analysts, visual artists and dramatists come together to consider notions of Republic. The series of performances, exhibitions, discussions and film screenings around issues of nationhood, power, authority and the body politic will take place, significantly, in various rooms at the Cape Town City Hall – a space evocative of meanings around ‘Republic’ of all kinds.

Joined by writers and artists from outside the country, this event intends to touch on some of the salient ideas globally, while pursing issues of aesthetics and relevance from a local vantage point. “The connection between art-making and issues of nationhood and of authority is fertile ground and South African artists have historically brought much to bear on the subject internationally,” says Jay Pather, Director of GIPCA.

The following four productions will be screening among the featured events at REPUBLIC:

THE LAWYER, THE FARMER & THE CLERK (1993) (26 min.)
(Director: Clifford Bestall) (Weekly Mail Television)

THE DEADLINE (1996) (53 min.)
(Director: David Jammy) (Mail & Guardian Television)

AFTER THE DEALINE (2006) (52 min.)
(Directors: C.A. van Aswegen, David Jammy & Harriet Gavshon) (Curious Pictures)

THE GREAT COUNTING: THE MAKING OF CENSUS ’96 (1997) (24 min.)
(Directors: Brenda Goldblatt & Robert Thorpe)

Admission to the entire programme is free, but space is limited and booking is essential.

Please contact fin-gipca@uct.ac.za or 021 480 7156 to ensure a pass. Pass holders will be given preference to events until 15 minutes prior to start.
For more information, please visit www.gipca.uct.ac.za.

M-Net has confirmed that Masterchef SA will be produced by Curious Pictures in collaboration with Lucky Bean Media. The decision was made after M-Net invited 14 production companies to pitch their ideas for this delectable show. As already seen on television, auditions for Masterchef contestants will be held in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. More information will be available soon. We’re going to cook up a storm, but before you rush to get your ingredients, we’ll give you the recipe for action.

Keep an eye on this page and watch M-Net and M-Net HD to stay updated.

4PLAY:SEX TIPS FOR GIRLS will screen two episodes from the first season at
The RomaFictionFest, a leading international festival dedicated to the world of Television drama. The 5th edition will take place in Rome from Sunday September 25 to Friday September 30, 2011 at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, the Auditorium in Via della Conciliazione and at the Casa del Cinema.

The first season of 4PLAY originally screened in 2010 on local broadcaster etv and has had a loyal following for all 26 episodes.

“The Axe and the Tree: Zimbabwe’s Legacy of Political Violence” will screen for free on September 8th 2011 at 6:30pm as part of the Goethe Institute’s film festival über(W)unden – Art in Troubled Times.

Between April and June 2008, a ‘tsunami of violence’ was visited on the people of Zimbabwe. In April 2008, for the first time in 30 years, the ruling ZANU -PF was defeated in parliamentary elections. “The Axe and the Tree” tells a universal story of the challenges faced by victims of organized violence and torture. But in Zimbabwe, this is compounded by systemic impunity for these violations, and the ongoing threat of new violence, as across the country, victims are forced to share their streets and communities with known perpetrators. The Axe and the Tree is a 42 minute documentary produced by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), Curious Pictures and Pivot Pictures.

Additional films will be screened as part of the Goethe-Institut’s project über(W)unden – art in troubled times, a conference and interventions from 6. – 11. September 2011 on artistic approaches to crisis and trauma. More information: www.goethe.de/johannesburg

It’s Go time for our Finalists! We received an overwhelming amount of submissions and some really interesting and thought-provoking scripts for “SA’s Next Top Filmmaker”. While the process of whittling down the submissions to get to our top 5 finalists was a challenge, there can only be one winner. Our top five finalists are experiencing the production crunch and getting down and dirty to bring their scripts to the screen. One of these young filmmakers will be selected for a year internship with Curious Pictures. Watch this space or check out www.facebook.com/Generalpost to see how they are progressing.

A high-profile entertainment initiative for Africa, Inside Story will reach a first-year audience of at least 50 million people—and put science at the center of a conversation too often clouded by stigma and misinformation.

At the heart of Inside Story is a feature-length film that combines a fictional dramatic story with state-of-the-art documentary animation. Developed in collaboration with experts and activists worldwide, the film takes audiences—and in particular teens and young adults—on an unforgettable journey. For many, the film offers a first look inside the human body and a fact-based understanding of the immune system, HIV, and antiretroviral therapies.

Camera’s began rolling with Director Rolie Nkiwe and DOP Willie Nel leading the production team and award-winning editor Melanie Jankes- Golden.

Storyline: A young soccer player from Zambia travels to South Africa in pursuit of a professional career. He falls in love with a young woman from Nigeria and is on the verge of stardom when both learn that they have been infected with HIV.

Production partners include: Curious Pictures, South Africa, one of the continent’s top producers of film and television; Media for Development International, Tanzania, a major producer and distributor of educational media; The Orphanage, one of Hollywood’s premiere visual effects companies (Harry Potter, Iron Man), which is donating its services; and others.

Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership (discoveryglobaled.org) is a nonprofit, public charitable organization founded by Discovery Communications.

Please join Inside Story on Facebook