AFDA

AFDA Durban working hand in hand with local entertainment industry

AFDA Durban’s new Dean, Brent Quinn, and his Heads of School have created a large number of collaborations with entertainment industry professionals, organisations and companies in the KZN to engage with their students and bolster the local industry.

Head of Live Performance School, Roel Twijnstra and Head of Film School, Richard Green have set up collaborations with Jerry Pooe from Wushwini Arts and Heritage Center.  The first years students Live Performance students are going to make a site specific theatre project at Ghandi’s house with the Shembe community and Dube High School together with the actors of Wushwini.  The event will be shot by AFDA television students and can be visited by the public on the 24 March at 14.00 at Ghandi’s house. Five AFDA Durban films have also been selected for the UHURU Festival at Wushwini Arts Centre including Q&A’s with AFDA directors and producers also on 24 March.

AFDA Durban students will also benefit from more project collaborations, internships and masterclasses.  These include the likes of Edmund Mhlongo’s TV and film projects from K-Cap, the KZN Music House where third year students will do short internships in one of the best studios of South Africa, and Lu Dlamini and Zulu Blue will give master classes for Live Music Performance. AFDA will be a venue for the best theatre productions made in KZN, a programme started last year with the winning DUT production “Silent Voice” directed by Nkanyiso Shezi and “Matti and Sis“ directed by Philisiwe Twijnstra. Menzi Mkwane is bringing his one hander “Last Cow Standing” followed by the award winning show “ Boy Ntulikazi”

Recently Durban graduates are also making their campus proud through the impact they have made on the local industry. 2016 Honours graduate, Liana Hassim recently completed her first independent film  “Gracie” shot on location in Durban with fellow AFDA graduates and professional  crew members. The film was financed by the KZN film commission. Producing graduate Amanda Dlamini has been snapped up by Moonlighting, one of the biggest international film production companies to work as a production co-ordinator, and Shannon Zorab secured an internship with the same company. Cinematography graduate from 2015, Luke Ochse is currently filming a number of commercials in Durban. Writing and directing 2015 graduate Nathan Rice is currently shooting a short film financed by the KZN film commission. He has had talks with producer Anant Singh with regards to his first feature film. Writing Honours student Mikhale Singh will be working with Video Vision to help develop a feature film script.

“The Durban graduates have made us exceptionally proud and with the upcoming collaborations we have this year paired with AFDA’s integrated curriculum and learning systems, our students are bound to succeed,” says the Dean.

The Durban campus is busy enrolling students into their various courses for the 2017 academic year. Visit www.afda.co.za for more information or contact the campus directly: 031 569 2252 / dbncampus@afda.co.za