DV8: A Renaissance of African Film
Ernest Mamogobo

The history of African cinema, especially South African, dates back to the origins of filmmaking. Yet a century later, filmmaking in this country is still in its developmental stages.

In 2001 with the creation of DV8, producers Jeremy Nathan and Joel Phiri took a proactive decision to establish a company that can build an infrastructure for South African filmmakers to get their full-length feature films produced in a secure environment. The goal of this three-year initiative was to develop, produce and market 12 genuinely South African digital films for television broadcast with the possibility of securing distribution on cinema. This arrived at a time when broadcasters such as SABC 2 concentrated strongly on African Renaissance through the showcasing of film.

DV8 is in business together with its sister company IMG. The project is a first of its kind in this country. It is structured in such a manner that each step within the filmmaking process is catered for; from the script to the screen. Its model encompasses elements that cover finance, production, distribution (television & theatre) and marketing. Even though there a lot of prominence being placed locally, the international market is kept in mind during throughout each step.