For the past three years, the Mercedes-Benz Bokeh South African International Fashion Film Festival has educated and entertained countless South Africans. With its fourth edition taking place this weekend, Cape {Town} Etc chatted to its founder and managing director Adrian Lazarus who lets us in on how Cape Town can – and is – changing the fashion film industry.
1 With the selection of films at this year’s Bokeh Film Festival, have you found that Cape Town has influenced any of them specifically?
As a global festival with submissions from 58 countries this year, we have not seen the films being influenced by the fact that the Gala Events and Conferences are being held in Cape Town. However, we have introduced a wonderful Award Category that’s called the Emerging Creative Talent Award. This year, the award focuses particularly on teams of young Creatives in Cape Town who have collaborated from many artistic disciplines to produce fashion films for the festival. Of the nine teams, most are driven by women and the results this year are phenomenal. As part of the brief, we asked for a landmark of the city to be shown. The winning team gets R50 000 and the Billy Preston Emerging Creative Talent Award. The Trophy has been made by Carrol Boyes and will be awarded at the festival.
2 What do you love most about this city?
I love this city because it’s my home. I love it because even though it has this sense of being a city, it’s still, in fact, just a town. It offers this grown-up side and yet still delivers a small-town experience in places. The natural beauty of being nestled between the mountain and sea is a very special quality that some might not appreciate. I absolutely love Cape Town!
3 If you were to shoot a film anywhere in the city, where would it be?
I love the shunting yards in Salt River and see a film being made along the tracks and in the old derelict buildings.
4 Describe the city in three words.
Cool, fun, chilled.
5 If you were to create a piece of film memorabilia that relates to Cape Town, what would it be or look like?
I actually did a film like that a few years back called Steam 1886 – a period piece of fantasy about Cape Town in the steampunk era (the 1800s) – check it out here.
6 What’s your favourite Cape catchphrase?
‘Jou ma se…’ [Laughs.]
7 Three Capetonians making waves in the film industry that we should be following online?
Check out Tegolin Markham who is an award-winning stylist, Ernst Heusser, a superb photographer and fashion filmmaker, and Peter Vester Cohen, another fashion filmmaker.
Photography Courtesy images