D'ARTS Magazine, by the
Durban Arts Association

VUKA AWARDS

South African film-makers are invited to enter the Vuka Awards which give re-cognition to the most creative public ser-vice announcement. A PSA is a 30, 45 or 60 second `commercial' for organisa-tions such as charities, welfare and non-profit making organisations. Free PSA-specific workshops aimed at teaching newcomers to the television genre will take place at the Playhouse on March 24. Attendance is free so enrol early. Phone Julie Coghlan on (021) 685-3260 for details. (Preference given to bona-fide students of tertiary institutions.)

SA FILM

Following the success of the NSA's 1997 Film Festival, the society has decided to hold another festival to raise funds for the NSA's Outreach Programme for un-derprivileged children and adults.

This venture, which has been running for eight years, needs public support to continue its weekly art classes in street shelters, children's homes and hospitals.

Video Vision and Berea Cine Centre have generously donated the proceeds of seven SA film premiéres recently chosen by producer Anant Singh at the Cannes, Montreal and Toronto film festivals.

Season tickets are available for a donation of R175 (7 movies x R25). All seats are being sold to season ticket holders but single tickets at R25 (R15 pensioners) may be available on the night if season ticket holders cancel bookings.

PIGEONS

The first film on the programme will be Clay Pigeons on March 14. Set in Mercer, Montana, it sees easy-going Clay Bidwell's life change as he endures a comically hellish odyssey. This erupts when his best friend Earl doesn't take too kindly to the news that he has been sleeping with Earl's wife!

The darkly comedic thriller marks the feature-film directorial debut of award-winning director of music videos and commercials, David Dobkin.

Other films planned are Celebrity (Woody Allen's latest), Get Real (Edinburgh Festival award winner), Woodlanders (based on a Thomas Hardy story) and Bertolucci's Besieged.

All showings will be at the Berea Cine Centre at 19h45. Tickets from Gloria or Gail at the NSA shop on 22-3686.

CATHERINE'S TOPS

As manager for Troubadour Productions costume hire, Catherine Khuzwayo's job is a busy one - particularly over Christ-mas and New Year when Father Christ-mas costumes abound like locusts and people have wild theme parties!

However, the end of last year saw her even busier than usual as she acted as chaperone for several child actors on the set of I Dreamed of Africa. All told, she had six charges: Nkulekhani Ngidi, Lwazi Jali, Michael Brosnihan and Nadine Maharaj (from Durban) as well as KTV presenter Shannon Ezrajacowitz and Paul Slabolepzy's daughter Frances.

No stranger to film sets, having worked on Waati and the IBM advert involving Ladysmith Black Mambaso, Catherine understands the pressures, demands and disciplines involved.

"Having children of her own and in the course of her work having to interface with clients' children and schoolchildren of all ages, I felt she was the ideal choice," says her boss, casting agent Peter Gardner. "On film sets, child actors can often be away from home for at least three weeks. Catherine's very much a mother figure and responds well to youngsters' needs, likes and dislikes while keeping a quietly strong grasp on discipline."

Right now, Catherine's up to her ears in Easter Bunnies!

LIBRARY LUNCH HOURS

The Durban Municipal Library's free Tuesday lunch-hour film programme features a diverse variety of enter-tainment in March.

Mar 2 (12h50): Exploring Cape Town. The Garden Route

Mar 9 (12h30): Shine - the highly-acclimed movie inspired by the true story of Australian child prodigy David Helfgott. Geoffrey Rush received an 1996 Academy Award for best actor.

Mar 16 (13h00): Century into the Unknown. Part 1 - The Heroes and Fools - looks back over the last 100 years.

Mar 23 (12h30): The Madness of King George - disorder and scandal are hardly strangers to the British monarchy.

Mar 30 (13h00): The Three Tenors-Concert in Paris 1998 (Part 1) - Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti with James Levine and featuring the Orchestre de Paris.

IN MEMORIAM

D'ARTS is sad to acknowledge the death last month of James Polley. Director of the annual Cape Town International Film Festival and the Standard Bank National Arts Film Festival in Grahamstown, James Polley also worked closely with Ros Sarkin and the Durban International Film Festival. His knowledge and expertise was widely respected.

EVERY REASON TO CONNECT TO M-NET!

If you aren't already connected to M-Net, then this month's crop of films is sure to inspire you to rush off in search of the nearest decoder outlet!

There are brilliant movies such as Oscar-winner Shine, a heart-wrenching story about a brilliant pianist driven to the edge of madness by his father starring Geoffrey Rush, Lynn Redgrave and John Gielgud. Directed by Martin Scorsese and focusing on the Dalai Lama Kundun has superb cinemato-graphy while Ghosts of Mississippi is a fine vehicle for Alec Baldwin, Whoopie Goldberg and James Woods.

Among the classics are The Guns of Navarone with Gregory Peck and David Niven and Citizen Kane with Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton.

Soon to be regarded as classic are On Golden Pond which won oscars for best acting for Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda; multiple Oscar-winner Dances with Wolves with Kevin Costner and Driving Miss Daisy starring Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman which won four Oscars and three Golden Globes.

Another multi-award winner is The Last Emperor starring John PG Lone, Joan Chen and Peter O'Toole. Bernardo Bertolucci's visually stunning epic deals with the last emperor of China, Pu Yi, who assumed power at the age of three.

Some good dramas include The Apostle, with Robert Duvall, Farrah Fawcett and Miranda Richardson about a flawed preacher whose life falls apart.

Marvin's Room with Meryl Streep, Leonard DiCaprio, Dianne Keaton and Robert de Niro sees two sisters trying to mend their relationship while coping with a bed-ridden father and an arsonist son. The acclaimed Australian film Dead Heart stars Bryan Brown and tackles white/aboriginal issues head-on.

Other multiple award-winners are Secrets and Lies starring Brenda Blethyn and Marianne Jean-Baptiste and The English Patient with Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas and Juliette Binoche./font>

IN BETWEEN

The Durban Centre for Photography (DCP) at the NSA Galleries is hosting an exhibition of colour photography by Dave Southwood. Titled In Between, it runs until March 11 and explores the space between pairs of pictures.

KZN-2-NITE ARTS

Every Friday, the regional television station KZN-2-Nite is given over to entertainment. Producer of this slot is Clive Read who uses D'ARTS as a guideline for the content of his pro-gramme. Make sure you get in D'ARTS!

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