Master class applications open
Comedy chops: Acting funny
This exclusive two-hour master class with acclaimed South African comedic talents Bennie Fourie and Desiré Gardner explores the essential skills for comedic performance. Participants will dive deep into timing and rhythm, the art of commitment and truthfulness in absurd situations, and mastering physical comedy techniques. Learn how to develop improvisation abilities, enhance listening and reaction skills and how to navigate different comedy genres from slapstick to satire. Fourie, creator and star of multi-SAFTA-winning Hotel and Taktiek, brings extensive experience in comedy writing, acting and directing. Gardner, with her impressive range across 7de Laan, Magda Louw and numerous productions, offers insights from both performance and head writing perspectives. The session will also touch on writing and directing for comedy as essential support tools for actors seeking to understand the full comedic process.
With Bennie Fourie and Desiré Gardner
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Documentaries: Writing fact like fiction
This intensive two-hour master class with documentary experts Jasyn Howes and Andy Petersen reveals the craft of transforming real events into compelling narrative storytelling. Using their acclaimed works, such as Boetie Boer as case studies, participants will explore story mining from case files and court transcripts, building character arcs from public records and humanising complex subjects without fictionalising facts. Learn the anatomy of hybrid scenes that blend re-enactment with archival footage, discover techniques for creating three-act structures from nonlinear material and master the balance between emotional truth and factual accuracy. Through hands-on exercises, attendees will tackle the legal and ethical challenges of working with real victims and living subjects.
With Jasyn Howes and Andy Petersen
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Short and sharp: Crafting the short film
This exclusive two-hour master class with acclaimed filmmakers Gabriella Blumberg and Jordy Sank explores the art of short filmmaking from concept to delivery. Learn the economy of storytelling, visual narrative techniques and how to create immediate impact within tight constraints. Blumberg, producer of Safta-winning documentary I Am Here and director of award-winning shorts like Volle bors, brings expertise in crafting stigma-breaking stories. Sank, whose short Leemtes en leegheid won Best Short Film at Silwerskermfees and paved the way for his full box-office hit feature Die Kwiksilwers, will share the strategic short-to-feature journey. Participants will discover how to fine-tune their short film craft as proof-of-concept pieces that unlock larger commissions and recognition both locally and internationally.
With Jordy Sank and Gabriella Blumberg
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