South Africa's premier film, television and
performance school will be opening a brand new campus in Durban in 2013.
The launch was celebrated at the oldest and
largest film festival in Southern Africa, the 33rd Durban International Film
Festival on July 26, 2012. With the number of filmmakers, key industry players
and festival-goers the event attracts as well as the fact that AFDA student
films have screened at the festival for numerous years, it was without question
that the event was to be held at the main festival hub at the Blue Waters Hotel
on the beachfront.
AFDA: The South African School of Motion
Picture Medium and Live Performance was started in 1994 in Johannesburg with a
rented television, a broken VCR machine and six students. In 18 years, AFDA has
expanded, encouraged and inspired young talent to create relevant and engaging
film and media content to ultimately contribute to the growth of the South
African industry.
This is in recognition of the programme’s
distinctive pedagogy and curriculum designed by Bata Passchier, CEO and
co-founder: “The AFDA programme aims to bring to Durban the tertiary education
that is designed for the new millennium whereby the use of aspirational
individual learning results in unique hard skills through self-regulated
discipline, and integrated group learning results in the ability to produce
valuable products in concert with others. AFDA’s learning facilities and
equipment are aligned to relevant technological developments enabling our
students to achieve their learning goals, which are in turn in alignment with
relevant market trends. Ultimately the learning value is sustained through the
connectivity of the multi-faceted network involved in the programme’s process.”
Chairman and Co-founder of AFDA, Garth
Holmes says “The Durban KZN axis is critical for providing the region with an
international standard of learning. An international standard that is capable
of producing the intellectual, aesthetic, conceptual, attitudinal and technical
skills required to create the necessary commercial platforms to evoke Durban’s
unique cultural voice. We look forward to the contribution that the Durban
campus will make to the reconstruction of our national identity as AFDA continues
to use film, performance and tv as a tool for nation building and
entrepreneurship. In so doing, continuing an 18 year tradition of supplying and
growing the entertainment industry with Alumni who are enthusiastic,
hardworking and passionate about creating relevant commercial entertainment
products for local audiences.”
The new campus will be situated in Glen
Anil at 2a Highdale Road. An Open Day will be held at the campus on October 6
and invitations are open to teachers, prospective students, parents and any
local filmmakers and industry. Contact Durban-based Marketing Officer, Milena
Gevers for more information on 079 833 1682 or email: milenag@afda.co.za /