Best in Craft awarded to Bioscope Films, Giant Films AND Strangelove

In a time where you can’t tell Halloween from the US election, take solace in the fact that we are only 8 weeks away from saying goodbye to the year of the ring light and hello to 2021. Until then, let’s focus our attention on the incredible work being produced by the artists in our industry. This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by two of our industry’s very own ring lights; Director at The Star Film Company, Cindy Lee and ECD of FoxP2, Grant Sithole.

‘What are the IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards?’ Every month we team up with ad industry leaders to award the finest in South African film and production craft across these different categories: Direction, Editing, Cinematography, Animation and SFX, Online, Original Sound, Sound Design and Final Mix. It’s just another way that we make it ridiculously easy to stay up-to-date with who’s doing the best work in the country.

BEST IN CRAFT (Direction)
Awarded by Cindy Lee

CRAFT MENTION (Direction)
Awarded by Grant Sithole

Castle Milk Stout ‘Culture Will Never Die’
Bioscope Films | Fausto Becatti

“Talk about a film that literally gets under your skin. I watched it a few times. I felt compelled. And the more I watched it, the more I saw, the more I felt. The cinematography is rich thanks to the amazingly talented Thomas Revington, the images, carefully curated are powerful, the edit, a piece of magic all on its own. The director takes you on a journey, floats you into dreams and drops you back into reality. Often we have a beautiful film broken by a terrible narrator. Not this time. Fausto knows how to tell a story both visually and verbally. He manages to bring the beauty of a stylized piece without losing the honesty and integrity, and dare I say, the heart of the story. I love how he uses sound design over music to suck us in. The film, like the brand, feels seeped in tradition and pride. It’s not just a celebration of culture, it’s a celebration of filmmaking.”
– IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Cindy Lee, Director at The Star Film Company

“This is a beautiful piece of storytelling. The many facets of Zulu culture represented and narrated effortlessly. Amongst a lot more excellence, the sequence of the elevated guy falling back down to earth was brilliantly executed. Really well done.”
– IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Grant Sithole, ECD of FOXP2

BEST IN CRAFT (Direction & Full Post)
Awarded by Grant Sithole

CRAFT MENTION (Direction & Full Post)
Awarded by Cindy Lee

PHFAT ‘Whatever You Like’ (Music Video)
Giant Films | Paul Ward (Direction)
Strangelove | Xander Vander (Edit), Nic Apostoli (Colour), Charmaine Greyling (Online)

Comment on Direction: “In a time where it’s not quite always clear whether ‘I feel like I’ve seen that before’ is a good or a bad thing, I enjoyed the craft of what felt like a fluid combination of a familiar storytelling technique turned quite a way up by excellent craft and intertwined beautifully with the music. I was captivated from the very beginning (could have been the Cressida with the dope bonnet) down to the very last shot. Well done.”
– IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Grant Sithole, ECD of FOXP2

Comment on Post: “This pace of this edit makes what could have felt crazily chaotic actually land very easily and gave just enough for me to get the feeling of each shot and move along knowing all I needed to know.”
– IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Grant Sithole, ECD of FOXP2

“A visually breathtaking film, intimate, yet abstract in its handling of love and loss. This music video sucks us into a world that is both foreign and familiar. It’s dark and moody and incredibly sexy, so much so that at times I was grateful to be watching alone. It took me on one hell of a rollercoaster of a ride and made me yearn for my youth. A visual and visceral masterpiece. Congratulations to everyone involved.”
– IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Cindy Lee, Director at The Star Film Company

CRAFT MENTION (Direction & Editing)
Awarded by Cindy Lee

Sanlam ‘Runner’ (Director’s Cut)
Figment Films | Jolynn Minnaar (Direction)
Anthony Lee Martin (Editing)
*Entered by Figment Films on behalf of Anthony Lee Martin

“I’ve seen this execution before, but it’s Jolynn’s casting and beautiful handling of performance that warrants a SPECIAL MENTION. I was swept up in the emotion of the story from beginning to end. The grade is beautiful, and the timing and pace of the editing is superb. I love how even with so much going on, the focus always remains on the woman and her emotions. For me, it’s the music that lets this piece down. It doesn’t seem as considered or as crafted as the rest of the film which is a pity as that could have elevated the film even more.”
– IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Cindy Lee, Director at The Star Film Company

CRAFT MENTION (Direction & Editing)
Awarded by Grant Sithole

SHOWMAX ‘Gamechangers’
Egg Films | Adrian de sa Garces
Strangelove | Xander Vander (Edit), Nic Apostoli (Grade)

“This could not have been an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination. The edit and grade topped of what is clearly a well worked piece of VFX meets live-action. Love it.”
– IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Grant Sithole, ECD of FOXP2

IDIDTHAT GUEST JUDGES:

OCTOBER Craft Awards_Judges CINDY LEE_news

Cindy Lee is a director at The Star Film Company. Cindy’s fascination with human behaviour allows her to get performances from people who didn’t even know they could act. She loves telling stories and has mastered getting the most out of a 30” story, no matter the subject matter. Her humour is dry and sophisticated which is what made her an award-winning copywriter in her previous life and a much sought after director in this one. Having grown up around actors, thanks to her late mother Moonyeenn Lee, Cindy’s casting is what often gives her work an edge. She is a collaborator and believes in the power of us.

OCTOBER Craft Awards_Judges_GRANT SITHOLE-news

Grant Sithole is the ECD at FOXP2 and has worked at FCB, Ogilvy, Bakone and most recently at Avatar. He has worked on some of South Africa’s iconic brands including Coca-cola, Vodacom, Toyota, Old Mutual, FNB, Tiger Brands, DSTV and Standard Bank. He has also hosted Gman The Adman, an advertising and branding based podcast on CliffCentral.com. Awards include multiple Loeries including the Grand Prix, Pendoring Grand Prix, Cannes Gold, D&AD and Clios amongst others.