Best of Reel for Direction Craft awarded to Greg Rom at Gentlemen Films.

The SA Film Reel awards the very best in craft by Productions companies in South Africa. This month we asked Suhana Gordhan, Creative Director at FCB Johannesburg, to select her standouts. Suhana has also recently been appointed as the Chairperson of the Loeries, making her the first and only woman in advertising. Congratulations to all the winners.

Greg Rom | Gentlemen Films (Direction Craft)
‘Noodles‘

Shane Knock | 7Films (Direction Craft)
Surfshack ‘A Good Drowning’

Amirah Tajdin | Casimir (Direction Craft)
Minerva’s Lilies

Dani Hynes | Egg Films (Direction Craft)
ABSA ‘My Moments’

Terence Neale | Egg Films (Direction Craft)
Saki Bergh | Left Post Productions (Editing Craft)
Die Antwoord ‘Banana Brain”

Judges Comments by Suhana Gordhan, Creative Director at FCB Johannesburg

BEST OF REEL: ‘Noodles’ by Greg Rom of Gentlemen Films.
‘You know you’ve watched something good when it changes something in your world. And what “Noodles” by Greg Rom of Gentlemen Films changed for me is the way I will approach a bowl of noodles for the rest of my noodle eating time on this planet. “Oh my God, I’m going to eat the gushy, evil tears of a depressed woman,” I will think, as I slurp up those stringy, sticky bits of yum that slap my cheeks on either side. “Noodles” is a bit of bizarre and dark and funny and poignant and that’s why I love it. Greg Rom’s picture manages to capture the strangest, yet most provocative angle on our emotions and the sick way we indulge them. He tells without overtelling and rewards without giving you everything at once. It’s Ew. And Wow. And that’s what a good piece of film needs – your own emotions to have it out and leave you feeling a little weird and wooed at the same time.’

SPECIAL MENTION: ‘A Good Drowning’ for the Surf Shack by Shane Knock of 7Films.
‘There were some really good direction choices made in this little film. This story could have been told in a manipulative way but instead it’s told in an unaffected, matter-of-fact manner which makes it more endearing and worth watching. A great choice of narrator and great copy stitched together in a seamless, effortless way.’

SPECIAL MENTION: ‘My Moments’ for Absa by Dani Hynes at Egg Films.
‘The montage ad is hard to do and do well because for a viewer, it always feels like you’re standing and watching everything like a window display. But Dani Hynes manages to break that display window and make you feel something. Great, natural performances, lovely break in the scenes with real sound design. Never overdone and always honest.’

SPECIAL MENTION: ‘Minerva’s Lilies’ by Amirah Tajdin at Casimir.
‘There’s a breeziness and a depth to “Minerva’s Lilies” that got my attention. It feels like Hindu weddings and funerals and Arundhati Roy and Frida Kahlo all at once. It’s unashamedly feminine and delicate but talks about the weightiness of telling little women how to be and how not be – how and how much.’

SPECIAL MENTION: ‘Banana Brain’ for Die Antwoord directed by Terence Neale at Egg Films and edited by Saki Bergh at Left Post Productions.
‘I love the quiet-before-the-storm opening of this video – the gentle, pouring of tea. And then…the mayhem ensues. The psychedelic, trippyness and eyeball awakening is what we’ve come to expect from a music video by Die Antwoord but what I like most about this piece is its sense of humour.’

About Our Judge

Suhana Gordhan is a Creative Director at FCB Johannesburg. She entered the advertising industry in 2001 and has worked on some of the country’s much loved brands at agencies like Ogilvy, Black River FC and Net#work BBDO. Gordhan is passionate about the art of copywriting and loves parenting an idea well enough so that nobody corrupts it along its journey from birth to maturity. She enjoys building client relationships and is proud of South African creativity. Gordhan is a Hindu, who learned very quickly that there are no sacred cows in advertising. One of her favourite moments in advertising was pissing off a dictator, and winning a Loerie Grand Prix for it. Some of her other accolades include a Black Eagle, Gold Pendoring, Creative Circle Ad of the Year, a Silver Pixel at The Bookmarks and a Cannes Silver Lion. Gordhan has just been announced as the new Chairperson of The Loeries. She also writes an opinion column about advertising and marketing for Business Day, a South African national daily newspaper.