Matthew Krouse
Mail & Guardian editor Phillip van Niekerk has won the National Television and Video Association (NTVA) Avanti award for best script in the drama category for his contribution to the series Saints, Sinners & Settlers.
This was one of the few surprises at the award ceremony, held at Kyalami on June 3, that organisers claim was three times larger than in 1999.
Van Niekerk’s award was surprising in light of the fact that the health awareness soap opera Soul City IV swept the board in drama. Its latest series that concentrated primarily on HIV/Aids and domestic violence won best actor (Patrick Shai), best actress (Connie Chiume), best supporting actress (Anna Mart van der Merwe), best directorial team and, subsequently, best drama series.
Master of ceremonies Barry Ronge, in introducing the event said jokingly: “If I told you that in one year you would see Hansie [Cronje] and Allan [Boesak] sharing the rogues gallery you wouldn’t believe me.”
Ronge also noted that the floral arrangements in the venue, “pay tribute to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela”.
This set the tone of the evening’s entertainment, produced by David Lee and Shelley Meskin that was designed to emphasise the free-spiritedness of the TV industry. Highlights included performances by the choir The Black Tie Ensemble, Bongo Muffin and the R&B star E’smile. Ronge, brandishing his wit and wisdom could only be faulted for mistakably introducing the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology’s Themba Wakashe.
In other categories, the prime time soap opera Isidingo won all seven awards for a multi-camera series. Five comedy awards went to the Afrikaans series Vetkoekpaleis IV. In the same category Gilda Blacher won best actress for her appearance in the political satire Off the Record.
Most of last year’s drama awards went to the controversial series Yizo Yizo and this year its director Teboho Mahlatsi won best director of a one-off drama for his short film Portrait of a Young Man Drowning. Mail & Guardian Television won the award for best news/actuality programme for their documentary about a mail order bride, From Russia with Love, and also won best documentary for their production, My African Mother.
A judges’ special mention went to SABC’s Special Assignment journalist Jacques Pauw and film director and actress Katinka Heyns, who most recently directed the film Paljas that was shown at the 1999 Cannes film festival, was accepted into the NTVA hall of fame.
The ceremony’s major sponsor was Spoornet and similar to other years, took over five hours to be completed.
Results are available at ntva.org.za. The ceremony will be transmitted on June 17 on SABC3 at 8.30pm