Ingrid Gavshon and John Matshikiza, adjudicators of the second 3 Continents Film Festival, which ended recently in Johannesburg and Cape Town, said the following in the summing up of the choice of prize winners:
“The judges have decided to jointly award the first prize to two remarkable films: Ochre and Water and Chavez: The Revolution.
“We are conscious of the need to rise to the political and aesthetic challenges posed by this festival, and award the winning films appropriately.
“Ochre and Water is beautifully filmed, excellently edited, has a magnificent, specially commissioned soundtrack, all of which are brought together to enhance a story of significant political importance in our times, and in our part of the world.
“Chavez is a tour de force of documentary filmmaking which cannot be ignored, both for its remarkable content, reminding us of unfolding political dramas with international implications, also within the times in which we live, and insufficiently interrogated by the mainstream media. Its realisation equally brings to the fore the importance of the documentary format in bringing immediacy to the key social and political issues of the day.
“Where Chavez shows the effectiveness of mass action in the face of minority intervention, Ochre and Water is highly effective in showing how a small, marginalised community’s struggle to preserve its identity, in this case the Himba of Namibia, can be effectively highlighted through the same media.
“There were many highly commendable films in competition, and the judges particularly wish to mention My Mother India for its compassionate perspective on a personal drama unfolding against a larger political backdrop, with inevitable cross-cultural implications. It is also beautifully filmed, and is worthy of a prize in its own right.”