The National Film and Video Foundation launched the Dr Lionel Ngakane Scholarship Fund in Johannesburg on Wednesday, celebrating the legacy of the South African filmmaker.
The main aim of the fund, which will provide bursaries and scholarships, is to assist emerging film talent to realise their careers and enable the development of a new generation of filmmakers.
The chairman of NFVF, Mfundi Vundla, said that putting South African film on the national and international stages depended on high level education of both the creators of content and the multiplicity of craft disciplines supporting professional
filmmaking.
”Through this fund NFVF aims to build partnerships that value the commitment to excellence in performance and service, the stimulation of creativity and innovation and the celebration of diversity and work that speaks with one voice,” Vundla said.
Ngakane, affectionately known as Uncle Lionel, was not present at the launch as he is recuperating after suffering a stroke.
Ngakane started his career in the film industry in 1950, also working in countries like England and Burkina Faso. He produced and directed Cry the Beloved Country and also wrote an award-winning short feature film, Jemima and Johnny.
The bursaries and scholarships will be awarded for film studies in South African institutions and at international institutions only where the courses of study are not available in South Africa.
The awards were primarily based on motivation and potential for future excellence and the appropriateness of the studies to the individual’s growth, Vundla said. – Sapa