One of the greatest stalwarts of the African film industry, Lionel Ngakane, died on Wednesday morning in Rustenburg after a long illness.
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) expressed its condolences to the Ngakane family in a statement on Wednesday and commended the invaluable contribution Ngakane made to the film industry in South Africa and the continent.
The CEO of the NFVF, Eddie Mbalo, said: ”Dr Ngakane’s passion for this industry was contagious, and his dedication has inspired generations of film makers, including myself.”
He said Ngakane dedicated his life and experience to the advancement and development of the film industry in the country and the continent.
”The South African film industry and the NFVF owe their existence to him.
”We are relieved that we were able while he was still alive to initiate a scholarship fund, named the Dr Lionel Ngakane Scholarship fund, with an annual R1-million committed by the NFVF, which will live on as legacy to his contribution to the development of film in South Africa,” he said.
”We will really miss his passionate and vigorous contribution to the development of Film Resource Unit policy and strategy for the distribution of films from the continent,” said Film Resource Unit spokesperson Mike Dearham.
Ngakane (75) was instrumental in paving the way for the recognition of African cinema internationally. He brought recognition for African filmmakers through his participation in the conceptualisation of the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers, which he served as a bureau member and regional secretary.
Ngakane’s role in the development of film in South Africa included his membership of the reference group for the drafting of the White Paper on film for the Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology.
The White Paper led to the drafting of the National Film and Video Foundation Act, which led to the formation of a statutory body.
Ngakane served the foundation as a councillor from 1999 to 2003, as an adviser to the M-Net’s All Africa Film Awards, and as a member of the panel drafting co-production treaties with Canada and France, spending more than 51 years working in radio, theatre, film and television.
He started his media career in 1948 as a journalist with the Zonk and Drum magazines in South Africa.
He then moved to the film industry in 1950 as an assistant to Zultan Korda, producer/director of Cry, the Beloved Country. The film launched his acting career and for the next 30 years he did theatre, television and film in Britain.
During this period he also wrote and directed several films, including the award-winning short feature film Jemima and Johnny and several political documentaries on South Africa and the African continent.
In his lifetime Ngakane received several accolades from his own and other countries for his work in the film industry.
This included Officer the Del Ordre National from the government of Burkina Faso, M-Net’s Marie van Rensburg Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Freedom of the City of Amiens, France.
Ngakane is survived by two brothers and three sisters. — Sapa