Durban - Highlighting shared stories with other countries on a meridian of 25 degrees east longitude.
That's the goal of a unique, new film festival, Film O'Clock International festival, which is set to take place from February 27 to March 3 with five countries on the same longitude line, from South Africa up to Egypt, Greece, Romania and Lithuania, all broadcasting simultaneously throughout the festival.
Cape Town-based producer and actor, Keenan Arrison, and filmmaker, Dian Weys linked up with Mirona Radu from Bucharest who is a veteran in film production, distribution and international film festivals, with the new Film O'Clock International Festival being organised by Ceatrix Fama and Culture Reality. The project was developed at the Next Wave programme at the Deutsche Film and Fernsehakademi Berlin (DFFB).
This week Arrison said all the films, short and feature, would be shown at the same time in all the participating countries.
"Curated by representatives from each country, the selection will reflect contemporary issues faced by each country, focus on the discovery of new voices and highlight each country's storytelling trends. From the Baltic Sea to the southernmost point of Africa, Film O'Clock will bring audiences from the southern and northern hemispheres together," said Arrison.
He added that the festival would be online, which would also make it more accessible to a wider audience, eliminating expensive travel costs and the "by invitation“ custom.
While the names of the short films and features are being selected, they remain under wraps for now, Arrison said: "We want to tell South African stories, but the biggest thing is to share how similar we are around the world, more than our differences.
“We will have an international platform which is easy to access and you can experience a festival right in your home.
"It is a pilot event and we are excited to see what happens. It is about finding the detail on how to entice and attract and this festival is unique," said Arrison.
With the pandemic and lockdown affecting the world's film industry, Arrison said that innovative techniques were being introduced in filmmaking: "In this last year, there were people making films which were being directed from the UK via Zoom,“ he said.
The brainchild behind the Film O'Clock Festival, Romania’s Mirona Radu, said: "This project is cultivated with love and awe which I have both for cinema and humanity.
“I've put a lot of energy and effort into seeing this project come to fruition. I see this film festival as a cultural movement that is anchored in both cinema and global socialisation. We need Film O'Clock, a platform where we can empathise with our peers through art, no matter where we are in the world. This platform enables an international community to share their love for cinema and to learn more about their time-zone neighbours."
During the film festival, short films will be shown throughout the day, with a feature film being shown every night at 7pm.
Arrison said the selection of South African films would be officially announced on February 8.
For more information, go to the Film O'Clock website: www.foc-iff.com
Independent on Saturday