NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL (CONTD.)

CRAFT '97

The magical world of paper, with its endless possibilities, is the focus of Craftart at this year's Standard Bank National Arts Festival.

This simple fibrous commodity was once rare and precious. It was invented in China in the second century AD and was only introduced into Europe around 1000 AD. It is now produced commercially on a vast scale, making it one of the cheapest materials available to the artist.

Craftart '97

will feature the making of paper, as well as techniques for shaping, manipulating, colouring and using it.

Lee Ann Heath (a final year student in fine arts at Natal Technikon) and Maggie Butler will concentrate on the craft aspect of the teaching of papermaking, as well as providing an introduction to creative papermaking and bookbinding.

FILM FESTIVAL

The varied and exciting line-up of this year's Film Festival at the Standard Bank National Arts Festival in Grahamstown is strengthened by the attendance of Dutch actor-director Jeroen Krabb‚, Chilian playwright Ariel Dorfman and Swedish director Ingmar Bergman.

Krabb‚, known for films like The Turtle Diary, Crossing Delancey and King of the Hill, is also an accomplished painter.

Internationally-renowned playwright, Chilian expatriate and human rights activist Ariel Dorfman will present a lecture at the Winter School.

Bergman, a legend in his own time, will be honoured in a retrospective pro-gramme made possible by the Swedish Institute which has organised the trans-portation of several of his finest films to the Festival.

SA ACADEMICS

Two interesting aspects of film will be explored by a pair of leading South African academics.

Professor Johan Degenaar, philosophy professor from the University of Stellenbosch, will lead a discussion on How Film Creates Meaning through Images in the section Signs and Meaning in the Cinema.

Telling Stories: Film and Fiction

will be presented by Dr Lesley Marx, senior lecturer in the department of English at the University of Cape Town.

Aimed at helping people to understand their enjoyment of films by giving them insight into the effect film images have on the conscious and unconscious mind, the discussion will explore ideas concer-ning the way in which a story is influen-ced by the medium used to express it. The books on which the films are based range from classic to modern novels.

AFRICA FOCUS

A coup for the film festival and an important event for South Africa is the African Film Focus and the South African Film Focus with highlights from the year of 1996.

African Film Focus (R‚sonnances Afri-caines)

consists of a selection of the best in contemporary African cinema. Inclu-ded are most of the 1996 M-Net All Africa Film Award winners. This event is made possible by the French Cultural Institute of South Africa and the Film Resource Unit of Johannesburg.

HIGHLIGHTS

The film highlights from South Africa last year in South African Film Focus will give festival-goers an unusual and varied view on film-making talent and opportunities in the country.

BRIGHTON SHOWS

Two years ago, Jean Strange and some equally fearless colleagues decided that they would like to give their pupils a chance to visit the festival. They raised money and took a daunting number of youngsters to Grahamstown and everyone had a ball.

This year, Brighton Extension Produc-tions has grown considerably and some 60 performers plus a crew of 10 will take six productions to the Festival. These have all been performed locally to raise funds.

"This year we have 10 actors over the age of 18 with the rest varying in age from six to 18," says Jean Strange, who must deserve an endurance medal!

Shows include Urban in Durban, a marionette show; a sequel to Andik suitable for young children, and Spy You Later, a humorous spy adventure through life for pre-teens that has been touring the senior primary schools.

Other shows are Not Your Average Tom, Dick or Hairy, a cabaret about men; High Class, a re-run of a high school musical; Earthplan 3000, a zany space adventure, and Merlin, a musical about the great, legendary magician.

SURVIVAL TECHNIQUES

Most first-timers to `Festival' battle because they're unprepared.

You need stamina, an open mind, sen-sible clothing (particularly shoes!), a hot water bottle (no kidding!), an ever-expanding shoulder bag to hold the sub-stantial programme, articles you might buy during the day as well as jerseys or anoraks (the weather can change quite dramatically!).

If you haven't prebooked tickets, your first task should be to familiarise yourself with the programme and book FAST before the best shows get sold out!

Above all, have the time of your life!