KHUMA FILM DIRECTOR PROMISES TO INSPIRE MATLOSANA YOUTH WITH AI SKILLS THAT WILL SET THEM APART AS NEXT GENERATION OF FILMMAKERS

Meet Neo Ntlatleng, the award-winning filmmaker and former Zone 14 actor who is set to breathe new life into the 2nd Annual Khuma Film Festival which is set to return bigger and better in its bid to educate, inform and entertain aspiring filmmakers and the young people of Matlosana in the North West Province.

 For more than 20 years Neo has entertained TV and film audiences across the length and breadth of this country and beyond our shores.

Later this month, he is set to be the face of this community driven film festival set to curate a vibrant Khuma Film Festival set for the Phil Masinga Stadium Hall from Tuesday, May 27 to Thursday, May 29.

For those who might not know, Neo is best known for his role as Skhalo Sibiya in the SABC 1 series Zone 14. Over the years, he has appeared in various television shows, including 90 Plein Street, Soul City, and The Road, where he also served as a co-director.

Recently, he has been featured in Empini on Showmax and has spoken about his evolving career, including his willingness to take on more diverse roles. Beyond acting, this talented actor and filmmaker has been involved in various social initiatives, such as The Bonche Art Project, which aims to address issues like gender-based violence and teenage pregnancy.

As an actor with a vast experience behind the scenes and in front of the camera, Neo as festival director brings to the 2nd Annual Khuma Film Festival, an enhanced branded experience ensuring audiences experience a bigger and better version of this community-driven film festival.

Last year, the Khuma Film Festival organised by Sebabatso Media and supported by the National Film and Video Foundation’s (NFVF) through the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme festival educated and entertained learners from various Primary and High Schools in the area. This year will be no different with two planned school tours to some of the schools in the area as part of the festival’s community-driven spirit.

 The festival serves as a critical platform providing insights and up close and personal experience for young people to share with some of the country and the province’s leading actors and filmmakers as they get to  share their work, connect with audiences, and engage in meaningful conversations about the power of cinema and filmmaking as a tool for social change and cultural expression.

What can audiences expect from the 2nd edition of the Khuma Film Festival?

The plan is to use this year’s festival to bring a much more branded experience and to introduce what next year has to offer. We want to give young people a chance to interrogate some of these disciplines within the South African film industry. Sometimes it is only when you interact directly with something that you get to understand it fully. We also want young people to explore and express their own voices. Their own voices give them individual power and they can use this to tell their stories and defend their voices.

What is the plan for the young people of Matlosana who are eager to showcase their talents?

We want the people, especially young people, to leave the festival with great memories that will help them look forward to the coming year.What we will do is to share with young people more resources including new technology solutions such as AI tools that can be used in filmmaking. This is where the world of filmmaking is also going. As much as there are concerns regarding the use of AI by people who are already in the industry, but for those who are not formally in the industry, they are the ones that can actually benefit from AI technology. AI will allow people who might not have resources because of how expensive it is to make films and other products. AI is going to allow people resources because of how expensive it is to make films. Instead of needing 10 to 15 people to make your short film or animation, you can cut down costs by up to 50 or 60 percent now. For communities like Khuma, this is about exploring possibilities so that they become part of this industry that has in the past been too expensive to enter. 

How important is it for smaller communities to have a film festival that reflects their own communities and aspirations?

Festivals such as this one are good for audience development as well as talent discovery and exposure. It is really about people and communities that are away from big cities. So, when you invite industry people you get to expose communities to people who are like them but have made it in the industry.  At the same time the access to the panels and the workshops allows them to interact with these professionals and individuals.  This then allows young people to explore some of the interests they may have in the industry.