Plot your Festival adventure
Dream project on screens soon
IT’S one of the country’s biggest bucket-list cultural and social celebrations‚ but arriving without a plan has couch-surfing consequences.
Organisers of the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown have come with information on how to make the most of the experience‚ running from June 30 to July 10 this year. DRIVING Driving from East London to Grahamstown via King William’s Town you’ll experience a bit of good and bad – there is the wonderful new road from just outside King William’s Town to close to the Fish River cuttings, but from that point to Grahamstown, there are roadworks.
Be prepared for your trip taking an extra 30 minutes. FINDING A BED As a small town‚ Grahamstown gets creative when it makes room for the Festival visitors, so expect accommodation ranging from upmarket B&Bs to student residence rooms and self-catering houses.
Accommodation in the town fills up fast, with repeat Festival fans and artists reserving their favourite spots well in advance.
Download the accommodation brochure at https://www. nationalartsfestival.co.za/2016festival/travel-stay/
Accommodation in Grahamstown’s township homes is also available. For more details, visit: www.grahamstown.co.za
The Grahamstown Hospitality Guild not only assists visitors in finding accommodation but also grades all of their members’ accommodation annually.
Visitors can also stay in nearby Port Alfred (57km away) or Kenton-on-Sea (59km away).
Visitors can even blend a bit of history into their Festival experience by staying at the legendary Pig and Whistle Hotel in WHEN Shakespeare wrote the sonnet Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds, he probably never imagined his work would one day be translated into Xhosa.
This is what South African filmmakers Nkuli Sibeko and Leli Maki Esqhave did in their feature film Winsome . The romantic drama stars award-winning actress Masasa Mbangeni, of e.tv soapie Scandal fame , Graeme Kriege, Vatiswa Ndara, comedian Jason Goliath, Isidingo’s Maurice Paige and Loyiso McDonald.
It was made for only R350 000, but what it lacks in finishing touches it more than makes up for in its quirky and believable storyline.
The predominantly Xhosa script with it’s entirely local soundtrack, tells the story of a free-spirited woman, played by Mbangeni, who returns to Johannesburg to resolve her estranged father’s affairs. She discovers a lost Shakespearean play, Love’s Labours Won, Bathurst (45km). There are also game farms or farm-stay options nearby: visit Makana Tourism: www.sunshinecoastaltourism. co.za or www.kentontourism. co.za GETTING AROUND The Festival Hopper – which is free to use (although tips are gladly received by the drivers) – travels from venue to venue.
Cabs on Call also offer private and direct trips.
To book, call 083-658-7991. while falling in love with an author who is down on his luck but ready to risk all for love. It was a two-year labour of love for Sibeko and Maki Esq, and the duo from Jack&Jill Productions put their life savings into the film.
Winsome was selected to compete in the Pan African Film Festival last year, in the First Narrative Feature Film category.
Sibeko said: “I don’t think anyone knew how hard making an independent film would be.”
Their self-funded venture meant they were unable to pay the actors. Instead the cast were promised a 5% share in the profit once the film went to cinemas. But it didn’t make it onto big screens. Their only hope to “repay their debt” is potential profits from a Video On Demand deal with other African television networks.
Maki said: “We asked the actors to believe in a dream and we let them down.
“That is something we can never fix. The dream was too idealistic.”
The film premiers on August. Mzansi Magic in FESTIVAL FOR FAMILIES The Standard Bank Children’s Art Festival, hosted at St Andrew’s School‚ accommodates children from four to 13 years old, through a number of programmes.
From the day programmes for the littlies (including meals) to the boarding experience for 12and 13-year-olds‚ the Standard Bank Children’s Art Festival includes crafts and workshops, as well as supervised Festival visits for the older children.
In addition, plenty of familyfriendly shows and a Fun Fare operates on Fiddlers’ Green throughout the Festival. BOOK YOUR TICKETS Tickets to the main shows can sell out very quickly. The online programme and booking portal is already open for booking at www.nationalartsfestival.co.za
They go for between R20-R130 each and all Festival ticket purchases are now Snapscan-enabled. There is also a physical box office at the Festival to purchase tickets.
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