MUVHANGO'S BUHLE TO MISS SAFTAS
LEADING SABC2 drama Muvhango is boycotting this year s 10th edition of the South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas).
The award ceremony will be held at Gallagher Estate in Midrand next weekend from Friday to Sunday.
The discontent with the Saftas stems from Muvhango apparently being undermined in the past.
The second night of the awards, a live TV broadcast on the very channel the drama airs, will be hosted by Expresso presenter Katlego Maboe. Associate producer at
Muvhango Morishe Matlejoane said the team decided to indefinitely not honour the awards until an improvement is noted in the category nominations and selection process of judges
Held under the banner of the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), and honouring the best of South African TV and film with Golden Horn trophies, the awards are marred by criticism every year that several best productions are not included nor recognised.
Matlejoane said there would always be room to question the nominations in any contest where judges were selected within the system and not independently.
For years, there s been growing scepticism around the processes followed by the organisers,” said Matlejoane.
On those grounds, the awards are not run to encompass every broadcaster and give a true reflection of the South African TV landscape.
There are people working alongside those who are nominated and people working for rival production companies, all leading to major credibility issues.
In the past, Muvhango has entered in every category in the soapies division for the Saftas, but it s been disappointing to see very little acknowledgement, if any, awarded to our hardworking team.”
She said it was not by accident that Muvhango had reached a viewership of five million plus in nearly two decades of running successfully.
NFVFs head communications Peter Kwele said Muvhago did not enter the Saftas this year, therefore as per the awards guidelines, only soapies that were submitted for entry can be considered for the awards.