Film and television industry personalities were anxious to find out last night whether they stood a chance of receiving a Golden Horn this year.
The South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas) nominees announcement evening saw local stars of the small and silver screen gathered in their fancy garb in Sandton.
TV dramas were the big talk of the night, with season two of SABC1 drama Intersexions receiving eight nominations, followed by Room 9 and Mzansi Magic’s Rockville, which received seven and five nominations respectively.
The creator and producer of Rockville, Shona Ferguson, attended the event without his wife and co-creator of the show, Connie.
The father-of-two said their goal was to make the drama relevant to everyone.
“Our aim was that we needed to reach a broader market. We wanted to tell stories that people can relate to.
“That’s why we even shot in places like Soweto, Rockville and Sandton,” he said.
The Saftas are in their eighth consecutive year and have wide- ranging categories such as best short documentary and best student film.
The best feature film category pits local favourite Of Good Report against the international box office hit Long Walk to Freedom.
Terry Pheto, dressed in a white-and-navy striped coat dress, said she knew Long Walk to Freedom would be nominated.
“I think it’s one of the most important films in our lifetime,” said Pheto, who played Mandela’s first wife, Evelyn Mase, in the film.
“Honouring the film will be honouring Madiba.”
The official ceremony will be hosted on April 4 and 5 by the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa. - The Star