Many TV-watching South Africans remember the glorious hour each evening between 6 and 7pm when regular SABC programming would give way to M-NET’s Open Time – a channel one would otherwise have to pay for. Lo-Def Film Factory’s Open Time project was developed to create a framework for a group of young creatives across Cape Town to experiment with low-budget, lo-fi filmmaking from within their homes and communities. When in-person Digital Storytelling workshops were interrupted by the pandemic, mentorship and collaboration took place entirely over WhatsApp during lockdown. The filmmakers were equipped with basic filmmaking tools, resources, green screens and props to enable them to play with performing, directing, beat-making, voice-over, stop-motion animation and editing. This project is an eclectic collection of video to amuse and confound. Filmed entirely on phones, the work recreates the experience of channel-hopping, spanning the bizarre, the surreal and the chaotic – providing some much-needed ‘open time’ from the grief, fear and panic of the current moment.
Young Filmmakers:
Nathan Nkwamga
Paulina Bisala
Victor Jakara
Gomez Bakwene
Jeremiah Ndala
Lionel Zolo
Peacemore Patsika
Lisa Makumese
Milene Verwey
Nandi Tavares Calburn
Zia Francis
Quincy Vearey
Halo Verwey
Stembiso Sibanda
Paulina Bisala
Victor Jakara
Gomez Bakwene
Jeremiah Ndala
Lionel Zolo
Peacemore Patsika
Lisa Makumese
Milene Verwey
Nandi Tavares Calburn
Zia Francis
Quincy Vearey
Halo Verwey
Stembiso Sibanda