iDidTht.com Craft Awards April 2018: No tricks or fancy techniques, just honest storytelling

Let me just get this out there off the bat, I love great stories which means how those stories are told is everything to me. Everything that helps deepen the narrative in a distinctive and compelling way matters. I enjoyed my time judging. It was a diverse grouping of films and crafts. There was a lot of work that had elements of greatness but some were let down by elements of mediocrity that were scattered inbetween. There was work that was very on trend, aesthetically beautiful and arresting. However a lot of this kind of work is all starting to feel the same. We as South Africans should be setting the trends rather than following them if we want to cut through.

The Direction Craft category stood out for me. There were some great films whose stories were told compellingly. My overall pick goes to a story that was told with no tricks or fancy techniques; Greg Gray’s “Chicken Licken Sbu 2.0” – this gets my nod. Aesthetically it is a collision of first world tech and African grit. There is an honesty about how it is told. The little touches of magic and humour sprinkled throughout add charm and keep you captivated.

• Mercedes-Benz ‘Upside Down Cinema’ by Siphiwe SJ Myeza and Mercedes-Benz ‘Crater Golf’ by Dirk van Niekerk both from 7Films – Direction Craft

• The Chaeli Campaign ‘Bet Chaeli Can’t’ by Drew Murphy from King James Group, produced by Direction Films – Direction Craft

To view all the winners and entries visit iDidThtEditorial.com.

Every month iDidTht.com teams up with a top local creative director to award the best in film craft by leading production companies in South Africa. Find out how you can enter your work: bit.ly/2xRORKE