Rapelang Ntamu wins 2020 Jozi Film Fest Discovery Rise competition

The competition called on young filmmakers to submit their rationale for participation along with examples of their works for the chance to tell the incredibly impactful stories of some of South Africa’s most vulnerable youths.

Rapelang Ntamu’s film, Learning to Teach, tells the story of Nthabiseng, a student teacher who joined the Save the Children South Africa District Based Recruitment Strategy (DBTRS) Project in Qwa-Qwa, Free State. The project takes student teachers from various universities to test and apply differential teacher training in the district. The aim: to keep teachers informed, prepared to handle their classrooms and employed in the same district. Rapelang Ntamu received the grand prize of a Canon professional camera worth approximately R50,000.

“Thank you to everyone who contributed to making the film (Learning to Teach), I really appreciate all the support the film got from the beginning to the last day of voting. Any new project comes with its own challenges but being able to commit and overcome those challenges is what makes winning worth a while” says, Rapelang about his journey towards winning the competition.

This competition is something very dear to JFF because it does not just lie in promoting films, but working alongside young filmmakers to pursue their passions and giving them access to an audience of millions, while telling the stories of our most vulnerable in a way that is both sensitive and respectful”, says Lisa Henry, Founder of Jozi Film Festival.

Each of the storytellers received a contribution towards their academic or professional development, the funding needed to produce their films.