Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
31 January 2020 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Johan Roux
Short film
Mpendulo Myeni won the iamAFRICA Short Film Competition with his production, EYELASH. He will attend the red-carpet screening of his film in Los Angeles in the US later in February.
When two childhood best friends fall in love, they are too afraid to tell each other; blowing an eyelash becomes the only way to realise their wish. This is the plot of an award-winning film that will receive a red-carpet screening at the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) in Los Angeles in February. 

Mpendulo Myeni, UFS alumnus and recently appointed Assistant Officer in the Department of Architecture at the University of the Free State (UFS), won the prestigious iamAFRICA Short Film Competition with his production, Eyelash.

Honoured among African filmmakers

Myeni says his love for films comes from his mother. “You could say she instilled in me a passion for films. I remember when I was younger, my five siblings and I always loved watching superhero movies. As a gift, my late mother got us a membership card at the video store chain. She started a tradition that after school, we would go by the video store and rent movies.”

From being exposed to cult classics during his childhood to developing this passion into a degree in Drama and later Film, and now winning this prestigious international award, is a dream come true for Myeni. 

“I knew God would guide me to the place where the content I make, would garner attention on an international platform. However, I did not know that my first public film release would draw such attention. So, all the glory goes to God on this one.”

“I would also never have been able to do this without my partner, co-writer, producer, and cinematographer Faith Riyano; the cast and crew of Eyelash; and the amazing support of the lecturers and staff in the UFS Department of Film and Visual Media.”

Myeni says he is honoured to be recognised among his fellow African filmmakers. 

Finding new storytelling talent

The iamAFRICA Short Film Competition is a YouTube project in partnership with the Pan African Film Festival and The Africa Narrative. They aimed to find new storytelling talent based in Sub-Saharan Africa and received more than 160 submissions from across the African continent.

Criteria were, among others, that the film should be in English or have English subtitles, it must be less than 30 minutes, and it should be shot entirely on the African continent.

Michelle van Gilder, founder of The Africa Narrative, says: “The African continent is bursting with creative talent waiting to be discovered by the rest of the world, which is why this initiative is so exciting. These young directors represent the excellence of Africa’s filmmaking community, and it’s a joy to see their stories brought to a global audience.”

Marc Brogdon, Director of Marketing for PAFF, says Eyelash beautifully captures the excellence and artistry of African filmmaking that the competition aimed to identify and showcase to the rest of the world. “This is just the beginning of what is sure to be an exciting journey in bringing your film to a wider audience,” he congratulated Myeni. 

Learning from the best in Los Angeles

Myeni is scheduled to fly to Los Angeles later in February to participate in a day of workshops, production training and networking with the entertainment industry at YouTube Space LA. 

He says: “I am eager to learn about what it takes to make the type of films that are on par with these industry giants. I am excited to pick their brains and learn from their blueprints. I am eager to learn the process of filmmaking from them, as this will enrich my own work.”

In a statement issued by the iamAFRICA project, PAFF states that they believe film and art can lead to a better understanding and foster communication between peoples of diverse cultures, races, and lifestyles, while at the same time serve as a vehicle to initiate dialogue on the important issues of our time.


News Archive

UFS receives multimillion rand international funding for Advancement
2013-01-21

21 January 2013

We are one of four South African universities that have been selected to take part in a multimillion-rand programme to bolster private fund-raising and Advancement efforts.

The UFS will receive US$640 000 (R5 612 800) over a period of five years to use in advancement efforts.

In total, the US-based Kresge Foundation will make US$2.5 million available to the four universities, which includes the UFS, Durban University of Technology (DUT), Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and the University of Johannesburg (UJ), over the next five years as part of a joint initiative with Inyathelo: The South African Institute for Advancement, to support the long-term financial sustainability of higher education institutions in South Africa.

Kresge will also provide programmes and support aimed at enhancing student access to universities and improving graduation rates.

Bill Moses, who directs Kresge’s education programme, says declining government support means that South African university officials need to tap into diversified philanthropic and private funding if they want to enhance their institutions’ ability to serve students better. “Stronger Advancement skills are critical to their success and ultimately to getting more South African students into universities and completing degrees. Advancement is not just about raising funds. It is the practice of building, maintaining and improving support, skills and other resources to ensure the sustainability of an institution,” explains Moses.

 This latest Kresge initiative follows the success of a five-year partnership with Inyathelo that helped five high-profile South African institutions - the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits); the University of Pretoria (UP); the University of the Western Cape (UWC); the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) and the Children’s Hospital Trust - increase their private fund-raising revenue threefold. The four universities will receive additional funding over the next five years and will serve as mentors to the new group of institutions.

In April last year, Kresge announced a new commitment to South African higher education that builds on its efforts in the United States to improve university access and help students succeed academically. Their ‘Promoting access and success at South African universities’ programme will seek to strengthen pathways to and through universities, especially for students who are often unprepared for university study. Moses says enhancing the ability of universities in South Africa to graduate the next generation of knowledge workers, will make it possible for the country to compete more effectively in the global economy. “Access to higher education in South Africa has improved dramatically since the end of Apartheid. A doubling of enrolment since 1994 has, however, contributed to serious challenges, including under-prepared students and disappointing graduation rates. We are confident that our programme will help address some of these obstacles to success,” says Moses.

Kresge has already funded several efforts that support its interest in strengthening pathways to and through universities this year, including a grant to the University of the Free State to expand the South African Survey of Student Engagement, as well as funding to the University of Pretoria to support a conference in January, which will highlight opportunities to promote access and success at South African universities.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept