Film and Television
Wits Film and Television, situated in the creative capital of South Africa, produces trailblazing filmmakers who challenge and redefine the filmmaking process.
By offering our graduates an excellent intellectual and practical education they are additionally equipped for participating in the global film and media industries. Through our established filmmaking programmes our students develop conceptual creativity, intellectual rigour, and strong practical filmmaking capabilities.
Wits School of Arts - Film & Television
Wits hosts Master class with international award winning cinematographer
Pierre de Villiers cinematographer of GOODBYE JULIA winner of the Prix de La Liberte prize (Freedom Award) at its world premiere in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival 2023 conducts a master class at the Wits cinema with Wits, AFDA and UJ film students attending. The event was organized as part of the European Film Festival in South Africa12 – 22 October.
Wits co-hosts legendary filmmaker Walter Murch
The multi-Academy Award winning editor and sound designer known for his work on Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, The English Patient, and many other notable films, was hosted by Wits Film & TV and AFDA for a screening of his new documentary Coup 56 directed by Taghi Amirani. The Q&A touched on the film’s storytelling of the overthrow of the Iranian prime minister in 1953 and spanned Walter Murch’s long and illustrious career in the film industry.
Film produced by Wits's alumni
A special treat for Witsies in Joburg The film I Am Here (2021) by award-winning producer Gabriella Blumberg (BA FT 2017) will be screened at Ster-Kinekor Rosebank Nouveau from 27 January 2023. Don't miss this inspiring documentary about Holocaust survivor Ella Blumenthal. Witsie Blumberg received the Alumni of the Year Award at the 2022 PIEoneer awards in London last year.
2022 CILECT - CARA Award
Congratulations to students and staff involved in the production of DOUBLE EDGED SWORD REVEALED for the Best Documentary Award for African film schools in the CILECT-CARA network. The film follows frontline doctors working under difficult conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic in hospitals in Gqeberha. Wits Film & TV is part of Wits School of Arts and is one of only three film departments in South Africa to enjoy full CILECT membership.
CILECT Conference 2022
Wits Film & TV Department congratulates our Head of Department, Dr Yolo Koba, on joining the CARA Council which is the regional association representing African member schools among CILECT’s world-wide membership which includes 180 audio-visual educational institutions from 65 countries on 6 continents. Kenneth Kaplan also represented the Department at this year’s CILECT Conference in Spain where he also presented a paper.
Artist in Residency 2022
The Film and Television Department welcomes Nelisiwe Xaba, choreographer, performer and interdisciplinary artist to a residency that explores performance and film. A series of collaborative, multi-media workshops with Nelisiwe, facilitated by Mocke J Van Veuren from F&TV and Kamogelo Molobye (Theatre and Performance) will also involve students from various departments in WSOA. The residency is funded by Arts Research Africa (ARA) with funding from the Mellon Foundation.
International Exchanges
The Film & TV Department has participated in successful exchanges with top Universities and film departments around the world. These include a multi-year programme with Valand Academy at Gothenburg University in Sweden and VR collaboration with Filmuniversity Babelsberg Konrad Wolf in Germany. We’ve run staff and student exchanges with ARCADA University in Helsinki and in Africa, we’ve collaborated with NAFTI in Ghana, IAMCO in Tanzania and AFDA in Johannesburg.
Ranked with the best
The Hollywood Reporter has named Wits Film and Television as one of the top 15 international film schools in the world. The publication has announced a separate list for American film schools. The international list features other prestigious institutions such as The Film Academy in Vienna, The Beijing Film Academy, and La Femis in Paris.