Over 150 short films that were made in just 48 hours are set to screen at Suncoast Cine Centre on October 25 and 26.
The screenings form part of the Durban chapter of the 48 Hour Film Project, which is an international competition for emerging and professional film-makers and their crews.
The competition took place from September 27 to 29.
Competing teams were given three elements that they had to use in their film. They were a character, a line of dialogue and a prop.
They were allowed to choose their own genre and then go out into the city to make a short film, from start to finish, in just 48 hours.
Durban film-maker, Dayakar Padayachee from Hot Glass Films was one of this year’s entrants.
Padayachee’s film, “Blank Canvas” will be among those that are screening at the cinema.
Speaking about the experience, Padayachee, who has been making independent films since 2015, said that he is proud of the project that he and his team have put out.
“Blank Canvas” stars “Greytown Girl” lead actress, Sanam Sitaram alongside, Yateen Dayaram, Tara- Caitlin Goulding, Lwazi-Londiwe Shange and James Ratebe-Sbu Msimang.
It was co-directed by Grade 11 pupil, Saskia Pillay of Our Lady of Fatima Dominican Convent School, and her father, Sashi Pillay was the producer.
It tells the story of a down-and-out painter, Dashin Desi.
“He’s down on his luck and is creatively flushed, he hasn’t been able to sell any of his paintings for a long time.
“When he goes to his usual coffee spot, he meets a curator who tells him about an open-day gallery session and the opportunity for him to paint in front of guests. He slowly finds his obsession with the art becomes more supernatural than usual,” Padayachee said.
Each film will be judged by a panel of industry professionals and experts based on artistic merit, technical merit and adherence to the assignment.
Awards will be given for Best Film, Best Directing and Best Writing among others.
The winning team will have their short film screened at the Filmapalooza 2025 in Seattle in the YS. From there, the top 10 films are chosen to screen at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
Padayachee’s love for film-making started from a young age when he watched movies with his parents, who were avid film-watchers.
“My father was one of the few people to encourage me into filmmaking. I watched a lot of movies with my parents when I was growing up. Just by watching those characters come to life, seeing characters in ‘Star Wars’ and ‘The Godfather’, that became massive influences for me to step into filmmaking.”
Padayachee went on to study graphic design and animation at the CFAD. He made his first micro-budget film, “Shadows” shortly after. It starred Yateen Dayaram and Kajal Bagwandeen.
“This was my first interaction in the entertainment industry and seeing people of professional quality like Kajal. ‘Shadows’ was endorsed by the late Junaid Ahmed and was nominated for a South African Film and Television Award (Safta) in 2018.
“Ever since then, it propelled me into a position to constantly keep making independent short films.”
His short film, “The Caretaker” featured at the Durban International Film Festival in 2022.
The Mzansi film-maker enjoys making movies that look into the psychology of humanity.
“I focus on mystery, horror and thriller. I like to look at the psychology of humanity, using elements of trauma, depression, parental issues and family dysfunction.
“Ultimately, film-making boils down to the team that you work with. I have been very fortunate to have worked with some incredible people over the years and that’s evident in delivering the vision that we all had.
“There is so much effort that is put in by so many different crew members,” he ended.