MAR2014

ISSUE 19

Embracing People Power

Midvaal Municipality DEVELOPING SAVANNA CITY

V&A WaterfrontCELEBRATING NO.1 SILO

One of the most progressive companies in the country, BMW SA recently launched the 2-Series and 4-Series. However, one of the world’s most recognised automobile brands is more than just a manufacturer; it is in fact a committed and engaged corporate citizen. MD, Bodo Donauer explains more…

ChianoSkyNEW AUDI AMBASSADOR

DetNetBUSINESS WITH A BANG

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ENTREPRENEUR

A true captain of industry

On November 28th 2013, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom was released in South African cinemas, a chronicle of Nelson Mandela’s life from his childhood growing up in the rural Mveso, through to his inauguration as South Africa’s first democratically elected President. The film was the end result of years of hard work on the part of the film’s producer, Anant Singh, who first secured the rights to Mandela’s autobiography over 16 years ago, Mandela calling Singh “a producer I respect very much …a man of tremendous ability.”

Indeed, Singh’s ability and entrepreneurial spirit was evident at an early age, born and raised in Durban, Singh began his film career at the age of 18 when he left behind his studies at the University of Durban Westville to buy a 16mm movie rental store. He later moved into video distribution before forming Videovision Entertainment, progressing into film production with 1984’s Place of Weeping, the first anti-apartheid film made entirely in South Africa. Ironically, as a third generation of Indian descent born in South Africa, Singh was classed as a ‘non-white’ citizen and prohibited from watching his

films with any white directors in South Africa’s segregated cinemas due to apartheid laws. It was this struggle against the injustices of the apartheid regime as an activist that informed Singh’s sensibilities and earned the producer a reputation for producing socially conscious films such as Prisoners of Hope, Red Dust and countless others.

Over the last 30 years, Singh has produced over 75 films, working with a host of notable individuals; Whoopi Goldberg on Sarafina, Kathy Bates on The Road to Mecca, Patrick Swayze and Halle Berry on Father Hood and award winning composer Phillip Glass on Faith’s Corner. In addition to this Singh has produced three of the highest grossing South African films of all time: Mr Bones 1, Mr Bones 2 and Mama Jack.

It was Singh’s reputation as a conscientious producer that enabled him to secure the rights to produce Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, beating out strong competition from major Hollywood competition, recounted at mandelamovie.co.za; upon granting Singh the rights to the film, Mandela told him “this is a South African story, and I want you to tell it.” The development process was a lengthy one, taking over 16 years and 34 drafts

Editorial : Liam Kelleher

Anant Singh is a leading figure in South Africa’s film and media industry. His career to date has been significant to say the least and one of his more recent crowning achievements, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, is earning him further recognition, on a global scale. IndustrySA takes a look at the career of this South African visionary.

ENTREPRENEUR

MAR 14 PAGE 9

ENTREPRENEUR

before the film was released in 2013 to critical acclaim.In addition to Singh’s impressively diverse catalogue of

productions, his entrepreneurial talents also led to Videovision, along with Kagiso Trust Investments, acquiring the former SABC radio stations and forming Kagiso Media Limited. Singh served as a director and board member for the company between 1997-2006, implementing strategic direction that diversified the company’s media assets to include new media, audio visual content, broadcasting and information brokering, before resigning from his directorships in 2006.

Singh became a board member of the Los Angeles

based Artists for a New South Africa, served as a board member for the Mandela 46664 concert alongside fellow entrepreneur Richard Branson and was also appointed by President Thabo Mbeki to serve as part of the creative

collective responsible for organizing the 2004 Ten Years of Freedom Celebrations.

Videovision was the driving force behind the formation of Cape Town Studios, the first custom built Hollywood-style, African studio complex housing state of the art equipment, film studios and related facilities covering 200 hectares. The establishment of Cape Town studios in 2010, with Singh as its chairman, has established South Africa as a media contender on a global scale, attracting large scale productions such as Black Sails and Mad Max: Road Warrior.

For Singh, the establishment of Cape Town Studios will cement a legacy as an astounding captain of industry as well as highly notable figure in the world of film. Despite his successes Singh’s approach to the medium he loves remains surprisingly grounded, as he told the New Indian Express in January “I select movies based on stories. If I am able to appreciate it and it is engaging, I go for it. In the initial stages nobody knows who the director will be. One has to choose the movie purely on the story.”

It’s hard to argue against the success of his approach..

“If I am able to appreciate it and it is engaging, I go for it”