Astrid Iverson (Head of Production at Pressure Cooker Studios) and James Matthes (CEO of Pressure Cooker Studios) got on a really early flight towards the end of July to attend Durban FilmMart this year.
Astrid gives us a recap of her highlights of the trip:
What was the goal of your trip to DFM?
We believe that Music and Audio play as an important role in the production as all other key departments, and we wanted to show face on behalf of our field.
There are also so many collaborators we work with via email or Zoom calls that we wanted to meet in person, and of course just connecting with old and new faces in the industry.
What was your first impression of DFM?
Overwhelming excitement! I felt a bit out of my depth initially (it was actually my first time attending an event like this), but after just a few conversations I felt at ease. It’s so great connecting with old collaborators, and meeting new people and hearing success stories and finding out about new exciting projects. It really got me feeling very excited about the near future of South African film and television.
Tell us about the highlights of your trip?
It was really nice having casual conversations with so many key players in the South African narrative production industry and realising how much our missions and values at Pressure Cooker Studios align with theirs.
I also really enjoyed being in a room with so many members of the Independent Producers Organisation and hearing about all the steps they are taking to support productions in South Africa, it felt as if we were all united in our passion for the industry.
What do you wish you’d seen more of?
I wish we’d gone up earlier and gotten to see more of the content at the Durban International Film Festival, we only managed to get to one screening on our first night.
It was amazing being part of the excitement and buzz beforehand and hearing fellow creatives thoughts on things.
In fact that was probably my favourite thing about the trip, the conversations I had with people about the industry and life. It got my head spinning about the potential of the future at our studios. I’m really looking forward to DFM next year.
