Edward Tsumele

Edward Tsumele

Budding filmmaker Khalo Matabane won four nominations for the South African Film and Television Awards.

Director Vincent Moloi won two nominations and actor Menzi Ngubane of Generations was also nominated.

There were 245 entries for the Saftas.

The eligibility period is 16 months before nominations are announced. Entries were judged from June 7 to August 31. Over 80 nominations were announced in the categories of feature film, documentary, student, short films TV dramas, soapies, comedies, reality, game, wildlife, talk, magazine, news and actuality shows.

Mandla Langa, chairman of Saftas' judging panel, says: "Our aim is to build the South African film and television awards to a level that is on par with the best in the world. In doing so, we have to bring integrity to the judging process, which lies at the core of the Saftas. I wish to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to all the judges who gave of their time to this important process. Without their commitment and dedication, these awards would not be what they are."

This year's judging panel consists of over 60 members of the industry's professionals and practitioners.

Eddie Mbalo, chief executive of the National Film and Video Foundation and chairman of the Safta committee, says: "We are happy that the judging process had no glitches."

The awards take place on October 27 in Johannesburg.