Winners
Winner 2011
Ryley Grunenwald
Ryley Grunenwald, a 29 year-old South African filmmaker, received the $10,000 award for her project « Sands of the Skei Queen »
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Along South Africa’s pristine Wild Coast lies irreplaceable treasure: one clan’s sustenance and heritage and sand dunes rich in coveted titanium. As an Australian mining company buys out traitors within the subsistence farming community, a strong young activist, her elderly village chief and their tribal queen must unite to protect what they deem to be true wealth: their identity in their ancestral lands.
Meanwhile the South African government approves a controversial highway through the community’s homes, farm lands and grave yards, denying any link to the mining company’s need for access to the environmentally sensitive sand dunes.
The tribe’s Queen speaks out only to be dethroned by government, and as the community rises up, the greedy attempt to oppress them with an onslaught of bribery, lies, witchcraft, fraud, murder and manipulation.
The grant from Alter-Ciné Foundation was absolutely essential to the creation and success of The Shore Break. Alter-Cine Foundation’s support came at a crucial time, enabling us to capture the story when we needed to most. Alter-Ciné Foundation’s grant also created a snow-ball effect by giving other financiers and development programs confidence that the project was worthy of support. In addition to the grant Alter-Ciné Foundation also gave us much needed advice throughout the process, pitched with us at the 2012 Hot Docs Forum and was there to congratulate us at our Hot Docs 2015 premiere. We are really grateful and proud to be Alter-Ciné Foundation grantees. Many thanks.
– Ryley Grunenwald