Carina Kloppers
On 29 April the 7th annual kykNET Ghoemas music awards took place in Emperors Palace’s Theatre of Marcellus in Johannesburg. Willem Botha, whose album Soen en Vergeet was nominated for Best Pop Album by a Male Artist, acted as host for the golden affair. Stars from the new film Wonderlus, Donnalee Roberts, Cindy Swanepoel, Clint Brink and Lynelle Kenned, sports anchor JP Keyter as well as rugby legend Naas Botha all graced the stage as presenters. The Ghoemas aim to honour excellence in the Afrikaans music industry and this year distinction fell on Jo Black. He walked away with a staggering seven Ghoemas, among which include Best Newcomer, Male Artist of the Year and Album of the Year.
All this glitter and glam, along with the recent announcement of the SAMA nominees, inspired Perdeby to compile a guide to South African film and music awards ceremonies.
Firstly, of course, there is the 24th annual South African Music Awards (SAMAs),that are set to take place on 2 June at the Sun City Superbowl. Although this year the SAMAs received a record-breaking 778 eligible entries, up from last year’s 740 and 470 in 2016, only five nominees are named in each category after the voting and verification. UP’s own Tuks Camerata is nominated for their album Indodana in the category Best Traditional Music Album. This is their third consecutive year nominated. Furthermore, Shekinah’s acclaimed album Rose Gold is nominated for both Best Pop Album and Best Produced Album, and Mafikozolo, Simphiwe Dana and Mi Casa have all reigned in three nominations. At the time of going to print the nominees for the top five categories were still unannounced.
Thando Thabete and Phat Joe hosted the 12th annual South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) on 22 March at Sun City. The evening celebrated the theme “Our Stories Are Gold” in honour of “those who have captured our hearts, minds and imaginations through the telling of our unique stories”. Some of the biggest winners included Isibaya, Tjovitjo, Lockdown, Ring of Lies and Puppet Nation ZA. Inxeba (The Wound) walked away with Best Feature Film. The ceremony’s most esteemed accolades went to Johan Stemmet and Thoko Ntshinga as they were honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards. The Youth Achiever Award was received by founder and CEO of Actor Spaces, Ayanda Sithebe.
The New Generation Social & Digital Media Awards were founded in 2012 and they honour the innovative use of social and digital media, and the implementation of cutting-edge tools in online media. They celebrate ingenuity and shine a light on the country’s brightest millennial marketers. Entries open on 7 May and there are 40 categories open to South African agencies, corporate companies, individuals within the marketing and creative industry, as well as registered students. However, the New Generation Outstanding Students Award is exclusively open to students and has a reduced entry fee.
Image: Elmarie Kruger
