ANANT SINGH, Producer - becoming
South Africa's leading filmmaker
and has produced over 45 films in the last 15 years
Anant Singh has produced South Africa's most prevailing
anti-apartheid films, including Sarafina! (Whoopi Goldberg)
and Place of Weeping from director Darrell James Roodt.
In an industry beset with obstacles for a black South African
during the apartheid years, Singh displayed amazing tenacity
by overcoming them and becoming South Africa's leading
filmmaker. Singh has produced over 45 films in the last 15
years, including Cry,
the Beloved Country which
starred Academy Award nominees James Earl Jones and Richard
Harris. Other films produced by Singh include The
Road to Mecca (Kathy Bates), The
Mangler (Directed by Tobe Hooper, based on a short
story by Stephen King and starring Robert Englund). Singh
also has a longstanding co-production relationship with
the BBC which has seen him as producer on Bravo
Two Zero, a true
story of an SAS patrol behind enemy lines in the Gulf War,
and based on the multi-million selling book
of the same title by Andy McNab was shot on location in South
Africa in 1997, The Theory of Flight starring Helena Bonham
Carter and Kenneth Branagh, Face (Robert Carlyle, Ray Winstone,
Steven Waddington, Captives (Julia Ormond, Tim Roth) and Happy
Now (Ioan Gruffudd, Om Puri, Jonathan Rhys Meyers).
Singh also produced Paljas,
the first ever South African film that was submitted for consideration
for an Oscar Nomination in the category Best Foreign Language
Film. This film, shot in Afrikaans starred an entirely South
African cast including Marius Weyers and Aletta Bezuidenhout
and was directed by Katinka Heyns.
Singh, has also been involved in the production of socially
relevant documentary films that serve as a record of South
African history, including Countdown to Freedom, which documents
the first democratic elections in South Africa and Prisoners
of Hope, a reunion on Robben Island of over 1 200 of its former
political prisoners led by President Mandela.
This commitment to recording South African history saw the
production of a series of documentaries
on former anti-apartheid activists including President Mandela,
trusted advisor to Mandela, Ahmed Kathrada and the fiery Dr.
Goonam. A Hero For All was
produced by Singh as a tribute to Nelson Mandela as he stepped
down as President of South Africa in June 1999.
In 1996, Singh made his foray into broadcasting with the
acquisition of two formerly state-owned radio stations,
East Coast Radio and Radio Oranje, in a consortium
which included the Kagiso Trust and internationally acclaimed
singer / song writer Johnny Clegg.
Singh was granted the coveted film rights to Nelson Mandela's
autobiography, Long Walk to
Freedom. On awarding the rights, President
Mandela commented, "Anant Singh is a producer I respect
very much and when we were considering various offers,
I personally opted for him. He is a man of tremendous ability
and I think that given the resources and support, he can do
absolutely excellently." The film will be directed by
Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth, Bandit Queen, Four Feathers).
Singh was appointed a member of the Arts and Culture Task
Group by the Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology
in 1993. He is the first South African Producer to
become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences. He was also appointed to The Advisory Panel
of the Directorate of Publications by then President, Nelson
Mandela. He holds a directorship in the Johannesburg
Stock Exchange listed company, Kagiso Media Limited. He
also serves on the National Advisory Council of Maryville
College in Tennessee in the United States.
Singh is also actively involved in industry related organisations
and is currently president of The National Television and
Video Association and The Independent Producers' Organisation.
In April 1998, Singh was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate
by the University of Port Elizabeth for his "wide-ranging
contributions to the South African film industry and for taking
South African stories and talent to the world; his efforts
to raise awareness locally and abroad, through the medium
of film, of the injustices of apartheid; and for his commitment
to recording South Africa's history for generations to come.
The University Of Durban-Westville, the institution Singh
dropped out of to pursue a career in the film industry, conferred
him with an Honorary Doctorate in May 2000 in recognition
of his achievements as a filmmaker and an astute businessman.
In August 1998, the Wine Country Film Festival in Northern
California awarded its inaugural DISTINGUISHED PRODUCER AWARD
to Singh for his "commitment to cinema and social justice".
The World Economic Forum conferred its prestigious Crystal
Award on Singh in January 2001. On announcing the Award, Professor
Klaus Schwab, President of the Forum said, "Anant Singh's
significant commitment to recording South African history
and his life-long engagement for social justice are exemplary
and distinguished him clearly for the Crystal Award."
Anant Singh has, with conviction, showcased South African
stories and talent internationally and has earned himself
recognition as a pioneer in the film and television industry
of South Africa.
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