Highly acclaimed South African filmmaker Uga Carlini, has just returned from the world’s first ever Blockchain Film Festival and Filmmart held in Switzerland, The International Innovation Film Festival (IIFF), where she bagged two of the biggest awards up for grabs in Best Director and Best Screenplay for her multi-award-winning hybrid feature, Alison.
The story of Alison Botha, well known as one of the SA’s biggest and most inspiring survival heroines, with a Penguin Random Best seller book, I have Life, to match, was one of South Africa’s most hotly-anticipated hybrid films in 2016.
“I am very honoured to be awarded here, where block chain meets the creative. Every time there is an award and the blood, sweat, tears, responsibility, passion, good and bad times gets recognised it’s the elixir that keeps one going,” expressed Uga Carlini after winning the two awards.
Deploying a bold mixture of fairy tale idiom and unflinching frankness to tell its story of survival, resilience and triumph, Alison was dubbed “a story of monsters, miracles and hope”. The film has also made history by becoming a much loved gem on Amazon Prime in 2018.
Uga Carlini has fast become one of South Africa’s most versatile and celebrated directors. Her extensive film experience, both in front and behind the camera, has stretched across South Africa, the United Kingdom, U.S., Australia, and Fiji. Carlini’s creativity and talent birthed the 100% female-owned, production company, Towerkop Creations, of which she is the founding member. And its award winning slate specializes in female driven heroine stories since 2010. Based in Cape Town, South Africa, it has successfully expanded to Los Angeles in 2018.
2019 is set to be another notable year for Uga as she gears to partner with more creatives. Next up is the music video 17 Shots for Sony Music Africa, her much anticipated hybrid, From Meton with Love and her debut fiction feature Angeliena.