IDFA, the world's largest (by sheer numbers) documentary film festival held each November in Amsterdam, announced its line-up this morning (we'll get to more of that in a bit), but one name jumped right out at us:
Competing in the First Appearance section of the fest is Elinor Burkett, with her film ITHEMBA. You may remember Elinor Burkett as the producer who rushed the stage at the Oscars and silenced director Roger Ross Williams, not long after their film MUSIC BY PRUDENCE won the Academy Award for Documentary Short. Well, soon after that became the talk of the Oscars (it was even spoofed on Letterman), it became clear that the split between Burkett and Williams (with HBO siding with Williams) was over the creative direction of the project.
Now it seems that ITHEMBA - which looks to premiere in Amsterdam - might be Burkett's version of the PRUDENCE story. A quick google search shows ITHEMBA to be a working title for the film that Burkitt and Williams were making together - both are listed as attending "meet-and-greets" for ITHEMBA: THE DOCUMENTARY as part of a tour for the group Liyana, of which Prudence Mabhena is the lead singer. The same link shows two Los Angeles tour dates designated as "filming for ITEMBA: THE DOCUMENTARY".
In any case, Burkett, who has long argued that her version was better than the one that took home the Oscar, now appears to have the chance to prove it.
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