Busi is one of the few people selected to go on a drug trial at the Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital in Soweto, with the hope of her baby being born HIV-negative. The hospital puts Busi in touch with the media in the hope of publicising their drug trials. Sibongile, a young black filmmaker, decides to make a film about Busi. After the filmmaking process, she tries to reach out and help the girl. Sibongile brings Busi back to stay with her at her small apartment in an affluent area of Johannesburg. But it is infinitely more complicated than she imag-ined and all sorts of problems arise.
 [aus dem Forumprogramm]

1 How would you describe the aesthetics of your film?

"Looking For Busi" is a 55 minute documentary that uses a combination of cinema verité techniques and formal interviews. The film was shot over a year and is mostly hand held - I replied mostly on natural lightening and once or twice used a sun gun or bounced a light.

2 Why did you choose to shoot on dv?

I chose to shoot on mini DV because of a number of reasons - the price factor was a big reason - I bought my own sony PD150 and because I shot the film over a year,observing what happened, it was so useful to have constant access - I would not have been able to make the film otherwise. I was also shooting in situations were there was very low light and the PD150 was able to handle the low light situations very well. I was in some very intimate situations where it really helped having a small camera and being a one and sometimes a two person crew.

3 What was special about shooting in dv (e.g.compared to 35mm, was it your first time with dv or are you used to it)?

I have not had any experience shooting on 35 mm.

4 Which camera and which editing software did you use?

I used a Sony PD150 and edited the film on an AVID editing system.

5 What was your shoot-edit ratio?

Very high - 80:1 I used a lot of tape because I never knew what would happen when.

6 Would you have preferred to shoot in another format? If so which?

No I was very happy - I am not a camera operator as such and this was my first shooting experience and I found the Mini DV, light, accessible and easy to use.

7 Does using dv mean that you are considering other means of distribution opposing the established? If so which?

No - the Company I worked for is trying all the usual channels although they are also distributing the films extensively through non broadcast structures eg  through organisations that work in rural areas in South Africa - they will show the films using mobile video vans

8 One good word about dv (or two):

I can only speak from my limited experience - I feel that using DV especially mini DV makes film making very accessible and the lightness of the equipment makes it very gender friendly too!

9 One bad word about dv (or two):

You have to work within the mini DV's limitations - that it is not a professional rig.