The event featured a premier selection of the best new fashion film submissions received thus far for the 2017 festival.

Selvin Govender, marketing director of Mercedes-Benz Cars, says, “The Mercedes-Benz Bokeh South Africa International Fashion Film Festival is now in its third year with the festival bringing some of the most awe-inspiring and creative talents in the world of fashion film to both local and international audiences, who have come to expect excellence in the arts. Our local and international directors produce extremely powerful collections that reflect the epitome of beauty and the ultimate in fashion, which portrays a lifestyle of modern luxury.”

Commenting further, he says, “Mercedes-Benz is at the pinnacle of automotive technology, and we take the opportunity to present our latest range of fascinating models in a style that is both creative and innovative. At this year’s main event we showcased our latest creations to delight our glamorous audiences. We also attracted a greater contingent of celebrities and artists for an entertaining event.”

The exclusive 101 Event introduced Jacques Le Grange’s new couture range to Johannesburg.

Bokeh founder and managing director, Adrian Lazarus, mentioned the South African Emerging Creative Talent Award for Bokeh 2017. This category has allowed for young creatives, designers and fashion film enthusiasts to submit their short film pitches for consideration in the 2017 Mercedes-Benz Bokeh South Africa International Fashion Film Festival. The chosen 10 finalists have had the opportunity to shoot their films with assistance from Bokeh.

The Mercedes-Benz Bokeh South Africa International Fashion Film Festival has also reaffirmed their partnership with the Sunshine Co, who have supplied an extensive production package that helped standardise and assist the finalists with their shoots.

The festival has also announced a new relationship this year with Fuji who have supplied the finalists with new cameras. All the films in this category have been shot on this 4K platform, delivering high-quality UHD 4K video ready for broadcast.

MAC makeup will be mentoring the teams and guiding each shoot when it comes to makeup styling.

DStv’s new Fashion One channel are also media partners of the event. "As the leading fashion channel across a multitude of platforms, as well as Channel 178 on DStv, Fashion One strives to showcase the very best fashion and fashion films. As we have placed an emphasis on 4K video, I am excited to see the new films created by the Emerging Creatives in 4K. The opportunity to perhaps broadcast a few of these films globally on our platforms will be a motivating factor in getting the creative teams to deliver relevant, entertaining and visually beautiful content. The relationship between Fashion One and the team at Bokeh has grown from strength to strength over the past three years and we are looking forward to the next chapter in 2017,” says Joanne Raphael Katz, African bureau chief of Fashion One.

The winning film will receive R50 000 and will be announced at the fourth Mercedes-Benz Bokeh South Africa International Fashion Film Festival.

Bokeh 2017 will take place on Friday, 7 April and Saturday, 8 April 2017 at the Mercedes-Benz Dealership in Century City, Cape Town.

For more information, visit bokehfestival.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.