RapidLion, the South African international film festival, will be launching on 12 March 2016 with a programme that will showcase movies by filmmakers from Africa, the African diaspora and BRICS countries.
“A website is your international headquarters,” says Eric Miyeni, founder of RapidLion. “It must represent your brand and what you stand for. With ours, we didn’t want to only compete with local websites, rather, we wanted for anyone who logged on internationally, to say: “Wow!” RapidLion used the services of ThoughtCorp for the development of its website.
The website’s main design focus was to create a look and feel that simulates being in a cinema. Considering the dimensional limitations of a computer or device screen, this was not an easy task. However, with the clever use of visuals and typographic effects, the website has the feel of a movie. Background music completes the design, clearly bringing the flavour of an international film festival through. Some of the images used are stills from well-known South African films, in full-screen mode and with maximum cinematic impact as navigation is minimised. The website is responsive and scales to size depending on the device.
“The functional aspects of the website are great,” says Miyeni, “the website just sings.”
ThoughtCorp is an online marketing and development agency, with a team of consultants, designers, developers, marketers and communications specialists. Although the client base ranges from smaller clients to large government organisations, Miyeni notes the passion of the ThoughtCorp team. “They’re fantastic at making you feel like you’re their only client,” he says.
Entries for RapidLion 2016 opened on 01 July. Filmmakers may submit their films through FilmFreeway.com. Fans can follow the awards and film festival on the website and newsletter as well as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. Pinterest and Instagram. RapidLion – The South African International Film Festival launched on 02 July at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg – the same venue to be used for the festival and awards ceremony.
