JACKY LOURENS

Jacky Lourens, who started Get the Picture in 1997, has 18 years of experience at the heart of the South African film and media industry. She started her career in the Communications Department of the SABC in the Western Cape - and so intimately understands the ins and outs fo the broadcasting industry. Committed to fostering local filmmaking, Jacky currently serves on the Board of the Cape Film Commission.

In the field of drama, Jacky has served as the series producer responsible for the development phase of the Commandments drama series. She has completed the Binger Film Lab's training courses as a Creative Producer, and worked with the Binger as Head of Programmes - overseeing the Screenwriting and Script Editing programmes.

In the documentary realm, Jacky was selected as the training manager for Project 10 - a documentary series focusing on Stories of Freedom. The endeavour was supported by the Binger Film Lab, the SABC and the National Film and Video Foundation. Jacky has also served as Executive Producer for the documentay series Unauthorised and Till Death do us Part, working in conjunction with various production companies and creative teams. What is more, Jacky has faciliated a number of international film crews shooting documentaries and magazine programmes in Cape Town.

As far as events organisation in concerned, in 2001 Jacky organised INPUT, the very first international public television conference hosted on the African continent. In 2008, INPUT returned to our shores, and Jacky served as consultant to the new team. Jacky was Festival Manager at the 2004 South African Film Market, Sithengi, where she was at the helm for stratetic management of operations and events, including the sourcing and programming of films for the Cape Town World Cinema Festival.