Deaf Capetonian Wins Tv Ad Awards

From: AllAfrica.com, Africa
Nov. 22, 2002

South African Press Association (Johannesburg)

Cape Town

A young Deaf Capetonian has won two major awards in a national competition for commercial filmmakers.

Braam Jordaan won both the best newcomer and best creative concept categories of the Vuka awards, announced in Cape Town on Thursday night.

The competition, an initiative by Multichoice and DSTV, was for charity advertisements.

Jordaan created a three-dimensional animation advertisement about HIV/Aids awareness, Nuno Martins, his lecturer at the Universal Arts Academy in Cape Town, told Sapa.

"He did everything. He came up with the concept and the story-line and created all the characters. The only thing he could not do was the sound, but he knew what it should be like."

Jordaan was born deaf to deaf parents. He matriculated two years ago at the De La Bat School for the Deaf in Worcester with an A average and distinctions in three higher grade subjects.

A holiday job at an advertising agency sparked off his interest in the field. He will complete his studies at the end of this year and was already being interviewed for a position at a Johannesburg agency on Friday.

Martins said Jordaan studied without the help of an interpreter among hearing students. Last year he was the top student in his class.

"You would find his fellow students coming to him for help." A former teacher said Jordaan was a very good lip-reader and very bright.

There were 110 entries in the newcomer category of the Vuka awards.

Out of the 64 entries in the professional category another Capetonian, Sunu Gonera, took top honours. He was also named best director.

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