"Huge congratulations to Mr Anant Singh. He remains a true inspiration to us the younger generation."
This was one of the congratulatory messages posted on Videovision Entertainment’s Facebook page following the news that Singh, an acclaimed filmmaker, had been appointed to the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Arts and Culture Council.
Hilde Schwab and Professor Klaus Schwab, who co-founded the WEF, launched the council this week at its inaugural meeting at the Annual Meeting of the WEF in Davos, Switzerland.
The council was established in the context of the shifting the world from an industrial era to a more intelligent and interconnected society, where the arts and culture sector is uniquely positioned to lead the way toward a unified and prosperous future, said a statement issued by Videovision Entertainment.
Singh was appointed to the council will luminaries, including Andrea Bocelli, a world-renowned tenor; Nile Rodgers, a musician, producer and founder of the We Are Family Foundation; Yana Peel, the global head of arts and culture – Chanel; and Misty Copeland, a dancer, author and producer.
In a statement, Singh said: “Artists and the creative community around the world are the voice of the people and the custodians of humanity’s storytelling. The Global Arts and Culture Council is vitally important in a fractious world where the voice and expressions of artists need to be heard in order to contribute to the dialogues of the journeys of millions of people."
On Thursday, Singh participated in a panel entitled, “An Artist’s Path Out of Injustice”.
Singh is known for using the medium of film to speak out against the injustices of apartheid as well as significant social issues like HIV/Aids and gender-based violence.
This year marks his 25th consecutive attendance of the Annual Meeting since receiving the WEF’s Crystal Award in 2001.
Singh began his film career at age 18 when he left his studies at the University of Durban-Westville to purchase a 16mm movie rental store. From there, he moved into video distribution, forming Videovision Entertainment and then progressed into film production in 1986 with Place of Weeping, the first anti-apartheid film to be made entirely in South Africa.
Singh is the producer of Yesterday (from director Darrell James Roodt), which received South Africa’s first Academy Award Nomination in the Best Foreign Language Picture category in 2005, the Peabody Award and an Emmy Nomination in 2006 in the “Outstanding Made For Television Movie” category.
He is recognised as South Africa’s pre-eminent film producer, having produced more than 80 films since 1984