Free Spirit (South African TV series)
Encyclopedia
Free Spirit is a television series, created by Sharon Farr and Lee Otten which first aired during 1999 and is currently running in its eighth season in South Africa
on SABC.
Free Spirit is an upbeat and eclectic magazine programme for people interested in Open-minded Spirituality
& Conscious Living. This spiritual lifestyle magazine series celebrates South Africa’s spiritual and cultural diversity and explores alternative health options in an entertaining, sometimes provocative, yet always non-sensational and embracing way.
Two documentary
feature stories give the programme depth, providing viewers with insight into people’s spiritual journeys - both personal & geographical, exploring issues, practices and phenomena across a spectrum of beliefs and featuring projects or initiatives that have a positive effect on people’s lives.
Free Spirit also puts the Spiritual Spotlight on well-known figures talking about their spirituality and beliefs and provides easy-to-do lifestyle hints with shorter more practical pieces such as Healing with Herbs and new slot focused on culinary and therapeutic uses of Spices. Regular book reviews, Health Spa and Book give-aways as well a monthly readings from renowned Astrologer
Rod Suskin add further value for viewers.
Produced by Cape Town
based company, Shoot the Breeze Productions and hosted by Radio and
TV personality Natalie Becker, Free Spirit is less about religion
and more about spirituality
and conscious living.
In 2006 Natalie Becker started conducting Free Spirit’s regular interviews with a range of local and international spiritual teachers and healers. In the past, these interviews were conducted by Editor of Odyssey Magazine, Chris Erasmus, but the producers
feel that Natalie’s taking over of this role in the new slot, Free Talk, will give her more of a presence on the show.
Producers, Sharon Farr and Lee Otten, say that Free Spirit viewers represent the spectrum of South Africa’s religious broadcasting
and spiritual
belief systems.
"Our viewers are eclectic by nature. What they love about Free Spirit is the broad diversity of topics covered and the show’s non-judgemental approach. The audience comprises both mainstream believers and a growing number of people who have developed their own personal spirituality with coverage of alternative healing therapies, ancestral beliefs and the spirit world making Free Spirit particularly popular with followers of African traditional spirituality".
What has surprised the producers is how many people call in and email Shoot the Breeze after every show.
"We get feedback from people living in cities, in rural areas and small towns all over South Africa
and as far afield as Uganda
, Zambia
, Nigeria
, Egypt
and Zimbabwe
, say Farr and Otten.
"South Africans from all belief systems are moving beyond just a tolerance of diversity
. They are beginning to celebrate it and integrate it into their daily lives".
----
COMPANY PROFILE: SHOOT THE BREEZE PRODUCTIONS CC
Sharon Farr and Lee Otten are the dynamic and versatile documentary
filmmakers who lead the team at Shoot the Breeze Productions.
Lee’s 19 years in the television industry as a producer/director/editor and Sharon’s print journalism
background plus 14 years researching, producing, directing and scripting local and international documentaries and broadcast news features combine to form a highly competent and experienced documentary duo. Beyond the 196-part Free Spirit series currently airing on SABC 3
, over the past ten years Shoot the Breeze has produced more than 80 documentary videos - from concept to broadcast or distribution - covering predominantly human interest, development
, cultural, environmental
, spiritual
and socio-political issues.
The company’s hour long and half hour documentaries for SABC and e.tv
still continue to be rebroadcast and have received acclaim at local and international Film Festivals and television industry awards. Shoot the Breeze has also produced documentary inserts for Community Desk on SABC 3, E-files on e.tv, A.R.T. on SABC 3 and SABC 2’s Lebone – Women on the Move as well as The Enterprise Zone; 3:16 and Education Express.
Airing twice a week on SABC 3 and several times a week on the SABC Africa satellite channel, Free Spirit has a committed following throughout South Africa
and across the continent.
----
AWARDS TO DATE
The series and producers have received twenty seven National Television and Video Association awards. The long Free Spirit run has provided the opportunity for Shoot the Breeze to expand it’s capacity with the employ of two editors, two production manager/directors, an accountant/HR consultant, a soundperson and a production assistant – allowing Sharon and Lee more time for creative input in the directing and producing of new material.
The company recently moved into the international market, producing a documentary short for Passionate Lives, a new international magazine series produced by Telecine Productions International.
Subcontracting the production of Free Spirit inserts to other independent production companies and hire of freelance crew for camera and sound recording means that Shoot the Breeze continuously contributes to the creation of work opportunities in South Africa’s fast-growing film industry.
In 2004 Sharon Farr completed PITCH FEVER, an hourlong home and away documentary about the Big Issue Magazine vendor Soccer Team’s participation in the 2003 Homeless Street Soccer World Cup in Austria
. A co-production with Polish production company, Film Studio Everest, PITCH FEVER premiered on SABC 2’s Our Nation in Colour and screened at the Zanzibar International Film Festival
and South Africa’s Apollo Film Festival in 2004.
Good Vibrations aired on SABC 2’s Issues of Faith in January 2005 and was screened at SA’s Exploring Consciousness Film Festival in November and New York’s GodonFilm Festival in July, where it was nominated for a Best Documentary Award.
Initially Shoot the Breeze worked almost exclusively in broadcast television but recent years have shown a broader application in the use of professional video in the development and NGO sector. Consequently, they have developed a solid client base producing fundraising, promotional, training and resource videos for organisations such as The Centre for Rural Legal Studies, Nazareth House Children’s Home, The Robben Island
Museum, RAPCAN, The District Six Museum, Black Empowerment Fishing Companies Bluefin Holdings and Blue Horizon Fishing, the University of the Western Cape and UNITRA’s Community Higher Education Service Partnership Projects, PeaceJam International, The Development Action Group, NICRO, The Homeless People’s Federation and the Working for Water Programme.
----
CURRENTLY IN PRODUCTION
----
OTHER PRODUCTIONS BY SHOOT THE BREEZE
'Broadcast Documentaries:'
• MASINDY’S STORY, SABC 2’s
• Our Nation in Colour, 1 December 2005
• GOOD VIBRATIONS, SABC 2’s Issues of Faith, 2005
• PITCH FEVER, SABC 2’s Our Nation in Colour, 2004
• THE WILD WEST OF LOXTON, etv, 2000
• IN SEARCH OF THE GODDESS, SABC 2’s Issues of Faith, 2000
• PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS: Part 1 & 2, SABC 2’s
• Issues of Faith, 1999
• THE BRIDES OF CHRIST, etv, 1999
'Magazine Shows:'
• FREE SPIRIT on SABC 2: 118 Episodes from 2001 to 2003 (26 mins)
• FREE SPIRIT on SABC 3: 78 Episodes in 2004 & 2005 (24 - 26 mins)
• FREE SPIRIT on SABC 3: 52 Episodes in 2006
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
on SABC.
Free Spirit is an upbeat and eclectic magazine programme for people interested in Open-minded Spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
& Conscious Living. This spiritual lifestyle magazine series celebrates South Africa’s spiritual and cultural diversity and explores alternative health options in an entertaining, sometimes provocative, yet always non-sensational and embracing way.
Two documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
feature stories give the programme depth, providing viewers with insight into people’s spiritual journeys - both personal & geographical, exploring issues, practices and phenomena across a spectrum of beliefs and featuring projects or initiatives that have a positive effect on people’s lives.
Free Spirit also puts the Spiritual Spotlight on well-known figures talking about their spirituality and beliefs and provides easy-to-do lifestyle hints with shorter more practical pieces such as Healing with Herbs and new slot focused on culinary and therapeutic uses of Spices. Regular book reviews, Health Spa and Book give-aways as well a monthly readings from renowned Astrologer
Astrologer
An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an...
Rod Suskin add further value for viewers.
Produced by Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
based company, Shoot the Breeze Productions and hosted by Radio and
TV personality Natalie Becker, Free Spirit is less about religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
and more about spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
and conscious living.
In 2006 Natalie Becker started conducting Free Spirit’s regular interviews with a range of local and international spiritual teachers and healers. In the past, these interviews were conducted by Editor of Odyssey Magazine, Chris Erasmus, but the producers
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
feel that Natalie’s taking over of this role in the new slot, Free Talk, will give her more of a presence on the show.
Producers, Sharon Farr and Lee Otten, say that Free Spirit viewers represent the spectrum of South Africa’s religious broadcasting
Religious broadcasting
Religious broadcasting refers to broadcasting by religious organizations, usually with a religious message. Many religious organizations have long recorded content such as sermons and lectures, and have moved into distributing content on their Internet websites.While this article emphasises...
and spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
belief systems.
"Our viewers are eclectic by nature. What they love about Free Spirit is the broad diversity of topics covered and the show’s non-judgemental approach. The audience comprises both mainstream believers and a growing number of people who have developed their own personal spirituality with coverage of alternative healing therapies, ancestral beliefs and the spirit world making Free Spirit particularly popular with followers of African traditional spirituality".
What has surprised the producers is how many people call in and email Shoot the Breeze after every show.
"We get feedback from people living in cities, in rural areas and small towns all over South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and as far afield as Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, say Farr and Otten.
"South Africans from all belief systems are moving beyond just a tolerance of diversity
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
. They are beginning to celebrate it and integrate it into their daily lives".
----
COMPANY PROFILE: SHOOT THE BREEZE PRODUCTIONS CC
Sharon Farr and Lee Otten are the dynamic and versatile documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
filmmakers who lead the team at Shoot the Breeze Productions.
Lee’s 19 years in the television industry as a producer/director/editor and Sharon’s print journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
background plus 14 years researching, producing, directing and scripting local and international documentaries and broadcast news features combine to form a highly competent and experienced documentary duo. Beyond the 196-part Free Spirit series currently airing on SABC 3
SABC 3
SABC3 is a commercial South African Broadcasting Corporation television channel that carries programming in English and, as of April 2009, Afrikaans....
, over the past ten years Shoot the Breeze has produced more than 80 documentary videos - from concept to broadcast or distribution - covering predominantly human interest, development
Human development (humanity)
Human development in the scope of humanity, specifically international development, is an international and economic development paradigm that is about much more than the rise or fall of national incomes. People are the real wealth of nations...
, cultural, environmental
Social environment
The social environment of an individual, also called social context or milieu, is the culture that s/he was educated or lives in, and the people and institutions with whom the person interacts....
, spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
and socio-political issues.
The company’s hour long and half hour documentaries for SABC and e.tv
E.tv
e.tv is the fifth terrestrial television channel in South Africa, following three channels operated by the state-owned South African Broadcasting Corporation and the privately owned subscription-funded M-Net, operated by Multichoice...
still continue to be rebroadcast and have received acclaim at local and international Film Festivals and television industry awards. Shoot the Breeze has also produced documentary inserts for Community Desk on SABC 3, E-files on e.tv, A.R.T. on SABC 3 and SABC 2’s Lebone – Women on the Move as well as The Enterprise Zone; 3:16 and Education Express.
Airing twice a week on SABC 3 and several times a week on the SABC Africa satellite channel, Free Spirit has a committed following throughout South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and across the continent.
----
AWARDS TO DATE
The series and producers have received twenty seven National Television and Video Association awards. The long Free Spirit run has provided the opportunity for Shoot the Breeze to expand it’s capacity with the employ of two editors, two production manager/directors, an accountant/HR consultant, a soundperson and a production assistant – allowing Sharon and Lee more time for creative input in the directing and producing of new material.
The company recently moved into the international market, producing a documentary short for Passionate Lives, a new international magazine series produced by Telecine Productions International.
Subcontracting the production of Free Spirit inserts to other independent production companies and hire of freelance crew for camera and sound recording means that Shoot the Breeze continuously contributes to the creation of work opportunities in South Africa’s fast-growing film industry.
In 2004 Sharon Farr completed PITCH FEVER, an hourlong home and away documentary about the Big Issue Magazine vendor Soccer Team’s participation in the 2003 Homeless Street Soccer World Cup in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. A co-production with Polish production company, Film Studio Everest, PITCH FEVER premiered on SABC 2’s Our Nation in Colour and screened at the Zanzibar International Film Festival
Zanzibar International Film Festival
The Zanzibar International Film Festival , also known as Festival of the Dhow Countries, is an annual film festival held in Zanzibar, Tanzania. It has been described as the largest cultural event in East Africa. During the festival, films are shown in Stone Town in Zanzibar City, as well as rural...
and South Africa’s Apollo Film Festival in 2004.
Good Vibrations aired on SABC 2’s Issues of Faith in January 2005 and was screened at SA’s Exploring Consciousness Film Festival in November and New York’s GodonFilm Festival in July, where it was nominated for a Best Documentary Award.
Initially Shoot the Breeze worked almost exclusively in broadcast television but recent years have shown a broader application in the use of professional video in the development and NGO sector. Consequently, they have developed a solid client base producing fundraising, promotional, training and resource videos for organisations such as The Centre for Rural Legal Studies, Nazareth House Children’s Home, The Robben Island
Robben Island
Robben Island is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 km west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, South Africa. The name is Dutch for "seal island". Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 km long north-south, and 1.9 km wide, with an area of 5.07 km². It is flat and only a...
Museum, RAPCAN, The District Six Museum, Black Empowerment Fishing Companies Bluefin Holdings and Blue Horizon Fishing, the University of the Western Cape and UNITRA’s Community Higher Education Service Partnership Projects, PeaceJam International, The Development Action Group, NICRO, The Homeless People’s Federation and the Working for Water Programme.
----
CURRENTLY IN PRODUCTION
- BRAM FISCHER: Afrikaner Revolutionary with Heart of Gold & Resolve of Steel. An hour long biographical documentary about legendary SACP activist and human rights lawyer, Bram Fischer will be completed mid 2006 as part of MNetMnet-Evil Geniuses for a Better Tomorrow:Evil Geniuses for a Better Tomorrow was a startup company founded by Jim McCoy et al. to create MojoNation. After several years, the company ran out of money and laid off most of its employees; Bram Cohen went on to create BitTorrent and Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn...
’s New Directions Project.
- LUCK vs DESTINY: A half hour documentary exploring luck versus Destiny across South Africa’s major faiths and spiritual traditions for SABC 2’s Issues if Faith.
- LEAD UP TO THE HOMELESS STREET SOCCER WORLD CUP 2006: An hour long documentary on the lead up to the Homeless Street Soccer World Cup in Cape Town in 2006. The documentary will be broadcast before the event on SABC 2’s Our Nation in Colour to raise awareness around the event in South Africa.
----
OTHER PRODUCTIONS BY SHOOT THE BREEZE
'Broadcast Documentaries:'
• MASINDY’S STORY, SABC 2’s
• Our Nation in Colour, 1 December 2005
• GOOD VIBRATIONS, SABC 2’s Issues of Faith, 2005
• PITCH FEVER, SABC 2’s Our Nation in Colour, 2004
• THE WILD WEST OF LOXTON, etv, 2000
• IN SEARCH OF THE GODDESS, SABC 2’s Issues of Faith, 2000
• PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS: Part 1 & 2, SABC 2’s
• Issues of Faith, 1999
• THE BRIDES OF CHRIST, etv, 1999
'Magazine Shows:'
• FREE SPIRIT on SABC 2: 118 Episodes from 2001 to 2003 (26 mins)
• FREE SPIRIT on SABC 3: 78 Episodes in 2004 & 2005 (24 - 26 mins)
• FREE SPIRIT on SABC 3: 52 Episodes in 2006