DURBAN FILMMART REGISTRATION

Delegate registration opens for inaugural Durban FilmMart.

Leading industry experts have been confirmed for the inaugural Durban FilmMart.

Delegate registration for the inaugural Durban FilmMart (DFM) opened this week and organisers took the opportunity to confirm the participation of two leading industry facilitators on the programme. British Film finance expert, Mike Kelly and Swiss-Italian Luciano Gloor, an experienced film producer and consultant, both bring a wealth of expertise and knowledge to the forum.

On the financing side, Mike Kelly was part of the management team that turned the monolithic former ITV franchise holder Thames Television PLC into a leading independent producer. He subsequently worked as Finance Director of Majestic films & TV, a leading sales agency and British Screen, the public-private partnership owned by Channel 4, Granada, Rank and United Artists that helped finance and produce around 15-20 British and European films per annum. As its inaugural head of Finance, Mike helped establish the UK Film Council. He was recruited by Warner Bros to help expand their local language production activity in Europe and then extend it to Asia. In 2006 Mike established Northern Alliance Ltd, a Chartered Accountancy practice specialising in providing accounting and consulting services and business advice to public and private sector clients operating in the entertainment and media industries.

Luciano Gloor, has produced and co-produced a large slate of feature films working with prolific directors such as Daniel Schmid, Markus Imhoof, Lea Pool, Otar Iosseliani, Jacques Rivette, Jaco van Dormael and George Sluizer, and with actors such as Donald Sutherland, Geraldine Chaplin, John Hurt, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Alice Krige. He also led the creation of the Swiss Film Centre and has been a trainer in numerous producer training and project development programmes, such as EAVE for Europe, AVEA for Southern Africa, and IFA-SC for the South Caucasus, and TrainEastFilm in East Europe.

“We look forward to welcoming industry professionals, producers, funders and financiers to an event jam-packed with workshops and networking opportunities,” says Toni Monty, head of the Durban Film Office (DFO). “The line-up of speakers and topics promises delegates a focussed look at the world of film-making in Africa from varied perspectives and we encourage early registration,” Monty adds.

In addition, a partnership has been established with International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Cinemart, with Cinemart head of Industry, Marit van den Elshout, actively involved as international liaison and in project selection processes for DFM. Further strengthening the Dutch connection, one of the world’s foremost documentary festivals and markets, the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA), has confirmed that they will co-ordinate a number of DFM sessions devoted to preparing documentaries for international markets, for selected projects as well those participating in the Producers Forum.

“IDFA believes its participation will be a good step towards a longer collaboration,” says Adriek van Nieuwenhuyzen, IDFA’s Head of Industry Office. The manager of IDFA's Jan Vrijman Fund, which supports filmmaking in a developing world, will also be present at the DFM and it is anticipated that such partnerships will allow DFM to act as a feeder of African product to other festivals and markets such as Cinemart, IDFA and others.

The selected projects, 12 in all, from as far afield as Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zambia and Burkina Faso, in both Feature Film and Documentary genres, will pitch their projects to film financiers within the Finance Forum and also participate in the Producers Forum. The four-day Producers Forum is open to filmmakers who should apply online. The Durban FilmMart (DFM) is a joint programme of the Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), and registration for the Producers Forum includes access to DIFF screenings. For full details visit www.thoughtfire.co.za/filmmart+registration.aspx

For more information or to register as a delegate for the Durban FilmMart visit www.durbanfilmoffice.com or contact Musonda Chimba by e-mail on chimbam@durban.gov.za or Kamille Padaychee on info@thoughtfire.co.za