DIFF TALENT CAMPUS PARTICIPANTS

The Durban International Film Festival has finalised selection for this year's edition of Talent Campus Durban (July 22 to 26).

Nearly 50 filmmakers representing 16 African countries - Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d'Iivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, and Zimbabwe - will converge on Durban to take part in an intensive programme of workshops and masterclasses during the first five days of the festival.

The Talents, who were selected through a rigorous application process, will also have the opportunity to attend screenings and events at the 32nd Durban International Film Festival which runs from July 21 to 31. Themed Africa in Motion, the 4th Talent Campus Durban this year also includes a Doc Station component where three selected talents will receive expert mentoring before pitching their documentary projects to financiers, commissioning editors and potential co-producers within the Durban FilmMart.

Monica Rorvik, Talent Campus manager and assistant manager of the DIFF, comments: "Talent Campus Durban has already made a significant contribution to growing both skills and opportunities for African filmmakers. The festival has noted more film submissions coming from talents - this year DIFF is screening many films by previous Talent Campus participants. Career paths are opening up internationally for some of them, such as Cameroonian filmmaker Ariane Astrid Adoji, whose first film premiered in DIFF 2010 and was then picked up for screenings at Goteborg, Dubai and HotDocs festivals, winning an award in Dubai. Ariane returns to Durban this year with a new project in the Durban FilmMart.”

Talent Campus Durban is a partnership project between the Durban International Film Festival in cooperation with the Berlinale Talent Campus and the Berlin International Film Festival, and is supported by the German Embassy in South Africa, the Goethe-Institut, and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism. Apart from the main event in Berlin, Talent Campus partnerships also take place at selected festivals in Buenos Aires, Guadalajara and Sarajevo. A further Talent Campus is envisaged for Japan. Opportunities for participating talents are enhanced through Talent Campus networks and the Berlinale’s global information platform.

The Durban International Film Festival is organised by the Centre For Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal) with support by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (principal funder), National Film and Video Foundation, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism, HIVOS, City Of Durban, German Embassy, Goethe Institut, and a range of other valued partners.

For more information on DIFF, click on the button ad for the Centre for Creative Arts at the top of this page which will take you through to the DIFF website. More information on 031 260 2506/1367, fax 031 260 3074 or e-mail: talent@ukzn.ac.za or talent.durban@gmail.com