The 5th
Durban FilmMart (DFM) came to an end after four exciting days of networking,
workshops and film! This year’s event was acknowledged a resounding success
with over 450 delegates in attendance from 32 countries, 24 workshop and panel
discussion programmes presented by 32 industry experts and professionals, and
over 900 official business meetings documented in the Finance Forum - which
excludes the frenzy of meetings that took place outside of the Finance Forum
room at the Elangeni Hotel.
The
Durban FilmMart, is a joint initiative of the Durban International Film
Festival (DIFF) and Durban Film Office (DFO) funded through the City of Durban,
which took place over July 18 to 21, 2014, at the Tsogo Sun Elangeni Hotel in
Durban. Set on Durban’s picturesque Golden Mile, the Durban FilmMart has, over
the past five years, become Africa’s most important film finance platform and
has certainly created a global buzz about Durban as a key destination for film
business and tourism alike.
“The
City is honoured to be associated with the Durban FilmMart, as it is a
strategic platform to market the destination as an ideal film location to
potential film directors and producers, which will significantly help boost the
tourism industry,” says Head of Durban Tourism, Phillip Sithole. “Durban is a
diverse and culturally rich city with strong African, Eastern and Western
influences. Through the vast potential of the Film industry, we would like to
use the Durban FilmMart to market the destination on a global level and this
also aligns well to our strategy of Taking Durban to the World.”
Every
year the Durban FilmMart activities close with the closing night awards dinner,
where key local and international partners of the annual co-production market,
select a number of projects to receive development support for their respective
projects in the form of development grants or invitations to attend partner
markets. This year’s closing night dinner, held at the Maharani Hotel in
Durban, presented 10 awards, guaranteeing these projects additional support and
opportunities beyond Durban FilmMart. Through an evaluation panel made up of
local and international film industry heavy weights, recipients of the 2014 DFM
awards are as follows:
The CineMart Award sponsored by
the co-production market of the International Film Festival Rotterdam: Hawa
Hawaii (Kenya / South Africa co-production) to be directed by Amirah
Tajdin and produced by Wafa Mohamed Tajdin, Bongiwe Selane, Helena Spring and
Junaid Ahmed. This award invites and sponsors the DFM 2014 fiction winning
project to attend the Rotterdam Lab, a five-day training and networking event
bringing together producers from all over the world.
Most Promising Documentary Pitch
sponsored by the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA): The Sound of Masks (South Africa) to be directed by Kofi Zwana
and produced by Sara Gouveia. This award will provide Kofi Zwana and Sara
Gouveia with an invitation and travel support to attend IDFA Forum.
New Cinema Network: Alex on Seventh (South Africa) to be directed by Engelbert
Phiri and produced by Guy Bragge. This award gives Phiri and Bragge the
opportunity of attending the 9th edition NCN in Rome, taking place in
October with the chance to present their work to active companies of the
International Film industry.
Award sponsored by Produire au
Sud of Festival des 3 Continents (Nantes): A developmental workshop programme aimed at familiarising
producers with a variety of important tools and international techniques, this was
awarded to Hawa Hawaii
(Kenya / South Africa co-production) to be directed by Amirah Tajdin and
produced by Wafa Mohamed Tajdin, Bongiwe Selane, Helena Spring and Junaid
Ahmed, and Mrs Popplestone
to be directed by Sarah Ping Nie Jones and produced by Jean Meeran. These
filmmakers will be given the invaluable opportunity to attend the Produire au
Sud (PAS) workshop, where they will be given tools, expertise, and new
connections especially with European networks through this one week unique
training programme.
The Docubox award, an
East-African documentary film fund: In search of
African Duende: The Uganda Flamenco Project (Uganda) – to be directed by Caroline Kamya and
produced by Keren Cogan. This Ugandan documentary project will have the support
for their non-Kenyan East African Documentary production with $2500 development
funds.
The Restless Pitch: Shattered by Philani Ndaba won a one-year representation deal
for the project by Restless Talent Management, who provide development services
such as image-building and positioning, project packaging, PR, and advises its
clients on film sales, distribution and promotion.
Organisation Internationale de
Francophonie (OIF) award of €5000: Home Expulsion
(Rwanda) to be directed and produced by Kayambi Musafiri.
ARTE France International Prize
of €6000: The feature
film project, The Wound (South
Africa) to be directed by John Trengove and produced by Elias Ribeiro.
The Videovision Entertainment Best
South African Film Project prize valued at R75,000: Nyanga Sky (South Africa) to be directed by Matthew Griffiths
and produced by Rafeeqah Galant. This award guarantees Nyanga Sky a release once the
project is completed and includes marketing and distribution support from
Videovision Entertainment.
Afridocs: A new award of €4000 that was
inspired by the Durban FilmMart events was awarded to Amal to be directed and produced by Mohamed Siam.
“The
quality of projects presented this year were quite good,” says ARTE France’s
representative Rémi Burah. “There was a good balance in the eclecticism of
their subject and film style in which their directors wish to bring their story
to the screen. The diversity of countries represented emphasizes the
relevance to the DFM to play an important role as a platform for African
cinema. Our objective as a partner of DFM is of course to discover new African
projects. It is important that Africa keeps producing its own films and we want
to help.”
Durban
Film Office’s Toni Monty adds: “The 5th Durban FilmMart has been one
of the most dynamic ones we’ve had. We have seen a dramatic change over the
past five years in how attending filmmakers engage with guest financiers,
funds, sales and distribution agents. The market is maturing faster than we
expected, the projects are getting stronger every year and the filmmakers are
well prepared to tackle the market when they arrive.
“For
us,” Monty continues, “this is an indication that the market is really working
and the vision of creating a credible platform to promote African stories has
been achieved. Together with the celebration of the 35th Durban
International Film Festival, Durban certainly rocked African Cinema this year!
We extend a huge thank you to our sponsors and partnerships, new and old, they
have truly helped the DFM reach its goals in helping African filmmakers access
the market place and grow their understanding of the business of film.”
For
more information on the Durban FimMart visit www.durbanfilmmart.com
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