(Niren Tolsi, director of the documentary: “The Rainbow: Jazz for the Struggle, and the
Struggle for Jazz”)
Some 19
documentaries and fiction feature film projects from around Africa have been
selected for this year’s Durban
FilmMart (DFM) which
takes place in Durban, South Africa from July 17 to 20, 2015. The details of
the selection were recently announced at a networking function held at the
South Africa Pavilion at the Cannes International Film Festival.
The Durban FilmMart, now in its 6th
edition, has selected these projects from 120 submissions by African filmmakers
who wished to participate in the continent’s premier finance and co-production
market.
A joint
initiative between the Durban Film Office and the Durban International Film
Festival, the Durban FilmMart
aims to raise the visibility of African cinema, stimulate production on the
continent, and facilitate project collaboration between African filmmakers. The
DFM creates an optimum platform
for African filmmakers, financiers, broadcasters and top film experts to
converge, network and spark creative thinking around current and future
projects.
“This year, we
are pleased to welcome projects from a diverse range of countries on the
continent, including Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe and
South Africa,” says Toni Monty, of the Durban Film Office. “The DFM has become an important
springboard for projects that have been conceptualized by African filmmakers,
to support them as the projects move from the idea to exhibition. Over the last
five years we have seen many projects go on to be awarded further opportunities
to develop at various other markets, and eventually be screened in cinemas and
festivals around the globe. In previous years, past DFM projects have been selected for the Durban International Film
Festival, testimony to the value this market adds to the development process.”
A Reader Panel,
comprising African and international film professionals had to moderate and
score submissions, culminating in a rigorous selection discussion over
shortlisted projects in both the documentary and fiction section.
These feature and
documentary film-makers will be attending the DFM for one-on-one meetings with potential investors and co-producers
in the Finance Forum. The
projects will also have an opportunity to pitch to a panel of commissioning
editors from local and international funders and financiers. The selected
project participants will also be given opportunities to network and meet
industry professionals during several scheduled industry sessions.
Included in the
documentaries are the South African productions After Marikana – The End of
Democracy (producer Anita Khanna, director Rehad
Desai); Life and Times of John C (producer Neil Brandt, director
Francois Verster); Not in My Neighbourhood (producer/director Kurt Orderson); Project
Delight (producer/director
Karin Slater), and The Rainbow: Jazz for the Struggle, and the
Struggle for Jazz (producer Antoinette Engel, director Niren
Tolsi).
Other
documentaries include Amal (Egypt); Truck
Mama (Kenya); Terre Jaune (Togo);
and The Other Half of the African Sky (Zimbabwe).
South African
productions in the Fiction section are: Inkabi (The Hitman) (producer Anco Henning, director Norman Maake);
On
the Way to Paradise (producer
Imraan Jeeva, director Sara Blecher); Riot Waif (producer Jean Meeran, director Zinaid Meeran; Selma
and Charlize (producer
Junaid Ahmed/Helena Spring, director Robyn Aronstam), and The Tall Assassin (producer Carolyn Carew, director Roy
Zetisky)
Other fiction
productions are Cactus Flower (Egypt);
Laughter
is the best Colour (Nigeria);
One More Night in Lagos (Cote
d'Ivoire); Sunflowers Behind a Dirty Fence (Uganda) and Unbalance (Ghana).
The DFM also
invites filmmakers who do not have projects selected for the market and
industry professionals, to attend as delegates for the programme of masterclasses,
forums and networking events during the four-day market.
Registration is
now open and early bird rates apply until June 27, 2015. Delegates who register
within the early bird window, get discounted registration rates and inclusion
in the DFM’s Industry Manual, a
valuable networking tool during and after the market.
The 6th Durban FilmMart takes
place in Durban, at the Tsogo Sun Elangeni from July 17 to 20 2015, during the 36th edition of the Durban
International Film Festival (July 16-26, 2015). For more information on
the Durban FilmMart and to register as a delegate visit www.durbanfilmmart.com
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