Realness is an
initiative founded and curated by Urucu Media, under the mentorship of
Berlinale Talents and in partnership with the Nirox Foundation, Durban
FilmMart, The Durban International Film Festival, Durban Talents, The French
Institute of South Africa and Institute Français, Torino Film Lab, EAVE
Producer's Workshop, Midpoint Feature Launch, Locarno Filmmaker's Academy,
Produire Au Sud, Fairbridges Wertheim Becker, the Goethe Institute and Le
Centre National du Cinéma et de L'image Animée (CNC).
At an event hosted
by La Fabrique Cinéma de l’Institut Français, one of the first supporters of
the programme, the selection of this year’s Realness Screenwriter’s Residency was
announced at the Cannes Film Festival by Realness co-founder Cait Pansegrouw.
Realness, which was
established in 2016, aims to provide scriptwriting talent on the continent with
the space, time and support needed to create and develop their vision. This
year, over a hundred applications were received from 21 African countries. The
international panel of industry experts with a stake in African Cinema,
evaluated the submissions over three months, arriving at the five chosen
residents in early May.
"The Realness
initiative continues to unearth some of the rarest talent from the continent,”
said Thandeka Zwana from the National Film and Video Foundation, one of the
volunteer readers on the selection panel. “The most impressive part of reading
the submissions was getting insights into the applicants' previous work and
seeing real African cinema in terms of the aesthetic and storytelling. Some
evoked memories of the old African greats and some spoke to a wave of new
voices."
The selected
residents for 2017 are Lemohang Mosese from Lesotho, Mario Fradique Bastos from
Angola, Rama Thiaw from Senegal, Samantha Nell from South Africa and
writer-director team Gloria Huwiler from Zambia and Jahmil XT Quebeka from
South Africa.
Realness 2017
begins on June 3 when the participants begin their residency at the Nirox
Foundation in the Cradle of Humankind. They will be mentored by script
consultant Nadja Dumouchel for their first week and will then enjoy 4 weeks of
solid writing. In July they will attend the Durban International Film Festival
(DIFF) where they will present their projects to the industry under the
mentorship of Selina Ukwuoma at the Durban FilmMart.
“We are grateful to
DFM and DIFF for supporting the initiative and making this possible,” says
founder and Creative Director Elias Ribeiro. “The screenwriters’ producers will
also be invited to attend the finance forum at DFM this year.”
For more
information on Realness, African Screenwriters residency visit realness@urucumedia.com
Posts
