(Fradique, Lemohang
Mosese, Gloria Huwiler, Rama Thiaw & Samantha Nell)
Deadline for
submissions: January 31, 2018.
Urucu calls for Submissions to Realness Scriptwriters
Residency, on the back of a Success Streak
The Realness Scriptwriters’ Residency programme which seeks
to nurture the best African screenwriting talent across the world, opened its
submissions on November 1, 2017.
Realness has developed into an ideal platform from which
emerging talent can be identified. Founded in 2015 by Urucu Media, this
successful scriptwriters’ programme is presented under the mentorship of
Berlinale Talents and in partnership with Nirox Foundation, Durban FilmMart,
The French Institute of South Africa and Institute Français’s La Fabrique des
Cinémas du Monde, TorinoFilmLab, Locarno Filmmaker’s Academy, Cocoon, The CNC, TIFF
and EAVE.
Urucu Media, is a well-established South African production
house, which currently has two films in the race for the Best Foreign Language
Category at the 2018 Academy Awards: The
Train of Salt and Sugar for Mozambique and The Wound for South Africa.
Producer Elias Ribeiro, founder of both Urucu and Realness
says: “It is rewarding to look back 7 years when I moved to Johannesburg and
started producing here, we have managed to play a significant role in shifting
the industry landscape and showcasing the massive talent we have in this
continent. I could not be more proud of the opportunity to compete for the most
prestigious award in Cinema with two films in the same year. What is most
gratifying is how this acknowledgement has already increased access to
opportunities and improved our capacity to support emerging talent on the
continent – which is a real passion for us. We have ambitious plans for our
programme in 2019 as we evolved Realness into an African Film Institute, RAFI.”
Applicants for the Screenwriters’ programme are required to
submit a screenplay in progress. The call for entries is open to fiction
feature film scripts only. However, there is no restriction on age, script
length or genre. Submission is free, regardless of geographical origin. “We
seek a selection that represents a rich and exciting diversity of contemporary
African perspectives. We encourage risk taking, originality and authenticity,”
explains Ribeiro.
Since its launch, the residency has nurtured five African
writers in each of its first two years, growing into a prestigious incubator of
emerging talent that is recognised throughout the film community. “This
residency is at the forefront of African cinema and I truly believe in years to
come it will be regarded as one of the most important homes of a new wave of
African cinema … I cannot commend them
enough for their passion and tenacity which drives this initiative,” says
Fradique, Mário Bastos (2017 resident from Angola).
The five selected writers will participate in a programme
that begins with five weeks at Nirox Foundation in the Cradle of Humankind,
where they will have the time and space to develop their screenplays under the
guidance of some of the industry’s top professionals. This will be followed by
an immersive industry experience at Africa’s leading finance and co-production
market, Durban FilmMart, which is a platform where Residents will have an
opportunity to present to their projects to potential producers and financiers.
Finally, the most promising projects will be awarded and funded to participate
in the prestigious La Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde in Cannes, receive an EAVE
Producers’ Workshop Scholarship, invitation to TorinoFilmLab Meetings Event and
Locarno Filmmakers Academy.
Mentor and script consultant, Selina Ukwuoma, has been part
of the team that develops Realness talents since the creation of the programme.
She says, “with a pan-African focus, the diversity of Africans is celebrated
yet, the particular concerns that we have in common come to the fore”. A strong
addition to the team this year was producer and script consultant Mmabatho Kau,
who says , "What I loved and enjoyed most about The Realness writing
residency; as a script consultant, was that for the first time, the voice of
the writer is put first above all else. Realness is the perfect platform to
celebrate often forgotten and marginalised stories of Africa. I appreciate how
the programme also challenged my own strategies in helping writers bring their
concepts to fruition”.
Curator Liz Chege is the project manager for Realness 2018
says, “attracting interest to Realness has been an absolute delight.
Prospective partners have consistently praised the quality of residents, the
strength of the programme and the clear longstanding effect Realness will have
in the film industry, both locally and internationally.”
Deadline for submissions is January 31, 2018.
Visit www.urucumedia.com/realness for further details and a
list of materials or go to Twitter @realresidency, Instagram @realnessresidency
or Realness Residency on Facebook.
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