Deadline:
July 13, 2018.
One of Africa’s premier film industry
events, the Durban FilmMart (DFM), a joint programme of the eThekwini
Municipality’s Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Durban International Film
Festival (DIFF) has ramped up its offerings to delegates for its 9th edition,
which takes place from July 20 to 23, 2018.
“The 2018 Edition of Durban FilmMart offers
some exciting opportunities through a diverse programme of masterclasses,
seminars and events for African filmmakers to build business networks, explore
collaborations, develop content, benchmark their creative and production work
in line with international trends, and look for investment and business
opportunities,” says Toni Monty, Head of the Durban Film Office. “But what
underpins the DFM, is the focus on developing the industry in Africa, whilst
drawing on local African and international expertise.”
“There are a number of lead speakers
presenting at this year’s DFM” says Russel Hlongwane, curator of the DFM and
DIFF industry programme. “This year’s programme promises to stretch the
mindsets of industry players, providing them with innovation and new thinking,
coupled with opportunities to engage with successful and respected
thought-leaders that include, amongst others, Dayo Ogunyemi (Nigeria), Stephen
Follows (UK) and Peter Russell (USA).”
Dayo Ogunyemi is a Lagos-based creative
entrepreneur, investor and founder of 234 Media, which makes principal and
private investments in the media, entertainment and technology sectors in
Africa. He offers an insightful presentation entitled Africa through the Lens that foregrounds African markets as
lucrative territories. His presentation gives context and the state of regional
film industries and economies across sub-Saharan Africa.
Stephen Follows will present a high level
session entitled A Bird’s Eyeview of
Global Industry Trends, which unpacks key shifts and trends shaping the
market from an international perspective. Follows is a leading trainer and
thought-leader in how storytelling can be used to change hearts and minds, and
data researcher in the film industry, whose work has been featured in the
global major publications such as The New York Times.
LA-based Peter Russell is a screenwriter
and story doctor in Hollywood whose clients include Imagine, HBO, Participant,
Viacom and CBS Television. Peter will present a session entitled The Secrets of TV Mini-Series and Serial
Stories & How Filmmakers Can Evolve Into TV Storytellers in which he
will share the secrets of how film storytelling can be adapted into the red hot
television storytelling market - both in TV mini-series and the serial TV form.
Panel discussions this year include Aesthetics of African Cinema which looks
to explore the aesthetical and fundamental values that will define films from
the African continent; Financing Films in
Africa - providing insights into ways filmmakers can source and work the
often hard and tricky world of financing structures on the African continent; Breaking through the Business of the
Business will look at how to shift from being a ‘’project based’’ filmmaker towards a more ‘’entrepreneurial approach’’
without compromising creative content; Distribution
– Debunking the Myths; and Getting to
the heart of your documentary features a diverse panel of continental and
international professionals, discussing documentaries that set themselves apart
from the rest and the success factors behind this.
Speaking to current issues, the South
African Screen Federation will lead a discussion entitled, Are there any Sacred Cows in Filmmaking?, following the recent
public debates around handling of sensitive social and cultural issues within
film, and Sisters Working in Film and Television (SWIFT) will lead discussions
on issues of sexual harassment, race and transformation in the industry. Other
important discussions taking place include The
practicalities and importance of Co-Production Treaties and Copyright vs Copyleft – where to from
here? The National Film and Video Foundation will also present a series of
workshops and discussions on policies and local industry trends.
Additional insightful sessions will include
the Department of Trade and Industry’s launch of the Industries Film Incentives
Guidelines and Emerging Black Filmmakers’ Fund Guidelines. The programme will
include a set of discussions, led by the Department of Arts and Culture, on
current and future collaborations within the BRICS member countries. Filmmakers
will have the opportunity to network with member country filmmaker delegations
in attendance.
The official pitching forums will include
representatives from 16 pre-selected African film projects that will be
pitching film projects to leading financiers, broadcasters and other potential
funders and investors at the DFM’s finance forum.
Running parallel to the DFM, and supported
by the experts and visiting speakers, is the Durban International Film
Festival’s open industry programme, Isiphethu, aimed at introducing entry
level, emerging filmmakers, micro-budget film-makers as well as interested
members of the public to the inner-workings of the world of cinema.
Manager of the DIFF, Chipo Zhou says, “Our
strategy for Isiphethu, in terms of industry growth, is to support filmmakers
in developing content. But it is also about supporting the development of the
quality of content, which may ordinarily be impacted on by the smaller budgets
they may be working with. We want to be able to offer these filmmakers
opportunities to incubate projects, be mentored by experts, network with
seasoned and experienced peers, and be included in the overall vision of the
DIFF and DFM, to grow quality African content. In short, to include this sector
of the industry into the greater industry fold.”
“Central to the objectives of the Durban
FilmMart to encourage African filmmakers to look within to collaborate, finance
and develop content,” says Toni Monty. “We are very excited to see so many DFM
alumni projects that have come to fruition, doing very well on local and
international festival and cinema circuits and many with good distribution
deals: these include films like Rafiki,
Inxeba: The Wound and Five Fingers
for Marseilles to name a few. This is exactly the strategy created by the
DFO and DIFF nine years ago, and it is heartening to see the long-term value it
provides for the African film industry. This year’s programme is rich in
diversity and complexity, and we are looking forward to seeing Durban come
alive with a real buzz of the business of filmmaking.”
The 9th Durban FilmMart takes place in
Durban, at the Tsogo Sun Elangeni from July 20 to 23, 2018, during the 39th
edition of the Durban International Film Festival (July 19-29 2018).
General registration closes July 13, 2018.
For more information on the Durban FilmMart and to register as a delegate visit
www.durbanfilmmart.com or for Durban International Film Festival www.durbanfilmfest.co.za
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