It’s been a bumper year for this year’s
Durban FilmMart (DFM), the industry development programme of the eThekwini
Municipality’s Durban Film Office and Durban International Film Festival
(Centre for Creative Arts, UKZN), which ended with an awards ceremony at the
Southern Sun Maharani Hotel in Durban, South Africa on July 23, 2018.
Speaking at the DFM’s awards ceremony, Toni
Monty, Head of the Durban Film Office and the Durban FilmMart, said, “As one of
the most important, film industry events and film finance platforms on the
continent, we are really pleased that we have grown the DFM substantially this
year with 877 delegates attending. We had over 40 countries participating this
year, of which 19 were from Africa. A total number of 52 projects were pitched
to potential partners, financiers, filmmakers, producers, distributors and
agents during countless meetings.”
Key to the value that the Durban FilmMart
provides filmmakers are the many meetings and networking sessions that are held
between delegates over the four days.
“The important work we do to enable the
film-makers, would not be possible without our partners and sponsors,” said
Monty, “And we would like to thank our partner markets, development
organisations and funding bodies with deep gratitude. The work we do at this
Mart supports the DIFF and DFO’s vision to dynamically grow the industry and
bring African cinema to its own people and to global platforms.”
Eighteen official DFM film projects in
development were presented at the Finance Forum through the sponsorship of the
Industrial Development Corporation and the National Film and Video Foundation.
Supported by Berlinale Talents, the
Goethe-Institut and the German Embassy and in cooperation with Fipresci, Durban
Talents was able to host 16 young filmmakers, and 3 Talents Press.
“We hosted a number of scriptwriters’ labs
including Jumpstart which is supported by Produire au Sud, France and the
Realness Script Writing Residency. Hot Docs Canada, mentored 11 documentary
projects in development and six CineFam Africa television series projects were
mentored by Caribbean Tales, Canada.”
“We recognize the important role that the
eThekwini Municipality, the principal funder of the DFM plays in its success,”
continued Monty. “The City’s involvement actively enables the economic growth
of the industry, and we thank them for this.”
The DFM hosted a number of delegations this
year including the in-bound delegation through the Department of Trade and
Industry, the BRICS Film Festival delegation through the Department of Arts and
Culture. Special thanks must go to the Canadian High Commission and US Embassy
and the French Institute (IFAS), NFVF and KZN Film Commission for their support
in bringing in delegates.
The
Awards/Grants:
-The International Documentary Film
Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA) awarded the most promising documentary project at
the DFM, Cheese Girl, (South Africa)
- Producer: Batana Vundla, Marion
Isaacs, Director: Milisuthando Bongela with an opportunity to attend the IDFA Forum, one of the top gatherings for
documentary filmmakers, producers, commissioning editors, funds, private
financiers and other documentary filmmakers in Europe, in November.
-The broadcast stream, Afridocs, that
flights African and other international documentaries across 49 countries of
sub-Saharan Africa on a weekly basis, gave a €2500 award, funded by the Bertha
Foundation, to Zinder, The Seeds of
Violence, (Niger) - Producer: Clara Vuillermoz, Ousmane Samassekou,
Director: Aicha Macky.
-The CineMart Award, sponsored by the
co-production market of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, went to the
fiction project, Nyanga / The Horn,
(Zimbabwe) - Producer: Sue-Ellen Chitunya, Brett Michael Innes, Director: Brett
Michael Innes. The project is given an opportunity to attend the Rotterdam Lab,
a five-day training and networking event for producers from all over the world.
-Produire au Sud of Festival des 3
Continents (Nantes), awarded the fiction film Porta-Retrato, (Mozambique) -Producer: Aldino Languana, Osvaldo
Lupini Bambamba, Director: Orlando Mabasso Jr. an opportunity to attend its
developmental workshop programme, PAS, where they will be given tools,
expertise, and opportunities to develop European networks.
-Videovision Entertainment awarded the
“Best South African Film Project” to Snake,
(South Africa) - Producer: Paul Egan, Stanford Gibson and Mustapha Hendricks,
Director: Meg Rickards. They receive a prize valued at R75,000, which
guarantees its release once it is completed. The prize also includes marketing
and distribution support from Videovision Entertainment.
-Versfeld & Associates, publicity
consultants awarded Nyanga / The Horn,
(Zimbabwe) - Producer: Sue-Ellen Chitunya, Brett Michael Innes, Director: Brett
Michael Innes the development of a press kit.
-Sørfond awarded the project How to Steal a Country – Producers:
Rehad Desai and Zivia Desai, Director: Mark Kaplan with an opportunity to pitch
at the Sørfond Pitching Forum in Oslo later this year.
-CineFAM-Africa Incubator Accelerator
Programme award to pitch at the Caribbean Tales Film Festival in Toronto, went
to The Summit Club by Layla Swart
New
awards this year include:
-Hot Docs Blue Ice Award, a cash prize of
2000 Canadian Dollars went to the documentary project The Master’s Plan – Producer: Hanne Phlypo and Director Yuri
Ceuninck.
-11th Talents Durban “Talents Press”
Recognition Award went to Cornelia Glele.
-Durban FilmMart Award for the Durban
Talents Project Selected as a project for DFM 2019 went to When Shadows Move - by Aliki
Saragas.
The DFM has ended but the Durban
International Film Festival continues until July 29. There is a free industry -
Isiphethu opposite the Southern Sun Garden Court Marine Parade for seminars and
workshops for the public and emerging filmmakers, as well as the free
screenings at various venues, including the Wavescapes Surf Film festival at
Ushaka until Friday, July 27, 2018. Also until Friday is the BRICS Film
Festival at the Playhouse.
For more information about the DFM go to
www.durbanfilmmart.com
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