The 40th Durban International Film Festival
(DIFF) and Durban FilmMart (DFM) are proud to announce the participants of the
12th edition of Talents Durban, within the official DIFF/DFM programme.
Talents Durban is a five-day development
programme presented in cooperation with Berlinale Talents, an initiative of the
Berlin International Film Festival, made up of workshops and seminars for
African filmmakers, delivered by film industry professionals and academics.
After a rigorous selection process, 15
filmmakers and three film critics from 12 countries across the continent made
the final cut, which consists of three features, three TV/web series, three
animation, three documentaries, three shorts films, and three film critics:
In addition to these 18 Talents, a 2018
alumnus Talents award-winner, Aliki Saragas-Georgio will pitch her project When Shadows Move along with 20 other
projects at the Durban FilmMart Finance Forum. Aliki is co-producer with
Jacqui-lee Katz and Bridget Pickering and co-director with Jacqui-lee Katz.
Official 2019 Talents Durban Participants
& Projects
Feature
Selection: Spirit
(South Africa) Director: Vusiafrica Sindane; Black Widow (Rwanda) Director: Shema Deve, and No Country For Little Girls' Tantrums (Uganda) Director: Patience
Nitumwesiga
Shorts
Selection: Heart
Attack (South Africa) Screenwriter: Minenhle Luthuli; Strong Girls (Tunisia) Director: Inès Arsi, and Organized Crime (Zimbabwe) Director:
Derby Bheta
Documentary
Selection: And
Who Will Cook? (Cape Verde) Director: Samira Pinto; The Sweet Cursed Dance (Rwanda) Director: Sibomana Alexandre, and Twelve Pangas (South Africa) Director:
Xola Mteto
Animation
Selection: The
Mystery of Waza (Cameroon) Animation Director: Claye Edou; Box Cutters (South Africa) Animation
Director: Naomi van Niekerk, and The
Course (Le Parcours) (Benin) Animation Director: Odilon Assou
TV
& Web Series Selection: Outfoxed (South Africa) Screenwriter: Jabulile Nadia Newman; Mau Mau (Kenya) Screenwriter: Damaris
Irungu, and Mami Wata (Gabon)
Screenwriter: Samantha Biffot
Talent
Press Selection: Nkululeko Zilibokwe (South Africa)
Talent Press; Jeoffrey Mukubi (Namibia) Talent Press, and Kayode Faniyi
(Nigeria) Talent Press
“The 12th edition is presented under the
theme of “A Journey to Authenticity” inspired by the present moment in African
cinema,” explains Menzi Mhlongo, Talents Durban Co-ordinator. “Following a
global renaissance of African cinema and television content, the demand for
stories from the continent is rising. African storytellers and audiences
seeking to connect with African cinema also have to grapple with the question
of what is 'authentic' African cinema. For the filmmaker, this question has a
far more inward dimension as well - before the auteur can offer the answer to
this question they have to ask the question of themselves - what is authentic
to me? With a four day programme of masterclasses, mentorship and networking on
offer, we are looking for the best voices in African cinema- storytellers who
represent the future of what it means to have an "Authentic Voice" -
to join this pertinent conversation.”
Participants will interact with over 600
delegates from the DIFF and Durban FilmMart, the co-production and finance
forum, which take place from July 19 to 22, 2019, during the festival. The
Talents will also get to be part of several project-oriented, hands-on skills
development programmes. Practical development programmes within Talents Durban
include Story Junction, masterclasses, and one-on-one mentorships.
Story Junction is a platform showcasing
projects linked to the festival. Talents will present their project at Story
Junction to peers and industry delegates. Delegates will be able to request
meetings with participants whose projects they wish to engage with further.
Each of the Talents will receive a mentor
for an intensive programme of one-on-one consultation, and the entire group
will engage in project and strategy development workshops. The mentors selected
are experts in their respective fields (e.g. documentary, fiction, drama
series, web, mobile content, TV and animation) that suit the needs of the
participants and their projects.
In collaboration with the Durban FilmMart,
Talents will have access to the inaugural Durban Does Docs conference, the
Locations Africa Exhibition, a programme on women-led film hosted by Sisters
Working in Film and Television (SWIFT), and a selection of masterclasses,
seminars, workshops, labs and networking opportunities for filmmakers.
Talents Durban is one of 7 Talents
International Programmes formed by Berlinale Talents in Africa and around the
world including Talents Beirut in Lebanon, Talents Buenos Aires in Argentina,
Talents Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Talents Tokyo in Japan, Talents
Guadalajara in Mexico and Talent Press Rio.
Talents Durban is supported by the
KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, Goethe-Institut SA, German Embassy in South
Africa, National Film and Video Foundation and Gauteng Film Commission.
The 40th Durban International Film Festival
is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of
KwaZulu-Natal, with support from eThekwini Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal Film
Commission, the National Film and Video Foundation, German Embassy, Goethe-Institut
and a range of other valued partners.
For more information go to
ccadiff.ukzn.ac.za/ or follow on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
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