Durban FilmMart expands 2026 line-up with animation, impact
producing and natural world storytelling partnerships
The Durban FilmMart (DFM) has announced an expanded partner
programme for its 17th edition, running in Durban from October 9 to 12, 2026.
Three new industry strands - developed with the Cape Town International
Animation Festival (CTIAF), a coalition of documentary impact producing
organisations, and the Nature, Environment and Wildlife Filmmakers organisation
(NEWF) - bring animation, impact producing and natural world storytelling into
DFM's core programme.
Magdalene Reddy, Director of the Durban FilmMart Institute,
says: "This year's partner programme strands reflect exactly the kind of
collaboration DFM exists to enable. We are always open to working with
organisations who share our commitment to strengthening the African film
ecosystem, and these partnerships allow us to bring specialist expertise into
the DFM programme for the benefit of the filmmakers and industry professionals
we serve."
ANIMATION DAYS -
with Cape Town International Animation Festival (CTIAF)
The strand moves the conversation beyond talent to
infrastructure: financing, studios, audiences and IP.
Dianne Makings, Festival Director of CTIAF, says: "Animation
is often talked about as if the only question is whether Africa has the talent.
We know we have the talent. The bigger question is what happens next; who
commissions the work, who finances it, who builds the studios, who develops the
audiences and how do we create an industry that allows African creators to keep
making African stories?"
Sessions include Innovate. Animate. Elevate.: From Cape Town
Studio to Global Market, on building a real studio cluster; Beyond the Festival
Circuit: Who Is Watching African Animation?, tracing the pipeline from
commissioning to audience development; and Too Big for Grants, Too Small for
Investors: The Missing Middle, on financing the jump from small teams to
scalable studios. The programme also features a WATA Creative Workshop for
women in African animation and gaming, plus studio networking and a screening
of CTIAF's Best of 2026 selection.
IMPACT DAY - with
Documentary Africa, The StoryBoard Collective, Perspective Fund, Real Reel
Impact, Doc Society, Climate Story Labs Africa, Tunga Media Afrika, UCT Centre
for Film and Media Studies, Climate Story Lab ZA, Climate Story Lab Lagos,
South x Sul Network and UMI Fund
A full-day working forum on impact producing across the
filmmaking lifecycle - not just at delivery. Highlights include a case study on
Children of Honey, presented by Odera
Onyore Nyambok II (Documentary Africa); an Impact Hackathon building live
strategies for three documentary projects; case studies on Get Reel and Murder in Paris;
a fishbowl discussion on impact financing with Doc Society, DocuBox and
Documentary Africa; and The Climate Cine-bar, a screening-and-dialogue session
on films that move audiences beyond the screen.
NATURAL WORLD
STORYTELLING - with NEWF
Pragna Parsotam-Kok, Executive Director, NEWF, says: "So
many of the stories emerging from the continent remind us that nature is not
separate from people. Social, environmental and climate justice intersect,
conservation films explore people and place, and stories about the natural
world can move between documentary, fiction and natural history. Now more than
ever, it matters that African voices are part of global conversations about our
environment, nature and wildlife. Together, we hope to invite filmmakers who
may not yet see themselves as nature world storytellers, to bring their voices,
craft and perspectives to the wild side; and to expand what natural world
storytelling can be, who gets to shape it and how these stories are shared with
the world.”
Sessions include Beyond
the Wild: Representing Nature and Spirituality on Screen, with Pippa
Ehrlich, Zolani Mahola, Dr Gcina Mhlophe and Gogo Lindi Dlamini; Beyond the Wild: Getting the Shot, on
wildlife cinematography with NEWF Fellows; and Beyond the Wild: Expanding Stories About the Natural World.
Delegates can also explore The NEWF Room, an immersive exhibition featuring 360° VR from Zululand to Sodwana Bay's
reefs and the multiplayer game Aquabots, alongside The Wild Side, a curated shorts programme.
Registration for the DFM can be done on the website:
durbanfilmmart.co.za
For enquiries: info@durbanfilmmart.com
The 17th edition Durban FilmMart is funded by the Durban
Film Office, eThekwini Municipality, Ford Foundation, the National Film and
Video Foundation and IEFTF.
About the Durban
FilmMart Institute:
Durban FilmMart Institute is the business hub of the African
film industry in a world where film professionals and content are globally
competitive and celebrated. The mission of the Durban FilmMart Institute is to
provide appropriate and effective programmes and services to promote, support
and facilitate investment in the African film industry.
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