DR ISMAIL MAHOMED HONOURED WITH 2026 JOMBA! LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

 

(Right: Dr Ismail Mahomed with Siphindile Hlongwa (Senior Administrator at the CCA) and Lliane Loots.  Pic by Val Adamson)

 

Dr Ismail Mahomed, Director of the Centre for Creative Arts (CCA) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, was presented with the 2026 JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience Lifetime Achievement Award at the opening of the 28th JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, at UKZN., on August 25.

The award was presented by Dr Lliane Loots, curator of JOMBA!, on behalf of the Centre for Creative Arts and the JOMBA! team, in recognition of Dr Mahomed's sustained contribution to South African and African contemporary dance and to the wider arts sector.

In presenting the award, Dr Loots paid tribute to Dr Mahomed's decades of work opening platforms for artists and dancers across South Africa, the African continent and beyond. She described him as someone who understood, often before others did, that an artist needs not only a stage but a door that opens, not only an audience, but someone willing to make the spaces in which art and dance can breathe.

Through his years of service to the arts and his leadership of the Centre for Creative Arts, Dr Mahomed has helped create openings where there might otherwise have been walls, and possibilities where there might have been silence. “Dr Mahomed’s work has never been only about presenting what is already known, but about making room for what is still becoming building platforms upon which dance makers could gather their bodies, stories, questions and dreams, and take the risks that art requires.”

“Across festivals, programmes, collaborations and countless encounters at the Centre for Creative Arts, Dr Mahomed's leadership has helped weave connections between dancers, artists, communities and countries, as a bridge-builder, a door-opener, a provocateur of possibility, and above all, a steadfast believer in the necessity of the arts. For JOMBA!, Dr Mahomed's contribution forms part of the festival's longer choreography, one built not only of dancers and dances, but of those who have helped hold the space, nurture the vision, and ensure that the dance could continue.”

In accepting the award, the festival paid tribute not only to what Dr Mahomed has done, but to what his work has enabled: the artists and dancers who found a stage, the voices and dancing bodies that found an audience, the artistic conversations that crossed borders, and the possibilities that became real because he helped make space for them.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented with what organisers described as deep gratitude, admiration and affection, marking one of the milestone moments of this year's opening night.

JOMBA! ran until September 6, 2026, at various venues in Durban, and a shorter version of it ran at The Market Theatre in Johannesburg from September 13 to 16.

More information can be found at https://jomba.ukzn.ac.za/

DURBAN FILMMART EQUITABLE COPRODUCTION PROGRAMME

 

(Above: Tamara Dawit, Amil Shivji, May Odeh &, Linda Mutawi)

 

The Durban FilmMart (DFM) has announced a new Equitable Coproduction programme for its 2026 edition, designed by EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs) and is bringing four leading EAVE experts to Durban to address one of the most pressing issues in international filmmaking: how to build co-productions that are fair, transparent and sustainable for all partners involved.

Taking place under the theme Shifting Worlds: Turning Towards Ourselves, the 17th Durban FilmMart, scheduled from October 9 to 12, 2026, continues to expand its Industry Programme to meet the practical needs of producers navigating an increasingly global production landscape. The Equitable Coproduction programme, delivered across a masterclass series and a dedicated clinic, gives delegates both the frameworks and the individual guidance needed to structure partnerships that share power, risk and reward more evenly.

Durban FilmMart Institute Director, Magdalene Reddy, says: “Coproduction has always been positioned as a route to bigger budgets and wider access, but we have often identified that those partnerships are not always fair. By presenting a programmatic element-based EAVE’s recently-developed Equitable Coproduction research and report DFM is equipping producers with practical tools to negotiate equitable creative, financial and legal terms from the outset, not as an afterthought.”

EAVE CEO, Kristina Trapp says: “The EAVE Impact Think Tank on Equitable and Inclusive Production Practices was created to examine the structural realities shaping independent production and develop practical responses. DFM was a natural partner in adapting and delivering this comprehensive, hands-on programme for African producers. Together, we aim to provide clear steps, best practices and practical tools for integrating inclusive production and coproduction practices into professional workflows, empowering producers to create meaningful and lasting change across the continent.”

 

Four Masterclasses on Equitable Coproduction

Presented in the DFM Industry Programme and open to all delegates, the masterclass series combines best-practice techniques with case studies drawn from the EAVE experts’ own experience, covering the full production lifecycle from development through to delivery. The four EAVE experts who will be present in Durban are Tamara Dawit (Gobez Media – Canada & Ethiopia), Linda Mutawi (Fikra – Sweden), May Odeh (Odeh Films – Palestine & Germany) and Amil Shivji (Kijiweni Productions – Tanzania).

Developing with an Inclusive Lens positions the development phase as the critical point at which to embed equity, care and intentionality into a project. Participants will explore care-based development frameworks, including collaborative story design and consent-driven research, to build a transparent roadmap from concept to production.

Inclusive Financing & Budgeting introduces budgeting tools and financing strategies that promote equity across a production, including fair compensation and practical approaches to shared ownership, transparent practices and community benefit. The session also addresses how to navigate currency imbalances in international co-productions.

Inclusive Co-Productions examines how to build partnerships that uphold creative equity, financial fairness and shared IP ownership and revenue participation, particularly across regions with differing resources. The session covers negotiating fair terms, drafting inclusive contracts and navigating legal frameworks that support long-term, respectful collaboration.

Inclusive Production Practices offers practical guidance for managing productions across diverse cultural and geographic contexts, including inclusive hiring, cross-cultural crew co-ordination, ethical casting, safer set protocols and culturally-sensitive scheduling. The session also addresses production and post-production workflows that prioritise access, consent and psychological safety.

 

Equitable Coproduction Clinic

Recognising that many challenges are specific to an individual project and cannot be fully addressed in a masterclass setting, DFM will also host an Equitable Coproduction Clinic. The clinic gives delegates direct, one-on-one access to the EAVE experts behind the masterclass series.

Delegates can book a dedicated 15-minute slot with an expert to work through concerns specific to their own project, from navigating power dynamics to structuring fair creative and financial partnerships. With four experts running concurrent sessions, the clinic can support up to 50 to 60 delegates individually, ensuring the guidance on offer is tailored rather than generic. Bookings are coordinated by the DFM team to make access straightforward.

Register now: durbanfilmmart.co.za

For inquiries contact 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.

“MASH” MASHILOANE RELEASES 60 ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS AS A FREE BOOK

 

(Above: Sibusiso “Mash” Mashiloane. Pic by Val Adamson)

 

Award-Winning pianist and scholar Dr Sibusiso “Mash” Mashiloane releases 60 Original Compositions as a Free Book

 

Sounds of Home: Compositions Book One makes South African jazz composition freely available to musicians, students, and educators worldwide.

Pianist, composer, and scholar Dr Sibusiso “Mash” Mashiloane has released Sounds of Home: Compositions Book One, a notated collection of 60 original compositions, as a free digital download. The book is the first of a planned series and represents years of work translating a body of music long carried through performance and memory into written form for the first time.

Compositions Book One brings together years’ worth of Mashiloane’s music, from early works through pieces connected to his acclaimed ISIGQI project, each accompanied by his own programme notes on the people, places, and moments that shaped them. The collection spans tributes to family and mentors, reflections on township life and South African identity, and pieces rooted in the concept of isigqi, the organising pulse at the centre of Mashiloane’s musical and academic work.

“This music has always lived in performance and in memory. I wanted it to also live on the page, where other musicians could pick it up, learn from it, and carry it forward. That is why the book is free, the music was shaped by community, and it belongs back with that community,” said Mashiloane.

The full 60-composition collection is available immediately as a free PDF at www.sibumash.com. Readers who would like a printed copy for their shelf or for teaching use can place a pre-order at the same address.

Mashiloane holds a PhD in Music from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he lectures at the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music. He has released eight albums, most recently Isigqi: Live at the bird’s eye, recorded in Basel with Swiss musicians. In 2024 he composed the ISIGQI Suite for the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Carnegie Hall. His work has been recognised with a NIHSS Award, the AFRIMA Award and multiple Mzantsi Jazz Awards.

Sounds of Home: Compositions Book One was edited by jazz writer Gwen Ansell, with music formatting by Pascal Haas and Mashiloane, book design and layout by Brandon Ryan, and cover design by Sanele Balintaba. The book was project managed by Marlyn Ntsele of iSupport Creative Business.

The book includes a foreword by pianist, scholar and Mashiloane’s former lecturer Neil Gonsalves, and an afterword by pianist Darius Brubeck, who introduced the first Jazz Studies degree programme in Africa at the University of Natal (now UKZN), where Mashiloane himself currently lectures.

Sibusiso “Mash” Mashiloane is a South African jazz pianist, composer, and academic whose work explores South African jazz as a form of knowledge, rooted in Ubuntu, community memory, and the idea of home. He lectures at the UKZN Centre for Jazz and Popular Music and has performed and recorded across South Africa, Switzerland, and the United States.

For more information contact info@isupportdoyou.com or phone 079 707 7773 or 083 337 2518

 

STUCK IN DUBAI - DALIN OLIVER

 

Dalin Oliver brings his brand-new stand-up comedy show to Durban:

 

South African comedian Dalin Oliver is back on home soil and ready to hit stages in Durban at The Rhumbelow Theatre on October 3 and 4, with his brand-new stand‑up comedy show, Stuck in Dubai, a wild, true story born from an experience no traveller wants.

En route to perform at Adelaide Fringe, Dalin was in transit when conflict broke out in the region, leaving him stuck in Dubai for four days. What followed was a surreal mix of uncertainty, humour and viral fame. His social media updates gained traction and Dalin unexpectedly became the “official, unofficial international news correspondent for South Africa,” earning both local and international media coverage.

In classic South African style, he transformed a traumatic moment into comedy gold, finding laughter, love and lekkerness in his posts, receiving the same in return from his fellow South Africans at home and abroad. It’s a miracle that he made his connecting flight to perform at the world’s second biggest arts festival, eventually landing in Australia just a few hours before showtime.

Fresh from surviving the wildest layover, and witnessing live missiles, he’s bringing chaos and adrenaline‑fuelled storytelling in a show that promises to be packed with explosive laughter.

Inspired by a four‑day layover that spiralled into cancelled flights, live missiles and an unexpected race across the world to reach Australia for performances, Dalin delivers explosive laughter and adrenaline‑fuelled storytelling in this unbelievable true tale.

Dalin Oliver is an award‑winning South African comedian, premium corporate MC, sports broadcaster, and international touring artist. He has performed in 10 countries and 25 cities outside of South Africa, proudly flying the flag across 200 international performances and connecting with audiences from all walks of life.

With ten years in commercial radio, including eight years on primetime breakfast radio at Good Hope FM, he has built a reputation as a multi‑award-nominated sports broadcaster with a trusted, energetic and comedic on‑air presence. This combination of stagecraft, broadcasting expertise, and screen performance positions him as a true all‑rounder in the entertainment industry, with on‑screen credits across Comedy Central Africa, SABC, Prime Video, DStv, and Showmax, and a leading role in the feature film Finders Keepers, released in cinemas nationwide.

Dalin is currently wrapping up the global tour of his one man show 90 Day Comedian, which has taken him to stages in 8 countries and 32 cities, racking up 111 performances. The show received a Bronze Ovation Award at South Africa’s premier arts festival, The National Arts Festival, won Best Weekly Comedy Show at Fringe World in Perth, and was nominated twice for Solo Show of the Year at the South African Savanna Comics’ Choice Comedy Awards. He has also appeared at the Cape Town Funny Festival, Johannesburg International Comedy Festival, Laugh Africa Comedy Festival, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne Fringe, and performed independent shows and tours across England, Ireland, Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, Canada and Dubai. He also had the honour of MC’ing the Cape Flats Sports Academy Gala Dinner in the world-renowned Long Room at Lord’s in London - a fundraising event held in partnership with the foundations and cricket academies of former South Africa and England greats JP Duminy and Moeen Ali.

Performances at the Rhumbelow Theatre in Durban take place as follows:

Saturday, October 3, 2026. Show starts at 19h30

Sunday, October 4, 2026. Show starts at 14h00

(Venue opens 90 minutes before show for snacks/drinks)

Tickets R180. Booking is essential on email: roland@stansell.co.za or WEBTICKETS

Bring food picnic baskets or buy at the venue. Bar available (no alcohol may be brought on to the premises)

There is limited secure parking available.

For more information phone 0824998636 or link to  http://events.durbantheatre.com/

LOCAL IS LEKKER

A Proudly Mzansi Music Experience!

Celebrate everything that makes South Africa unmistakably South African - the rhythm, the stories, the voices, the shared gees that brings us together. Dance and sing along to the sounds of Mama Afrika, Johnny Clegg, Freshly Ground, and the anthems that have shaped our nation’s heartbeat.

Charles Webster, Grace Botha, Rudi Engelbrecht, Rebecca Webster and Tanya Nicolson bring you a proudly South African musical feast - a joyful, high energy celebration of homegrown favourites, shared memories, and that warm Mzansi magic we all know.

Sunday October 25, 2026: 13h00. Waterski Farm, Tala Valley

Tickets: R350 (includes 3 course lunch) Booking essential: Gail@spottedowl.co.za or WhatsApp 082 445 2577

Expect singalongs, nostalgia, infectious rhythms and a whole lot of local flavour. Bring the fam, bring your vibe, and come celebrate South African-ness in all its colour.

STREET LIT BOOKS

The Denis Hurley Centre is a proactive NGO based in Durban which cares for the city’s poor and marginalised. One of their flagship entrepreneurship projects is Street Lit which helps a team of homeless and formerly homeless rehabilitated men and women earn a basic income from selling good second-hand donated books at venues around town.

 

You will find the book vendors:

Kagiso Phihlela at events;

China Shabalala – City View;

Comfort Ngubane - Glenwood Village Centre;

Alvin Dube / China Shabalala - La Lucia Mall;

Qhawe Mbatha – Bridge City;

Sbusiso Mnguni - Ballito Life and Style, by the gallery;

Donel Tanbeni at the KZNSA Gallery;

David Sithole – outside municipal satellite container library alongside Workshop;

Bulelo Sigabi – Davenport Square,

Lindani Mvuyana – by the butchery in Umlazi;

Eric Badise / Lindo Ntuli– Durban Botanic Gardens Visitors Centre;

Richard Nzima & Khanyisile Cele – Pick n Pay Hyper by the Sea;

Vusi Meyiwa – Bluff Towers;

Xolani Gamede – Umlazi Mega City;

Anele Nyembezi around the taxi ranks.

GLENWOOD BOOK FAIR

An extraordinary extensive book fair takes over the bustling suburb of Glenwood over Heritage Weekend.

The Glenwood Book Fair is a not-for-profit community event organised by MYGLENWOOD and the DURBAN BOOK CLUB. It is designed to celebrate Durban as a UNESCO City of Literature, drive a culture of writing and reading in Durban and promote writing and publishing (especially in indigenous languages).

This year, the Book Fair runs from September 24 to 27, 2026, and will feature close to 60 authors in four venues. The GBF will start on Thursday with a programme designed for children and youth featuring children’s authors, dancers, musicians and storytelling at the beautiful Bulwer Park in partnership with the Umbilo Library and the Glenwood Urban Improvement Precinct.

On Friday we move to Mazisi Kunene Museum where the focus shifts to examining and celebrating the work of South Africa’s first poet laureate, Mazisi Kunene and the promotion of indigenous languages with a panel featuring isiZulu writers and writing. We shift to the arts next with an afternoon programme at the KZNSA. Here a panel will examine the intersection of art and storytelling before we welcome best-selling local authors for a panel called The Durban Voice.

Saturday and Sunday will see us gather at the Phansi Museum. Surrounded by Paul Mikula’s peerless collection, we will meet and hear from dozens of authors - from bestselling novelists to historians, from poets to sociologists - all steered in their conversations by Durban’s best-known citizens. Thank you to all the authors who so generously said yes to participating, the facilitators who did not hesitate to make time, the performers and the storytellers. We hope to see everyone at the Glenwood Book Fair on the Heritage Weekend. All sessions are FREE.

 

24        Glenwood Book Fair   10h00  Umbilo Library, Bulwer Park

25        Glenwood Book Fair   10h00  Mazisi Kunene Museum

25        Glenwood Book Fair   14h00  KZNSA Gallery

26-27   Glenwood Book Fair   09h00  Phansi Museum

 

For more information visit https://glenwoodbookfair.co.za/

13TH EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL SOUTH AFRICA RETURNS TO DURBAN

New Noise, Point: Weekends September 18 to 20 and 25 to 27.

The 13th European Film Festival South Africa presents the latest award-winning, critically-acclaimed and star-studded European films for local audiences to experience in cinemas around South Africa from September 17 to 27. And eight top-end films will be screened at the New Noise Courtyard, on Durban’s Point, over the weekends of September 18 to 20 and September 25 to 27.

The Last Viking: Denmark’s biggest star Mads Mikkelsen, leads the star-studded cast of this madcap, blackly comic Danish family-drama/crime-caper-noir. Friday Sept 25 at 19h00

Winner of the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut, My Father’s Shadow (UK), is directed by British-Nigerian director Akinola Davies Jr’s first feature. Friday Sept 18 at 19h00

Oscar- and BAFTA-winning leading Italian director Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty) reteams with collaborator Toni Servillo in La Grazia (Italy). Sunday Sept 27 at 17h00

Colours of Time (France), is a family drama that weaves together stories from one family’s 19th century past and their 21st-century present. A memorably delightful and touching exploration of art, family and history. Saturday Sept 19 at 17h00

Porcelain War (Ukraine): This inspirational, Oscar-nominated film features Slava Leontyev, his wife, and their friend tell, at great personal risk, the story of how their lives as artists were brutally upended by the war in Ukraine. Saturday Sept 26 at 17h00

A Family (Netherlands) directed Mees Peijnenburg offers a powerful window on divorce in Europe, told empathetically through the eyes of a brother and sister. It stars Carice van Houten (Game of Thrones) and Pieter Embrechts. Saturday Sept 26 at 19h30

Veteran award-winning Polish director Agnieszka Holland offers an energetic and bright biopic about the enigmatic literary genius Franz Kafka, in Franz. Sunday Sept 20 at 17h00

Ireland’s Christy is the debut feature from Brendan Canty that has picked up many nominations and awards at this year’s Irish Film and TV Awards for its tender direction and impressive lead performance from Danny Power. Saturday Sept 19 at 20h00

Tickets are limited to 40 tickets per screening and can be purchased via Quicket. Refreshments and popcorn will also be available to purchase.

For the full programme and schedule follow on social media or go to www.eurofilmfest.co.za

 

 

DURBAN FILMMART EXPANDS 2026 LINE-UP

 

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.

ANDRE THE HILARIOUS HYPNOTIST RETURNS TO DURBAN

 

Andre the Hilarious Hypnotist returns to Durban — with a uniquely South African twist.

 Bookings through Webtickets

 Stage hypnosis has been entertaining audiences in one form or another since the 1800s. The basic ingredients haven’t changed much: a hypnotist, a stage full of willing volunteers and an audience waiting to see what happens next.

After more than three decades on South African stages, Andre the Hilarious Hypnotist admits there isn’t much point in trying to reinvent something that already works remarkably well.

So this year, he isn’t changing the hypnosis. He’s changing what happens once you’re hypnotised.

Andre returns to Durban’s Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre from October 1 to 4 with a show that turns its attention firmly towards the strange, frustrating and wonderfully familiar things that make South Africans … South African.

We all know the instinctive reaction when a pothole suddenly appears in front of the car. We all have an opinion about taxi drivers. We’ve developed a rather unique relationship with electricity, water supplies and the everyday surprises of life in South Africa.

But what happens when those familiar experiences become hypnotic suggestions?

That’s where things can get very strange, very quickly.

Under hypnosis, ordinary volunteers find themselves responding to familiar South African situations in completely unexpected ways. The suggestions may be planned, but the reactions certainly aren’t - because no two volunteers experience hypnosis in exactly the same way.

That unpredictability has always been at the heart of Andre’s show.

There are no actors planted in the audience and no scripted performances from the volunteers. Every show is created around the people who walk onto the stage that night, which means no two performances can ever be quite the same.

The Durban performances are suitable for families, although volunteers must be 16 years or older to participate on stage. Younger audience members are welcome to attend and enjoy the show from the safety - and perhaps wisdom - of their seats.

Each performance runs for approximately two hours, including a 20-minute interval.

Venue: Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, Durban

Dates: October 1–4, 2026

Sunday October 4: 15h00

Duration: Approximately 2 hours, including a 20-minute interval

Bookings: Webtickets

 

Age: Family-friendly. Volunteers must be 16 years or older.

 

MTN ONE TV PITCH SESSION AT DFM 2026

Deadline For Submissions: September 28, 2026

Call for Submissions

Got a bold, fresh African story made for mobile-first, digital-savvy viewers? Durban FilmMart and MTN One TV are teaming up to find compelling film and TV projects! Here is everything you need to know to get pitch-ready.

-Target Audience: Youth (aged 18–34) & Mass-Market Viewers

-Primary Markets: South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, and Zambia (with broader Pan-African appeal)

-Lead Producer Requirement: Minimum 7+ years of professional industry experience

-Perks for Selected Pitches: 2 Complimentary DFM Accreditations per project

 

What MTN One TV is Looking For

We want authentic, culturally resonant, and commercially viable stories exploring universal themes like family, ambition, identity, and resilience.

 

Eligible Formats & Guidelines:

-Limited Series: 6–8 episodes × 45–60 mins

-Scripted Series: 13 episodes × 45–60 mins

-Unscripted Series: 13 episodes × 45–60 mins

-Micro-drama: 30 episodes × ~2 mins (tailor-made for quick mobile watching!)

-Feature Film: 60–90 mins

 

Accepted Genres:

Drama, Reality, Comedy, Action, Thriller, Romance, and Animation.

 

Who Should Apply?

-Experienced Producers: Lead producers must have at least 7 years of track record in the industry and operate via a registered production company.

-Delivery Track Record: Demonstrated ability to manage professional creative/technical teams and deliver content to broadcast or streaming standards.

-Rights Holders: You must own, control, or have official authorisation for all underlying IP and rights to the project.

 

Submission Checklist

Your pitch package must include:

-The Creative: Project Title, Logline, Synopsis, Pitch Deck, Pilot Script, and Series Outline/Breakdown.

-The Business & Budget: Estimated Production Budget, Production Schedule, Financing Status, and Target Market Strategy.

-The Team: Bios/Profiles for the Lead Producer, Production Company, and confirmed Key Creatives.

  

Pitching & Attendance

-In-Person Pitching: If shortlisted, you’ll pitch live at Durban FilmMart in Durban!

-Accreditation: Selected projects get 2 free DFM Accreditations.

-Travel & Expenses: Participants cover their own travel, lodging, visas, and daily expenses.

 

Good to Know

You Keep Your IP: Submitting or pitching does not transfer ownership of your intellectual property to DFM or MTN One TV.

Next Steps: Pitching doesn't automatically mean a commission, but it opens the door for negotiations and potential development agreements down the line.

 

Find out more:

https://www.google.com/search?q=MTN+ONE+TV+PITCH+SESSION&oq=MTN+ONE+TV+PITCH+SESSION&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigAdIBCDE4MzRqMGo3qAIIsAIB8QWdc-dX0YBQ1A&sourceid=chrome&source=chrome.ob&ie=UTF-8

 

Apply now!

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: SEPTEMBER 28 2026

 

BOTHO: I AM BECAUSE WE ARE

 

(Above: Musicians from the newly-formed Wushwini Indigenous Orchestra. Pic by Shelley Kjonstad)

The 12th Botho Heritage Arts Festival presents Living Archive of Memory, Spirit & Celebration at the Wushwini Pan African Centre:

The Botho Heritage International Festival returns for its 12th edition from September 23 to 27, 2026, transforming Wushwini Pan African Centre alongside Inanda Dam in the Valley of 1000 Hills, into a vibrant gathering place for African creativity, heritage, memory, dialogue and collective celebration.

Under the powerful theme Botho: I Am Because We Are, the five-day festival invites audiences, artists, cultural practitioners, elders, young people, communities and visitors to reconnect with the values that bind African societies together.

Entry to productions / events / shows is R50 at the door.

Full programme on Wushwini social media pages and website.