04 Aug 2020
The Durban FilmMart Institute
(DMI) has announced the programme for the 11th Durban FilmMart (DFM) Virtual
Edition, which takes place from 4 to 13 September this year.
“Using the theme Brave New
Cinema, we are bringing together leading and emerging African film
professionals in an online space, to benchmark themselves, learn from peers,
pitch their ideas and projects and network, and collectively demonstrate our
courage to tell our own stories,” says Toni Monty, Head of the DFM.
“DFM 2020 will focus on African
filmmakers who work to contribute cinema images that celebrate, and canonize
our struggles and our beauty,” says Monty. “These are African filmmakers whose
stories challenge oppressive structures, engage with dominant value systems,
and reflect our daily experiences. The creation of film is an act of courage
because of the ever-increasing challenges in both funding and media freedom in
many parts of the continent. This will be a gathering of filmmakers in a
celebration of collective African resilience, collective victories and a call
for the stories of the future.”
The programme looks at current
filmmaking development, distribution and marketing trends, with a Pan-African
focus, and how the future of cinema will navigate new landscapes including the
digital world. In an effort to connect African film professionals across the
post-colonial divides and create new synergies and networks, this edition will
include French and Portuguese, two languages largely spoken around the
continent.
The DFM’s unique online approach
has birthed an exciting new addition to the Market: The DFM Content
Shop. Distributors, sale agents and programmers will have, at their
disposal, a catalogue of 90 African projects (fiction, documentary film of all
lengths as well as series) that are ready for sale and distribution. These
films have been curated to reflect the unique African storytelling and
high-quality content that will be discussed throughout the industry programme.
The Pitch Forum from
4 to 7 September, offers financiers, funders, investors, and programmers a
chance to fully explore the 70 African projects in development that will be
presented. These include the selected projects from submissions, projects from
the Talents Durban programme in partnership with Berlinale Talents,
as well as start-up projects from the Jumpstart incubator
programme, in partnership with Produire au Sud, in Durban sister city Nantes,
France. Jumpstart will introduce 6 emerging directors from Durban and
Kwazulu-Natal region to project packaging for the international market.
Engage, the pan-African
think tank will discuss the difficult social, economic, and political
landscapes that filmmakers are required to navigate, especially around
representation and authenticity in the content created within Africa.
The industry programme includes a
series of webinars, discussion forums and hangouts.
Following from last year’s
inaugural Durban Does Docs sessions, delegates will be able to
meet and engage with documentary film directors in a series of talks that
centre around the art of the creative documentary film. Filmmakers sharing
their process include Sam Soko (Softie) (Kenya), Dylan Valley (Azibuye, a
VR documentary film) (SA), Teboho Edkins (Days of Cannibalism)
(Germany/SA/Lesotho), Nicole Schafer (Buddha in Africa) (SA) and Petra
Costa (Edge of Democracy) (Brazil), amongst others.
The DFM Conversations platform
is a space in which delegates can participate in in-depth conversations with
industry leaders around topics like screenwriting, audience development,
representation in filmmaking and pioneering an African aesthetic. Speakers
include, amongst others, Roger-Ross Williams (God
Loves Uganda, Travelling While Black, Life Animated) (USA), Chioma Ude
(AFRIFF) (Nigeria), Kagiso Lediga (Queen Sono) (SA), and Akin Omotoso (Vaya,
Ghost in the House of Truth) (Nigeria/SA) and Wanuri Kahui (Rafiki)
(Kenya).
Filmmaker Talks invites
directors, writers and animators to discuss the stories they are telling in
their works of art – ranging across feature, documentary, animation, and short
film creation. Speakers include Mounia Aram (France/Morocco), Clare Tracy Louis
(SA), Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese (This is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection)
(Lesotho) and Rehad Desai (Everything Must Fall) (SA).
In a Special Focus, African
Content in the New Normal, speakers will discuss the challenges that
national lockdowns present and the unique opportunities that these
circumstances have offered filmmakers. Topics include Co-production in
the New Normal; Homegrown Online platforms for pan-African content; Risk Under and After
Covid – Future Prospects for the Service Industry.
The South African context
provides interesting challenges for the production and distribution of media.
In the South African Film in Focus, sessions will look at the
various areas of focus for South African filmmakers, but will be of interest to
all filmmakers. Topics include Mzansi Shooting in Covid
Times; All Digital Now: Distributing film in 2020; State
of the South African Audio-visual Industry, Connecting the Dots - South Africa
VOD Market Takes Shape, with speakers drawn from across the South
African landscape.
Within this virtual space the
online event platform allows for opportunities for filmmakers to take meetings
with other delegates and network as individuals or in teams.
“Going online has enabled us to
extend our reach and include more filmmakers than ever before,” says Mandisa
Zitha, Chairperson of the Durban FilmMart Institute Board. “The disruption of
our world by the COVID-19 virus has led to innovation, as well as demonstrated
the ever-increasing need for the creation of content. The DFM virtual space now
offers filmmakers extensive opportunities to network, make connections with
other filmmakers and industry professionals with whom they can collaborate, or
build relationships and get down to the business of film. This we believe will
provide a positive stimulus for the industry’s economy on the continent.”
Delegate registration is now open
on the following link: http://www.durbanfilmmart.co.za/Brave-New-Cinema-2020
