By Abdi Ali
Published May 16, 2023
South Africa-based Durban FilmMart (DFM) co-production and finance market has selected 28 projects to be part of its Pitch and Finance Forum during its 14th DFM scheduled for July 21 – 24, 2023.
The Pitch and Finance Forum connects filmmakers with both local and global broadcasters, financiers, streamers, sales agents and producers, garnering the essential support and collaborations required to bring projects in development to completion and reach screens big and small.
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Ahead of the Pitch and Finance Forum, the 2023 DFM projects will benefit from the guidance of esteemed film producers and professionals. Among the mentors for the fiction projects are Kethiwe Ngcobo (South Africa), filmmaker and award-winning television producer, who previously served as the Head of Drama at SABC’s Content Hub. Also lending their expertise is Femi Odugbemi (Nigeria), the Academy Director of the Multichoice Talent Factory and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Meanwhile, the documentary projects will benefit from the mentorship of Bridget Pickering (Namibia), a filmmaker and award-winning producer whose work includes Whispering Truth to Power, which was honoured with the Special Jury Prize at the Hot Docs Film Festival. Joining her is Amel Bouzid (Belgium), an associate producer of Lágy eső by Denes Nagy, which premiered at La Quinzaine in Cannes. Themba Bhebhe, (United Kingdom), who holds the position of Head of Diversity & Inclusion at the European Film Market (Berlinale) and is also one of the pioneering members of the Programmers of Colour Collective (POC2), will be offering his mentorship to both fiction and documentary projects.
Included in the 2023 selection are 8 animation projects and 3 projects from the emerging filmmaker programme.
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“Africa offers an abundance of extraordinary narratives as is evident from the remarkable range of subjects explored in this year’s slate of projects. African filmmakers are broadening the scope of cinema and offering fresh perspectives to audiences worldwide. We are pleased with the calibre and number of submissions received this year, which is testament to the creativity and ever-evolving expertise of our continent’s filmmakers,” says Magdalene Reddy, Director of the DFM Institute that presents DFM.
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Selected Projects
Fiction Features
- Big Tree (Uganda) – Producer: Flavia Mary Bukojja and Director: Dilman Dila
- Coconut (South Africa) – Producer: Bongiwe Selane, Dineo Lusenga and Director: Karabo Lediga
- Every Stitch a Lonely Thread (South Africa) – Producer: Tiny Mungwe and Director: Jannous Nkululeko Aukema
- Graft (Zimbabwe) – Producer: Sue-Ellen Chitunya and Director: Naishe Nyamubaya
- Granny Lee (South Africa) – Producers: Shant Joshi, Roelof Storm, Tshepiso Chikapa Phiri and Director: Gabe Gabriel, Ian Gabriel
- Kahawa Black (Black Coffee) (Kenya) – Producer: Juliana Kabua and Director: Esteri Tebandeke
- Nomvelo and the Wolf (South Africa) – Producer: Leanne Gail Kumalo and Director: Lindokuhle Langa
- Pharming (South Africa) – Producer: Meren Reddy, Luke Rous and Director: Joshua Rous
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Documentary Features
- Cirta (Tunisia) – Producer: Olfa Ben Achour and Director: Saif Chida
- Djeliya, Memory of Manding (Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Sénégal) – Producer: Mamounata Nikièma and Director: Boubacar Sangaré
- Eaglette – A Superstar Erased (South Africa) – Producer: Thandi Davids and Director: Beverley Ditsie
- Flying Like a Bird (Morocco) – Producer: Hicham Falah and Director: El Mahdi Lyoubi
- Foreign (Ivory Coast) – Producer: Laurent Bitty and Director: Joël Akafou
- In My Father’s House (Morocco) – Producer: Merieme Addou and Director: Rachida Elgarni
- The Circuit (Cameroon) – Producer: Martinel Nemalieu and Director: Arice Siapi
- Wildfire (South Africa) – Producer: Seregeo Kirby and Director: Zahra Moloo
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Documentary Series
- Beyond Fela (formerly The Darker Side of Afrobeats) (Nigeria) – Producer: Aderonke Adeola, Temitayo Ayorinde and Director: Aderonke Adeola
