South Africa’s Durban FilmMart Institute (DFMI) has announced the lineup of projects and participants for the 17th edition of Talents Durban …
Taking place during the Durban FilmMart (DFM) in Durban from 19 – 22 July 2024.
This year’s edition of Talents Durban is distinguished by its inclusion of participants from 15 African countries, who collectively reflect the continent’s diversity of emerging film professionals. The selection process was highly competitive, with a record 499 applications resulting in the choice of 26 distinctive projects and 4 film critics, each bringing a fresh perspective to features, documentaries, shorts, series, animation, and film criticism.
“The Durban FilmMart Institute is dedicated to the growth of African cinema through strategic collaborations that enhance access to markets and professional networks. Talents Durban, a core component of this commitment, aligns with Berlinale Talents to facilitate a rigorous developmental platform for emerging filmmakers. This partnership, now in its 17th iteration, leverages both our shared vision and the bold stories that Africa offers. We are particularly focused on providing filmmakers, animators and film critics with the tools and opportunities to bring their work to both regional audiences and the international stage, thereby ensuring sustained development of the continent’s film industry”, said DFMI Director, Magdalene Reddy.
As the African satellite programme of the Berlin International Film Festival and Berlinale Talents, Talents Durban holds a significant position within the DFMI’s programming portfolio.
Berlinale Talents is a networking platform organised by the Berlin International Film Festival, offering a space for emerging filmmakers to connect, learn, and collaborate. Talents Durban serves as its African counterpart, providing a similar platform specifically tailored to the continent’s unique filmmaking landscape.
The Heads of Berlinale Talents, Nikola Joetze and Florian Weghorn, also weighed in on the importance of Talents Durban to the African film ecosystem.
“Over the many years of our trusted partnership, Talents Durban has grown into a central hub on the continent, where project development, training and lasting exchange come together in the most sustainable way. We are extremely proud to welcome also this year’s very strong selection of participants to the global Talents community.”
Talents Durban is a training and development programme that brings together Africa’s rising film professionals – screenwriters and directors with fiction, documentary, animation, and hybrid projects in development (this includes all media formats such as film, television series, web series, and content for mobile platforms).
Talents Durban is an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival and is part of six international initiatives of Berlinale Talents. Talents Durban was founded in 2007 as a partnership between the Durban International Film Festival and Berlinale. Since 2019, Talents Durban has become a project of the Durban FilmMart Institute.
Selected talents for the 2024 programme will participate in a series of project-oriented, hands-on skills development programmes. These include sessions such as Story Junction, where participants present their projects to producers and financiers, alongside masterclasses and one–on–one mentorship opportunities. Mounia Aram, Jihane Bougrine, Hawa Essuman, Yanis Gaye, Karabo Lediga, Carol Kioko, Beverly Mitchell, Kethiwe Ngcobo and Laza Razanajatovo, will serve as this year’s mentors.
Click here to see the full list of participants and feature projects at Talents Durban 2024.