By Ogova Ondego
Published July 3, 2014
Forty emerging African filmmakers have been selected to attend the 7th edition of Talents Durban, a skills-sharing, development and networking platform for emerging filmmakers (July 18-22, 2014) during the 35th annual Durban International Film Festival, DIFF (July 17 – 27, 2014) in South Africa.
The filmmakers selected for the programme offered by DIFF in collaboration with the Berlinale Talents programme of of Germany’s Berlin International Film Festival are from Kenya, Ghana, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Madagascar, Tunisia, Namibia and South Africa.
The emerging talents include Kenyans Susan Wanjiru, She Mulinya and Monica Obaga; Ghanaians Timoteo Edzeani Doh and Frances Bodomo; Nigerians Udoka Oyeka, Terhemen Agbedeh, Oribhabor Kelvin Aigbokhaevbolo and Kulanen Ikyo; Moroccan Abdellatif AMAJGAG; Tunisian Fatma Azibi; Ethiopian Henok Birhanu; Namibian Perivi John Katjavivi; Egyptians Bahaaeldin Elgamal, Mohamed Siam and Mustafa Aiman; Sitraka Randriamahaly from Magagascar and South Africans Christiaan Kritzinger, Donovan Orr, Alexander Melck, Jozua Malherbe, Shane Vermooten,Harold Holscher, James Walsh, Diana Keam, Willem Grobler, Francis William Nicholson, Zolani Ndevu, Roger Young, Manqoba Nkosi , Miklas Simeon Manneke, Aidan Whytock, Saskia Schiel, Morokwe Kaizer Mokgobu Mokgobu, Ntuthuko Qwabe, Caroline Doherty, Mark Middlewick, Penelope Tshilwane, Marcus Hebbelmann and Emma Bestall.
“The Durban International Film Festival welcomes these filmmakers to the Industry Programme and are proud to present them as the future of African Cinema,” says DIFF festival manager Peter Machen. “The diversity of voices in this selection echoes the theme of this year’s Talents Durban – Continent of Contrasts/de Contraste – inspired by a revered elder of African cinema, Djibril Diop Mambety, whose 1968 short films was entitled Contras’city (City of Contrasts). We hope this crop of Talents at DIFF will follow in the footsteps of giants of African cinema.”
DIFF says the Talents Durban programme that shall be presented within the DIFF Industry Hub at Elangeni Hotel on the Durban beach front “consists of master classes, in depth discussions with critically acclaimed film professionals from across the globe, hands-on training programme as well as networking opportunities for selected participants.”
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Besides participating in hands-on training programmes like Doc Station, Script Station and Talent Press, DIFF says the emerging talents shall also have access to a master class with pitch expert Stefano Teadly, a South African-born, Italy-based producer, director and pitch expert who has produced and directed films such as A WORLD OF PASTA, DOCTOR ICE, COFFEE PLEASE and TEA FOR ALL and the series, FOOD MARKETS: IN THE BELLY OF THE CITY.
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Participants in the Master Classes have the opportunity to participate in a co-production master class with French producer Denis Vaslin. Vaslin, who heads up a Dutch production company called Voyla Films and co-owns a French production company called Madra Films, is a producer of documentary and fiction; his titles include 40 DAYS OF SILENCE, SOLO, THE WORLD BELONGS TO US< THE HUM OF HOLLAND and SNACKBAR.
Julia Overton, an Australian documentary development expert, will present a Documentary Finance master class on Documentary Financing.
Overton is a Development and Investment Manager at Screen Australia where she is instrumental in assisting filmmakers with getting their projects produced with local or international support. Overton has been involved in the development of several critically acclaimed films including THE SNOWMAN, A GOOD MAN, FORBIDDEN LIES, FIRST AUSTRALIANS, CONTACT and SALT.
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