By Iminza Keboge
Published February 3, 2021
African screenwriters and directors with fiction, documentary, animation, and hybrid projects in development are invited to apply for experiential training in Durban, South Africa by March 19, 2021.
The 14th Talents Durban programme welcomes projects of all media formats such as film, television series, web series and content for mobile platforms.
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Also being invited for participation in the hands-on training are emerging film journalists and critics whose programme is dubbed Talents Press.
“Our vision is to stimulate the growth of the African film industry through the development of film projects, and to network African filmmakers within the continent, and the rest of the world,” says Magdalene Reddy, Acting General Manager of the Durban FilmMart Institute. “We intend to build on the success of the 2020 virtual edition to drive African cinema forward.”
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Selected participants, DFI says, will attend “mentorship labs, workshops, discussions, market screenings, and specialised programmes for specific disciplines including directing, script-writing and reviewing films for digital and traditional media. Selected Talents will also participate and interact within the formal DFM programme.”
Saying “Prospective Talents must have a recognised portfolio of previous work and a project in progress,” DFI invites any one interested in the opportunities available to apply online for consideration.
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Inquiries for detai;ls or clarification on the talents programme may be sent to talentsdurban@gmail.com and menzi@durbanfilmmart.com.
A project of Berlin International Film Festival (BIFF) that is held in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Guadalajara, Sarajevo, Beirut, Tokyo and Durban, the Talents programme is from 2021 being conducted in South Africa by the newly-incorporated Durban FilmMart Institute (DFI). The programme was first held in the framework of the defunct Southern African Film and Television Market known as Sithengi in Cape Town before it was taken over by Durban International Film Festival (DIFF). Durban Filmmart (DFM), the precursor of DFI, ran alongside DIFF.
Participants in the talents mentorship programme that was previously known as Talent Campus at BIFF where it was born are initiated into a global community of filmmakers and connected through Berlinale’s wide social network platform.
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