By Abdi Ali
Published February 20, 2024

Durban FilmMart Institute (DFMI), the organisers of DFM that is scheduled for July 19 - 22, 2024, say the Pitch and Finance Forum is open to both series and feature length projects and that at least one of the three key artists(Producer, Writer, Director) should be from Africa or the African Diaspora with an African passport.Uli & Tata’s African Nursery Rhymes, an animation film project produced by Sarah Mallia and directed by Chief Nyamweya of Kenya has been selected for pitching at Durban FilmMart (DFM) that sees the return of the animation elements in its programming in July 2024. To commence with this strand, DFM will provide masterclasses and one-on-one mentorship to projects in development as they prepare to pitch in Africa’s leading film finance and co-production market.

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Durban FilmMart Institute (DFMI), the organisers of DFM, say they received more than 100 applications from animators across Africa and the Diaspora from which eight projects were selected. All the eight projects shall go through a three-month period of training and development to ensure they are ready to meet investors in Durban.

The three-month online masterclass programme will feature script development, visual representation, finance planning, project packaging, pitching and much more while the one-on-one mentorship will allow individual mentors to assist animators with project packaging and pitch preparation.

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South Africa's Durban, ranked at position 89 globally, is the second best city in Africa for expatriate workers in 2018, according to the Mercer Quality of Living survey.“Global demand for African animation content is growing and international investors are looking for authentic African stories capturing authentic African characterisation,” says Magdalene Reddy, Director of DFMI. “Creative talent across the continent are looking for a space to be heard and seen. This is the aim of the Animation@DFM programme – create visibility for quality African content on the global stage. This year the programme has selected projects in development from both established and emerging animators from 6 countries. The strength of the programme lies within these creative individuals who will participate in the DFM Animation Pitch and Finance Forum later this year.”

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Besides Kenya’s Uli & Tata’s African Nursery Rhymes, the projects selected by DFM are:

  • Jay Fly
    Produced by Nosipho Maketo van den Bragt and directed by Greg Blyth and Barend Kruger
    South Africa
  • Monster Nanny
    Produced by Kaya Kuhn and directed by Tafadzwa Hove
    South Africa/ Zimbabwe
  • Oarona
    Producers AJ Pitre and Thandiwe Mlauli and directed by Thandiwe Mlauli
    South Africa
  • R.E.M. (Rapid Eye Motion)
    Produced by Ahmad Abdelhameed and directed by Mahmoud Hemeda & Ahmed Thabit
    Egypt

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  • The Legend of Hyena Man
    Produced by Mathew Valerian, directed by Elshadye Berhanu and Joshua Faber
    Tanzania
  • The Legends of Bulan
    Produced by Ferdinand Adimefe and directed by Azubuike Joseph Duru
    Nigeria
  • Unseen
    Produced by Annemarie du Plessis and co-writers and producers Devon Delmar & Jason Jacobs
    South Africa

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