After 10 days of virtual panel discussions, workshops, presentations, pitches and meetings the 12th Durban FilmMart culminated with the announcement of the 2021 Official Awards for Projects on Sunday, 22 August.
This year, Africa’s premier film event, the DFM hosted 1221 delegates from 73 countries around the world. The event was streamed live from a production hub in Durban, where 67 different sessions by 217 speakers, panellists and moderators, were broadcasted to an accumulative audience of 6917 people, using a total of 499 gigs of data. The sessions were presented in English with live simultaneous interpretation in French, Portuguese and Sign for most presentations. In addition, the team recorded an incredible 62 hours of webinars and “hangouts” and presented pitches by 66 African filmmakers to financiers, investors, sales agents, and international markets.
“Despite the initial disruption, the Durban FilmMart has once again made its mark in solidifying its position as the most important platform on the continent for development and birthing of the content for African cinema,” says Magdalene Reddy, the Acting General Manager of the DFMI.
“The quality of the projects were testimony to the resilience of African filmmakers while the industry discussions that took place were robust and insightful. African filmmaking is thriving and the possibilities of its direction are exciting,” Reddy said.
Award Winners:
DFM Talents Durban Award went to Bushrider (Bosryer) written and directed by Aadil Dhalech (South Africa) and will be able to participate at DFM 2022 programme.
Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival (China) Special GZDOC Invitation went
- Eat Bitter (Central African Republic) – produced by Mathieu Faure, Orphe Zaza, Emmanuel Bamoy, Sol Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy and Steve Dorst and directed by Pascale Appora-Gnekindy and Sol Sun
- My Plastic Hair (South Africa) produced by Mamokuena Makhema, Yolanda K Mogatusi and directed by Yolanda K Mogatusi
- The Possessed Painter: Abbès Saladi (Morocco) produced Mehdi Akacha and directed by Reda Lahmouid
- Defying Ashes (Kenya) – produced by Joan Njeri Maina and directed by Karanja Ng’endo
- Untitled: Miss Africa South (South Africa) produced by Bridget Pickering, Darren Kerr, Aliki Saragas-Georgiou and Jacqui-Lee Katz and directed by Aliki Saraga-Georgiou and Jacqui-Lee Katz
The filmmakers have an opportunity to participate in the virtual GZ Doc Pitch Session in 2022.
Miradas Doc Award (Spain) went to The Woman Who Poked The Leopard (Uganda). Producer Rosie Motene and director Patience Nutumwesiga will also go on to participate in the Miradasdoc 2022.
Carthage Pro-Carthage Film Festival Award went to The Killing Of A Beast (South Africa). Produced by Naledi Bogacwi and co-produced and directed by Vusi Africa Sindane.
DOK.fest München Award went to UNTITLED: Miss South Africa (South Africa) produced by Bridget Pickering, Darren Kerr, Aliki Saragas-Georgiou and Jacqui-Lee Katz, and directed by Aliki Saraga-Georgiou and Jacqui-Lee Katz who will be able to participate in the DOK.forum Marketplace.
DoK Leipzig Co-Pro Market Accelerator Prize (Germany) was awarded to The Woman Who Poked The Leopard (Uganda) produced by Rosie Motene and directed by Patience Nutumwesiga who will be given accreditation for the DOK Leipzig 2021 for the project team. The project will also participate in the DOK Co-Pro Market.
Festival International de film Documentaire d’Agadir (Morocco) (FIDADOC) Award went Such a silent cry by Walid Tayaa (Tunisia) and Fanta Sacko by Kanouté Kankou (Mali) providing the filmmakers with the opportunity to participate in the FIDADOC Writing Residency.
OIF – Clap ACP Prize awarded by the OIF, the ACP Organization and the EU went to Come Sunrise, We Shall Rule (Zimbabwe) co-produced by Bramwell Iro and Sue-Ellen Chitunya and directed by Nyasha Kadandara. The filmmakers will undergo project diagnostic mentorship and assisted with re-writing mentoring (or audit of all application documents if the script needs no rewriting). They will also receive 18 months exposure and promotion towards coproducers/distributors.
The IEFTA Award Narrative Feature (IEFTA) (Monaco) went to The Mailman, The Mantis, and The Moon (Namibia) produced by Valcerine Mouton and directed by Cecil Moller who will be given mentorship through one of IEFTA’s partner development programs and labs.
The IEFTA Award Documentary went to Eat Bitter (Central African Republic). Produced by Mathieu Faure with co-directors Pascale Appora-Gnekindy and Sol Sun who will receive mentorship through one of IEFTA’s partner development programs and labs.
International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA) Spotlight Award went to The Woman Who Poked The Leopard (Uganda). Producer, Rosie Motene and director Patience Nutumwesiga was were awarded participation, travel and accommodation to IDFA’s next edition and participation in a tailor-made program within the IDFA Industry and training activities.
The Produire au Sud of Festival des 3 Continents (Nantes, France)/ IFAS Award went to the Day and Night of Brahma (South Africa). Producer Carol Kioko and director Sheetal Magan will be given the opportunity to attend the developmental workshop programme, PAS, where they are supported with developing tools, expertise, and opportunities to forge European networks.
CineMart Award sponsored by the co-production market of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (The Netherlands) went to The Killing Of A Beast (South Africa). Produced by Naledi Bogacwi and co-produced and directed by Vusi Africa Sindane will be able to participate in the Rotterdam Lab, a training and networking event for producers.
Sørfond Award (Norway) was awarded to The Woman Who Poked The Leopard (Uganda). Filmmakers; Rosie Motene and directed by Patience Nutumwesiga the opportunity to attend a pitch course at the Sørfond Pitching Forum in Oslo, Norway.
The Trace Studios Award went to
- Entangled – a feature film by Happiness Mpase
- The Year of our Lord – a feature film by Imran Shabaan
- Ghriba’s Jews – a documentary film by Lassad El Ghaieb
- From Patrice to Lumumba – a documentary film by Patrick Kabeya
- Ties that Bind – a documentary film by Mpho Dintwa
Each project will feature in TRACE Content Distribution catalogue for 24 months.
Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund Award went to The Woman Who Poked The Leopard (Uganda). This project was produced by Rosie Motene and directed by Patience Nutumwesiga. They received $1,000.
AfriDocs Award went to Eat Bitter (Central African Republic). Produced by Mathieu Faure with co-directors Pascale Appora-Gnekindy and Sol Sun, the project has received a prize of €2,500 awarded by AfriDocs for a documentary film project at DFM 2021.
The National Film and Video Foundation’s Award for Best Fiction went to The Killing Of A Beast (South Africa). Produced by Naledi Bogacwi and co-produced and directed by Vusi Africa Sindane.
The National Film and Video Foundation’s Award for Best Non Fiction went to Eat Bitter (Central African Republic) – produced by Mathieu Faure, Orphe Zaza, Emmanuel Bamoy, Sol Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy and Steve Dorst and directed by Pascale Appora-Gnekindy and Sol Sun.
Both projects receive a cash prize of R100 000 each.
The Durban FilmMart platform is still open to registered delegates to review presentations, pitches and network until 31 August.
The Durban FilmMart 2021 is produced by the Durban FilmMart Institute with principal funding from the Durban Film Office and Ethekwini Municipality. The DFM 2021 virtual event is supported by the National Film and Video Foundation, KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, Film and Publications Board, International Emerging Film Talent Association, Institut Francais – South Africa, Wesgro, Canadian High Commission, CC&A Insurance, Wits School of Arts Film and Television, Sunshine Cinema, Multichoice Talents Factory and the Embassy of Portugal. Programme partners are: Berlinale Talents, Produire au Sud, AfriDocs and Avek, Cape Town International Animation Film Festival, Cairo International Film Festival, Carthage Film Festival, Digital Lab Africa, Documentary Filmmakers Association, Documentary Association of Europe, DOK.fest München, DOK Leipzig, Dolby, Durban International Film Festival, FidaDoc, FESPACO, Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund, Inco Production, GZ Documentary Film Festival, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, Independent Black Filmmakers Collective, Independent Producers Organisation, Miradas Doc, Namibia Film Commission, Netflix, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Rotterdam Cinemart, South African Guild of Actors, Sørfond – Fund, SWIFT, Trace Studios, , Writers Guild of South Africa. And media partners include Awotele, Callsheet Africa, and Variety.
