Durban FilmMart Institute (DFMI) is proud to announce the winner of the new documentary award supported by Just Films to director, Sabrina Chebbi and producer, Kenji Accard for their feature documentary in development, Climbing the Mountains after pitching at the annual Durban FilmMart in July 2025.
The documentary aims to explore the transmission of trauma experienced by Algerian filmmaker, Sabrina Chebbi and is a poetic testament to the resistance of Kabylian grandmothers who are the living guardians of tradition and history.
This award of 10,000 USD is the first of a 4-year award partnership between Just Films and Durban FilmMart Institute.
The Durban FilmMart Institute thanks the jury for their careful consideration and deliberation on the project best deserving of this award. The independent jury included Jihan El-Tahri, producer, writer and director at Big Sister Productions, Mandisa Zitha, Festival Director of the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival and Steven Markovitz, producer, founder and director of Big World Cinema .
Applications for the DFM 2026 Pitch and Finance forum are currently open for live action projects in development.
DFM Pitch and Finance Forum Application criteria:
- The programme is open to African filmmakers with an active feature length or episodic live action project in development.
- The programme is open to both fiction and documentary projects.
- At least one of the 3 key creatives (Producer, Writer, Director) must be from Africa or African in the Diaspora (with an African passport).Should you have any questions regarding the acceptability of your documentation which connects you to the continent, especially if it is not an African passport, please write to DFMI via [email protected].
- Project applications must be completed in English, however the language of the project itself is up to the imagination of the filmmaker/ writer.
- At least one representative must be available to participate in the online masterclass and mentorship programme and be physically present in Durban for the duration of the 17th Durban FilmMart.
- Applications can be made through the Durban FilmMart Institute website: https://durbanfilmmart.co.za/pitch-and-finance-forum-application/
Deadline for applications: Sunday, 1 February 2026
To keep up to date on call-outs filmmakers are encouraged to sign up for the DFMI newsletter on the website https://durbanfilmmart.co.za/ or follow on social media.
For more information, kindly contact [email protected]
Click here to apply.
Information about JustFilms
JustFilms, through Ford Foundation, supports independent film and emerging media projects that explore urgent social justice issues and seek to challenge inequality in all its forms. We also support the organizations and networks that help further these projects. Funds are distributed in two areas, social justice storytelling and 21st-century infrastructure, which together aim to transform pervasive narratives that produce and maintain inequality, and attract more resources for artist-driven creative visual storytelling around the world.
https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/justfilms
About Durban FilmMart Institute
Durban FilmMart Institute is the business hub of the African film industry in a world where professionals and products are globally competitive and celebrated. The mission of the Durban FilmMart Institute is to provide appropriate and effective programmes and services to promote, support and facilitate investment in the African film industry. The Durban FilmMart Institute runs year round developmental programmes and an annual market (Durban FilmMart). The DFMI has recently launched Filmmart.africa which is an online tool for filmmakers to connect and which we hope will enhance visibility for African content. For more information about the DFMI programmes visit www.durbanfilmmart.co.za