The Durban FilmMart (DFM) is proud to announce that five films selected to be screened at this year’s Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) participated as official projects at the (DFM) – Africa’s premier Film Finance and Co-Production market.
The 42nd Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is from 22 July to 1 August 2021.
“It is very heartening to witness more and more film projects that have participated in Durban FilmMart processes being showcased at festivals and cinema circuits across the world, thus fulfilling the central purpose of DFM, to facilitate getting films made, African films in particular,” says Magdalene Reddy, acting General Manager of the Durban FilmMart Institute. “Congratulations to the five DFM alumni projects selected for the 42nd Durban International Film Festival.”
The films include four new documentaries. Murder in Paris, a political crime-thriller, directed by Enver Samuels, traces the motives for the assassination of anti-Apartheid activist Dulcie September. In As I Want, directed by emerging voice in Arabic documentary film making Samaher Alqadi, picks up her camera as a form of protection and begins documenting the growing women’s rebellion, not knowing where the story will lead her. The Colonel’s Stray Dogs, profiles political activist Ashur Shamis, who lives with a million-dollar bounty on his head after a lifetime in Muammar Gadaffi’s crosshairs. The film is directed by Ashur’s son, Khalid Shamis. Zinder, directed by Aicha Macky, is a town in the impoverished lepers area of Kara-Kara, Niger, where a culture of gang violence now reigns.
The fifth film, Five Tiger, a short film from South Africa directed by Nomawonga Khumalo features a god-fearing woman finds herself in a transactional relationship as she tries to support her sick husband and daughter.
“At the heart of the Durban International Film Festival is a mission to enable partnerships to strengthen the film industry and create opportunities for African and newer voices. Therefore, the festival is delighted to host some of the alumni DFM projects as it shows that the industry chain functions as intended,” says Chipo Zhou, Festival Manager and curator of DIFF 2021. “The DIFF has always been primarily a place for fresh voices to be discovered. We are pleased that initiatives have come full circle from the DFM to the film festival. We enjoy our collaboration with DFM and look forward to reaping the benefits of the current projects in the future.”
Programme and details
Register for the Durban FilmMart here: https://durbanfilmmart.co.za/Delegate-Registration.aspx
DIFF is accessible virtually and free of charge, the entire programme for DIFF2021 can be found on www.durbanfilmfest.com
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 and Namibian Film Commission with the following programme partners – AfriDocs and Avek, Berlinale Talent, Cape Town International Animation Film Festival, Digital Lab Africa, Documentary Filmmakers Association, Documentary Association of Europe, DOK.fest München, Dok Leipzig, Dolby, Durban International Film Festival, FidaDoc, Hot Docs Blue Ice Fund, Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, Independent Producers Organisation, Miradas Doc, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Produire au Sud, Rotterdam Cinemart, SASFED, South African Guild of Actors, Sørfond – Norwegian South Film Fund, SWIFT, Trace Studios, Writers Guild of South Africa.
