Durban FilmMart Returns as African Cinema Gains Global Ground
The 17th Durban FilmMart runs Oct. 9–12 in South Africa, as African filmmakers win top festival prizes and local financing grows.
The 17th Durban FilmMart will run from Oct. 9 to 12 in Durban, South Africa, gathering industry players as African cinema continues to make inroads at the world's top festivals.
Recent months have brought a string of firsts. South African directors Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar won at Rotterdam with the docudrama Variations on a Theme. Rwandan debutante Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo took the Caméra d'Or at Cannes for Ben'Imana, while Cameroon's Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu won Venice's best first feature prize for House of the Wind.
Nigerian directors Arie and Chuko Esiri brought Clarissa, a Lagos-set adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway starring Sophie Okonedo, David Oyelowo and Ayo Edebiri, to Cannes. Neon acquired the film.
As reported by Variety, homegrown financing is also maturing. Tools include the Next Narrative Africa Fund, CANEX Creations Inc., MBO Capital, Volition Capital and Capital Film Productions. Steven Markovitz, CEO of Big World Cinema, helped spearhead the inaugural African Film Investor Roundtable with the HEVA Fund, and says equity investors are putting $100,000 to $3 million per project into African film.
That local momentum comes as global players including Prime Video, Netflix and Canal+ have exited or scaled back investment in the African market. The African Producers Accelerator, launched last year by Big World Cinema and the Bertha Foundation, aims to help producers fill the gap.
Quick answers
When and where is the 17th Durban FilmMart?
It takes place from Oct. 9 to 12 in Durban, South Africa.
Which African films have recently won at major festivals?
Variations on a Theme won at Rotterdam, Ben'Imana took Cannes' Caméra d'Or, and House of the Wind won Venice's best first feature prize.
How much are equity investors putting into African film projects?
According to Steven Markovitz of Big World Cinema, equity investors are putting $100,000 to $3 million per project.