Africa’s premier film finance and co-production market, the Durban FilmMart (DFM), opens delegate registration next week on April 18.
Celebrating its 8th edition, this year’s DFM, a joint programme of the Durban Film Office (DFO), the eThekwini Municipality’s industry development unit, and the Durban International Film Festival, hosted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts, takes place from 14 to 17 July and will host around 500 delegates from Africa and the world.
The DFM programme provides opportunities for film-makers to come together with a common focus, network and keep themselves updated on the latest trends and developments within the industry.
The DFM has three main areas of focus: Master Classes conducted by industry experts, unpack a wide array of challenges and issues faced by film-makers in developing their projects; a series of industry workshops set the scene for networking and social opportunities for industry representatives and the co-production market, features pre-submitted and selected film projects that are presented to the industry.
“The objective of the DFM is to provide a market platform for African projects in development that supports and encourages project collaboration between African filmmakers, ” says Toni Monty, of the Durban Film Office who heads up the DFM programme.
”We are very excited about this years programme, which will be published next week. International programme partners for 2017 include the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s (IFFR) CineMart, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), Sundance Institute, AfriDocs, Talents Durban, Caribbean Tales International Film Festival, HotDocs – Blue Ice Documentary Film Fund, Produire au Sud, Restless Talent Management, Sørfond, the Goethe Institute and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.
The Durban FilmMart runs from 14 to 17 July, during the Durban International Film festival (July 13-23). Early bird registration opens on April 18. Delegates will have access to the 4 day event which includes access to industry sessions, networking lunches, DFM networking events, entrance into the Durban International Film Festival screenings (subject to ticket availability) and company listing in the DFM Industry Manual.
For more information or to register go to www.durbanfilmmart.com.
