Durban FilmMart returns for its 17th edition with a host of talks and events aimed at building on the legacy of innovation, change and industry-defining debates surrounding arguably the most influential film market on the continent.
This year’s event, which runs from 9 to 12 October, is organized around the theme “Changing Worlds, Turning to Ourselves”, which Durban FilmMart Institute director Magdalene Reddy says is inspired by pioneering Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène’s unforgettable claim: “Why do I become a sunflower and turn towards the sun? I am the sun too.”
“We look inward too much [at this year’s edition]reddy says Diversity. “In a world where everything is changing, we understand that it is important to look at what we need to create systems that will work for us as the African cinema community right now. How can we consolidate? How can we create solutions?”
The four-day event features a wide range of panel discussions, masterclasses, one-on-one meetings and mentoring sessions designed to leverage unprecedented visibility and a unique moment of change for the African film industry.
Unlike previous editions which ran parallel to Durban International. This year’s DFM Film Festival will open with the screening of Rwandan debutante Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo’s Cannes Caméra d’Or winner “Ben’Imana.” An alumnus of DFM’s influential presentation and finance forum, the film was chosen to highlight the event’s huge impact on the African filmmaking community.
“This was a DFM project. It was presented at DFM two years ago and they managed to win two awards at Cannes. [including the FIPRESCI prize]“For us, the celebration of hosting a showcase in the market in a way we haven’t done before is based on the fact that we want to showcase our local content in our own local context,” says Reddy.
An important pillar of every DFM is its influential Think Tank arm, whose conversations and outcomes often “become a blueprint for the next DFM and the direction the industry will go,” according to Reddy.
This year’s centerpiece will be a closed-door session bringing together key distributors, financiers and industry leaders looking to tackle some of the vexing challenges of film distribution on the African continent, which has been hit particularly hard by successive waves of corporate consolidation across the global industry. Another session will focus on audience development and “try to see how we can better connect with the local community.” [audiences]”says Reddy.
The backbone of this year’s event will shed light on equitable co-production through a series of sessions organized in collaboration with the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs network (EAVE). Reddy will touch on the systemic imbalances African producers face when partnering with outside co-producers, in talks that cover thorny topics such as how to best incorporate inclusivity into financing, development and production; “Even when coming with stories, with intellectual property,” says Reddy.
“How can they come to the table as an equal partner? How can they come to the table in a way that benefits them? Can they engage in a way where funding can still come back to Africa?” he asks.
Collaboration is a theme across several areas of Durban FilmMart and the event establishes a wide range of partnerships with industry bodies such as EAVE; Nature, Environment and Wildlife Filmmakers (NEWF); Cape Town International Animation Festival (CTIAF); Documentary Africa; StoryBoard Collective; and the Ladima Foundation, which supports African women working in the film and television industries, will launch an initiative to increase gender equality at African film festivals.
“Collaboration is something that underpins all the work DFM has done over the years,” says Reddy. “We need to work together for the industry to survive.”
This year’s Durban FilmMart comes at a turbulent time for the screen industries, particularly the host country, which is in a “challenging” situation due to ongoing uncertainty over South Africa’s 25% cash rebate, according to Reddy.
To this end, leading South African policymakers are expected to be present at the DFM, which will host a closed session for local industry to meet one-on-one with representatives of the influential Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, which manages the country’s rebate policy; National Film and Video Foundation; and various local and regional film commissions.
“The platform we have created for us at DFM is not only a platform for filmmakers to build a community for the filmmaking industry on the continent, but also a platform where filmmakers can connect with policy makers,” says Reddy. “It’s a space where policymakers can understand what the challenges are and what the issues are facing our filmmakers. We’re trying to bridge the gap between the industry and policymakers so that we can create an enabling environment and ecosystem for our filmmakers.”
He adds that this mandate also includes DFM’s broader engagement with the African continent as a whole. “Last year’s theme was creating bridges, and we continue to do that. While it may be difficult to work with each other within the continent, we are trying to find ways to do this.”