Gyang, Toon Up Join Line-up of Durban FilmMart 2021

Director of Òlòturé, Kenneth Gyang and Ridwan Moshood, founder of Toon Up Animations will be joining the conversations at this year’s Durban FilmMart (DFM) which takes place in July.

Gyang will join a range of directors like Mahad Mashi (Somalia) and Isaac Nabwana (Uganda), from the continent to highlight their storytelling journeys through the various forms of fiction, and documentaries on the film festival’s Talent Filmmaker Talks initiative.

The festival also announced that it will be introducing a new Animation @ DFM stream which will spotlight the growing influence of animation on the continent. The sessions will allow animators to engage with leading professionals from organisations such as Toon Up (Nigeria), Kugali (Nigeria/Uganda), Na Aap Production (South Africa), Katanimate Studios (South Africa), among others.

Retaining last year’s format due to the pandemic, the festival this year will host audiences and participants virtually from July 16 to 25 under the theme ‘Disrupt! The Shape of Stories to Come’.

“Building on the success of our first all-digital market last year, the 12th Durban FilmMart will look to unpack the disruption that the film industry has had to navigate while celebrating the unique opportunities it has presented,” explained Magdalene Reddy, acting General Manager of the Durban FilmMart Institute. “We will also acknowledge key aspects that are unique to us as Africans – all while offering the same fair access across the industry, fostering community within the African film industry, and providing a platform for networking with an international market.”

She added that the festival serves as a key entry point for both creatives and business professionals and connects the film industry to the world. “The 2021 edition will harness the energy of the times, in which online networking, financing, cloud-based workflows and disruption of the distribution ecosystem have the potential to democratize access across the film value chain.”

Following last year’s inaugural DFM Content Shop, the 2021 programme will present a digital catalogue of 60 African projects (fiction, documentary film of all lengths as well as series and animation) that are ready for sale and distribution. These films have been curated to reflect the unique storytelling of African that is available to the international market.

Earlier, organisers announced the African countries that will participate in the Finance Forum Projects — consisting of individual mentorship, public pitching and one on one meetings with film investors, sales agents, distributors, content editors, broadcasters, and programmers — where 28 films and documentaries were selected. They include ‘Forget Me Not’ (South Africa); ‘Hamlet from the Slums’ (Egypt); ‘Defying Ashes’ (Kenya) and ‘Dusty and Stones’ (Swaziland). Other participating countries include the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco, Namibia, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.