CALL FOR PROJECT SUBMISSIONS FOR INAUGURAL DURBAN FILMMART

Following an announcement earlier this year, by the Durban Film Office (DFO) and Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) to host the first international film co-production market on the African continent, organisers are calling for the submission of projects for consideration for the inaugural Durban FilmMart.

"This first African co-production market has the potential to act as a key driver in raising the visibility of film content from Africa," says Toni Monty, acting CEO of the DFO. "We envisage that it will provide African film-makers with the opportunity to pitch film projects to leading financiers and meet and network with internationally reputed directors and producers in order to form alliances for future collaborations"

Projects with an African citizen attached to one of the three creative roles of writer, director or producer are eligible to participate in the inaugural Durban FilmMart. These include fiction features, animation features and documentaries suitable for international co-production and distribution

"We expect the FilmMart to be a place for film financiers to locate fundable African projects and encourage project collaboration between African film-makers from different African countries and through this forum redress the current scarcity of film production on this continent. In fact, it is hoped that the Durban FilmMart will become a valuable feeder stage for established co-production markets across the globe," says Peter Rorvik, director of the Centre for Creative Arts/DIFF.

The Durban FilmMart promises to be a further catalyst for growth in the region by becoming one of the key events of the South African and African film industry and a focal point to interface with global parties and stimulate interest and activity in the city and the province.

The Durban FilmMart will be a joint project of the DFO and the DIFF and will take place in July during the 31st Durban International Film Festival (22 July - 1 August). For more information on the Durban FilmMart and project submissions visit the website on www.durbanfilmoffice.com or contact Musonda Chimba.


Musonda Chimba
Durban Film Office : +27 31 3114248

E-mail: chimbam@durban.gov.za

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES

DFO - Joanne Hayes, Tumbleweed Communications

Cell: + 27 83 627 7249 E-mail: weeds@iafrica.com

DIFF - Sharlene Versfeld, Sharlene Versfeld & Associates

Cell : + 27 83 326 3235 E-mail : Sharlene@Versfeld.co.za

NOTES

The Durban Film Office (DFO) is the film-industry development arm of the Ethekwini Municipality, mandated to position Durban as a world-class film production destination and facilitator for the development of the local film industry. The DFO drives activity and development in the sector in order to boost tourism, job creation and the development of core skills and SMME's in the region. The organization is also actively seeking and creating opportunities for setting the benchmark as the leading authority in the field in South Africa.

The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is a flagship project of the Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal). The CCA facilitates creative platforms and economic opportunities for artists and related industries, intercultural exchange and network development, training, audience development and strategic Pan-African and international cooperation in the cultural sectors. The CCA also produces three other major annual festivals - Time of the Writer, Jomba! Contemporary Dance Experience and Poetry Africa. www.cca.ukzn.ac.za

©Copyright Durban Film Office. 2009 All Rights Reserved.

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World Filmhouse: 3rd TALENT CAMPUS DURBAN 23 - 27 July 2010 at the 31st Durban International Film Festival (22 July - 2 August 2010)

World Filmhouse: 3rd TALENT CAMPUS DURBAN 23 - 27 July 2010 at the 31st Durban International Film Festival (22 July - 2 August 2010)

3rd TALENT CAMPUS DURBAN 23 - 27 July 2010 at the 31st Durban International Film Festival (22 July - 2 August 2010)

The 31st Durban International Film Festival (22 July - 2 August 2010) is proud to announce the 3rd edition of Talent Campus Durban from 23 - 27 July 2010, an intensive 5-day programme of workshops and seminars delivered by film professionals to enhance both theoretical and practical approaches to filmmaking. The 3rd Talent Campus Durban theme Focusing on Africa: Unleashing Talent in 2010 will focus activities towards the development and strengthening of partnerships between African filmmakers.

Talent Campus Durban invites filmmakers from Africa to apply to participate in these workshops and seminars, which take place in Durban, South Africa, over five days. In addition to specific activities offered by the Campus, the selected talents will have the opportunity to attend films and events at the 31st Durban International Film Festival.

Deadline for application: 15 March 2010

Full Rules and Regulations can be downloaded from: www.cca.ukzn.ac.za/talentdiff2010.htm

For further details:

Phone: +27 (0)31 260 2506/1367

Fax: +27 (0)31 260 3074

Email: talent at ukzn.ac.za or talent.durban at gmail.com

Talent Campus Durban is produced as a cooperation between the Durban International Film Festival and the Berlinale Talent Campus, and Berlin International Film Festival and is supported by the German Embassy in South Africa, the Goethe-Institut South Africa and the Department of Economic Development - KwaZulu-Natal.

The Durban International Film Festival is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (UKZN) with principle funding and support from the National Film & Video Foundation, HIVOS and the City of Durban.

For email contact please use the following:

Media Queries: Versfeld and Associates

Tel: 031-8115628 Fax: 0866827334 Email: sharlene@versfeld.co.za

Festival queries: Durban International Film Festival

Tel: 031 260 2506 Fax: 031 260 3074 Email: diff@ukzn.ac.za

Talent Campus Durban queries:

Tel: 031 260 1650 or 2506 Fax: 031 260 3074 Email: Email: talent@ukzn.ac.za or talent.durban@gmail.com

Society & Culture Magazine

Announcing

the creation of Society & Culture Magazine.

For thought-provoking discussion, exhibition and critique of all things cultural in today's African society.

You are invited to submit stories, articles and photographs with a cultural perspective on life in East Africa and the continent at large.

Send your cultural works and contact details to: society.magazine@yahoo.com

We shall reward all works that we publish.

The FilmMaker

Press Release from the Kenya Film and TV Professional Association (K.F.T.P.A)

The film industry and Kenya is in crisis. Last year, Film production in Kenya injected approximately 2 Billion Kenya shillings into the economy. Everyone benefited - from air charter companies, transport companies, Hotels, to the small scale farmer selling eggs to the caterers that feed the crews. Our industry is that diverse. Film production generates revenue in every sector of the Kenyan economy in some form or another. A vibrant international industry also inspires and nurtures local talent. Kenyan filmmakers are an emerging force and are gaining recognition around the world. International Investors are looking to Kenya as a talent pool and are or were funding Kenyan filmmakers to realise their voice and vision. Kenya is showcased throughout the world through cinema, television and press. The film industry has positively marketed Kenya for decades. Over 20 years ago, ‘Out of Africa’ sold Kenya as the world’s Safari destination and tourists were still coming to Kenya until January this year…Kenya could not have paid for better advertising! Kenya as a filming location attracts investment, development, recognition, employment, stability. All things we appear to have forgotten...

(More) http://www.filmingkenya.com/issue1/mdword.html