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Funding the African Content Boom, Cracking the Distribution Riddle and Women Making Waves: 8 Takeaways From the 15th Durban FilmMart
The influential industry event wrapped this week in South Africa with an invigorating sense of possibility among the continent's filmmakers.
While several young South African filmmakers told Variety they’d made the journey from Johannesburg and Cape Town “for the vibes,” those traveling from Tunis and Tanzania, Lagos and Lusaka, Abidjan and Algiers with their pitch decks in tow showcased the range of storytelling on the continent. The DFM’s co-production and financing forum is arguably the leading platform in sub-Saharan Africa for industry tastemakers, and this year’s selection showcased a crop of largely emerging talents bringing a range of fresh stories, perspectives and cinematic voices to the market. “You’ve got a commissioning structure with the streamers which has really helped a lot of filmmakers and production companies and producers get things across the finish line, but that can’t be the only road.” Joel Chikapa Phiri, executive chairman of the Known Associates Group, added: “If we don’t crack the distribution problem…we’re never going to figure this model out.”
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