African filmmaking agency Realness has selected nine industry professionals for the second edition of the Southern Africa-Locarno Industry Academy, the development programme for professionals working in distribution, sales, programming and exhibition.
This year’s edition has focused on women, “as the global film industry requires more female voices to be heard”, according to Markus Duffner, head of Locarno Pro, and Marion Klotz, project manager for the academy.
Scroll down for the full list of participants
The 2023 academy will run during FAME Week Africa in Cape Town, South Africa from September 3 to 9. FAME Week Africa is a platform for the development and networking of creative industries on the continent.
The participants will network with industry experts, attend masterclasses, workshops and panel discussions; and contribute to the curation of a short film programme, under the mentorship of artistic director Lyse Nsengiyumva, a graduate of the first edition of the academy in 2021, and programmer at International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Other executives assisting with the programme include Dennis Ruh, director of the European Film Market; and Pamela Bienzobas, a member of the feature film selection committee at Locarno Film Festival.
“Until producers can deliver their content to African audiences through established and profitable distribution avenues on a large scale, we will remain dependent on the North structures,” said Elias Ribeiro, Realness co-founder and executive director, and regional manager of the academy.
“Our content is also worth less than in its primary market, where it is most relevant. The emergence of solid distribution operations is urgent and costly, so we need to innovate while we develop and build.”
Seven of the nine participants hail from South Africa; with Victoria Ogar coming from Nigeria, and Seggen Mikael from Eritrea and Germany.
The selected participants are:
Abulele Njisane, lecturer in cinema studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal
Lerato Bokako, film festival programmer
Taryn Joffe, programmer and industry coordinator at Encounters South African International Documentary Festival
Anga Mqingwana, production and distribution coordinator at Big World Cinema
Khanyisile Zondi, founder of film marketing, PR and distribution company Sinema Agency
Nozipho Swelindawo, founder, co-director of Mbudu Community Art Centre
Victoria Ogar, film account manager at Filmone Entertainment
Lucinda Van de Rheede, freelance line producer, researcher
Seggen Mikael, DOKfest Munich programmer, EFM industry programmer
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