Durban FilmMart wraps with development, production grants and festival invites

The Durban FilmMart (July 20-23) wrapped this week with a number of African projects awarded development and production funding and grants to attend European film festivals.

Producers and directors of 12 documentaries and 11 features pitched their projects during one-on-one sessions with international film funders, broadcasters, distributors and sales agents.

The winners were announced at the closing night awards ceremony.

•         The Hubert Bals Fund Award of €5000 towards script and project development for The Most Promising African Project went to Live from Zimbabwe; producer Jackie Cahi and director Rumbi Katedzi.

•             Three producers were awarded the prize to attend the Rotterdam Lab 2013 presented by Bianca Taal of the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s CineMart. They were David Horler for Flatland (South Africa), Ikechukwu Omenaihe for In Silence… &In Tears (Nigeria) and Jackie Cahi for Live from Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe).

•         Isabel Arrate Fernandez of the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA) and the IDFA Fund presented the Most Promising Documentary Projects, together with Himesh Kar of WorldView which awarded the two travel grant funds totalling €5000 for travel and accommodation for two filmmaker teams to IDFA. The prize was given to director Anjali Nayar and director Hawa Essuman for Logs of War (Kenya) and producer Neil Brandt and director Riaan Hendricks for The Devils Lair (SA).

•         WorldView also awarded a €5000 to The Most Promising Feature Projects to producer and director David Horler and Jenna Cato Bass for Flatland (SA).

•         EAVE CEO Alan Fountain awarded a prize to attend the European Producers Workshop. The award was given to producer and director David Horler and Jenna Cato Bass for Flatland (SA)

•        Arte France awarded the Best Feature Film Project award of €6000 to producer Steven Markovitz and Wanuri Kahiu for Jambula Tree (a SA/Kenya coproduction)

•         Canal France International (CFI) awarded the The Most Promising Project  to Joel Karekezi (director and producer) for The Mercy of the Jungle (Rwanda).

•         Videovision’s Best South African Film Project prize of R75000, presented by Sanjeev Singh was awarded to The Visit, a coproduction by Imraan Jeeva, Omar Khan and Sara Blecher and directed by Nadia Davids.