Talents Durban, previously named Talent Campus Durban, will feature at the 2014 Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) from 18 to 22 July as a skills, development and networking platform for emerging African filmmakers.
In collaboration with the Berlinale Talents programme of the Berlinale Film Festival and with support from the KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, the German Embassy, the Goethe-Institut and the Gauteng Film Commission, the programme will bring together 40 filmmakers from ten African countries for hands-on training and networking with renowned international film professionals.
French documentary and fiction producer Denis Vaslin (40 Days of Silence, Solo) will deliver a co-production master class drawing on his experience as a filmmaker, the head of Dutch production company Voyla Films and co-owner of French production company Madra Films.
Julia Overton will offer her knowledge as Development and Investment Manager at Screen Australia in a Documentary Finance master class. Overton has been significantly involved in helping filmmakers gain local or international support in order to get their projects produced. Her achievements include contributing to the development of The Snowman, A Good Man, Forbidden Lies, First Australians, Contact and Salt.
Pitching expert, Stefano Teadly (Mostar United, No Man’s Island), is a South African-born, Italy-based producer and director who holds a number of accolades including: European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs programme graduate, director of the Documentary in Europe workshop, Chair for the European Documentary Network and national coordinator for the International Public Service Television Screening Conference. Teadly will also present a master class as part of the Talents Durban programme.
The hands-on training programme includes a number of coaching and mentoring sessions to aid filmmakers in refining their pitches and developing their projects.
Three documentary projects in development will form part of Doc Station, a training programme which gives guidance and mentorship to filmmakers participating in The African Pitch at the Durban FilmMart, an industry finance and coproduction market which takes place alongside DIFF.
Similarly, Script Station, a script development programme for short films, will pair script editors with four selected participants who will receive guidance and advice on how to better define their story and get to a finalised draft of their script.
Fipresci, an association of international film media and critics who promote film culture and the safeguarding of relevant professional interests, will partake in Talent Press by providing four critics to cover the films and events of DIFF for publication.
Peter Machen, DIFF festival manager hopes the selection of Talents at DIFF will follow in the footsteps of masters of African cinema and concludes, “The Durban International Film Festival welcomes these filmmakers to the Industry Programme and is proud to present them as the future of African Cinema.’
Visit the DIFF website for more information.
