23 July, 2018 - 06:01
Drawing its name from the Zulu word for a water spring, Isiphethu - the Durban Int'l. Film Festival's industry outreach program - kicks off July 23 with a four-day program catering to beginning, emerging and micro-budget filmmakers. By Christopher Vourlias
A full slate of workshops, master classes and panel discussions will complement the high-level offerings of the Durban FilmMart - the continent's top industry gathering for film bizzers - with a special focus on introducing newcomers to the business of filmmaking. All sessions are open to the public-a gesture toward inclusivity captured by the program's hashtag, #NoFilmmakerLeftBehind.
Our strategy for Isiphethu is to support filmmakers in developing quality content, said DIFF manager Chipo Zhou. We want to be able to offer these filmmakers opportunities to incubate projects, be mentored by experts, network with seasoned and experienced peers, and be included in the overall vision of the DIFF and DFM: To grow quality African content [and] include this sector of the industry into the greater industry fold.
Program curator Russel Hlongwane described how organizers made a concerted effort this year to boost the profile of the DIFF industry program, which in years past has typically taken a backseat to its more established FilmMart peer.
Nearly 25 years after the end of apartheid, opportunities for young black filmmakers in South Africa are still scarce. Isiphethu is the latest effort by government and film industry bodies to redress the rampant economic imbalances that persist in the country. Four years ago in Durban, for example, the government launched an Emerging Black Filmmakers Fund, ponying up R90 million (around $6.7 million) to support 18 films by black directors and producers over a three-year period. The program was renewed in 2017.
With Isiphethu, DIFF is hoping to lay the foundation for a consistent, industry-wide effort that doesn't end when South African bizzers leave Durban each year. There has to be a constant engagement, instead of raising these expectations once a year, said Hlongwane.
TravelStart Flight and Hotel Bookings
TravelStart Bookings for the Film Industry
Get More Film Business South Africa
Select your Membership
The highlight this year will be the launch of a new fund by South African pubcaster SABC and the Dept. of Trade and Industry (DTI), which Hlongwane said will offer a pipeline for filmmakers to access DTI funds and work with the pubcaster. SABC execs will also discuss a strategic partnership with the KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, which in a separate session will offer insights into micro-budget filmmaking.
Industry experts taking part in Isiphethu include festival strategist Rebekah Louisa Smith, who will offer tips for getting the most out of a film's journey on the festival circuit. Nigerian director Chioma Onyenwe and Kenyan helmer Likarion Wainaina will offer a pan-African perspective on filmmaking during a session entitled, From Lagos to Nairobi. Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Piotrowska will also offer a case study on international collaboration.
Collectively, the program tries to bring a number of industry players closer to emerging filmmakers, said Hlongwane. The responsibility is then on the filmmakers to chase those opportunities.
Isiphethu runs from July 23-26 during the Durban Int'l. Film Festival.
www.variety.com
Film Festivals
Africa South Africa
Most recent headlines
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
22/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
22/12/2025
Berklee Wrapped 2025: Our Top News and Stories A look back at a year highlighted by faculty milestones, major film and television projects, Bob Dylan's ho...
22/12/2025
The works of Plato state that when humans have an experience, some level of change occurs in their brain, which is powered by memory - specifically long-term me...
22/12/2025
Partnership integrates complementary satellite data and AI analytics to enhance security, infrastructure, and environmental monitoring solutions for global cust...
22/12/2025
Workflows allow you to create a sequence of planned events which may be added to your template(s) or inserted directly into your sequential or background playli...
22/12/2025
Monday 22 December 2025
Sky extends PGA TOUR partnership until 2029, as Sky Spo...
22/12/2025
Back to All News
Global Anime Hits and New Releases Take Center Stage at Jump Festa 2026
Entertainment
22 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to clipboar...
22/12/2025
Siobh n McSweeney, Rory McIlroy, Elon Musk, Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin, Ivan Yates and Traitor Paudie Moloney lead new characters for Callan Kicks the Year 2...
22/12/2025
Winner announced in the picturesque surroundings of Wicklow's Avondale Tower and Treetop Walk
Andrew Trimble wins the show in his first series as coach
Th...
22/12/2025
The 2025 winners have been announced today, Sunday 21 December, for Ireland's largest choral competition Choirs for Christmas hosted by RT lyric fm.
Ove...
21/12/2025
Back to All News
Legoshi and Haru's Story Reaches Its Finale: BEASTARS Fin...
21/12/2025
John Shortt named Young Sportsperson of the Year Kerry are the Team of the Year
...
20/12/2025
Atomos announced the immediate availability of a new firmware update for its Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX monitor-recorders, unlocking ProRes RAW recording from the...
20/12/2025
CJP Broadcast has completed the digitisation of the European Gymnastics tape archive, converting 328 tapes containing more than forty years of recorded material...
20/12/2025
Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced the launch of the Stream Lab MCP Server, to give AI agents and large language model...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Barack Obama Includes Laufey on His 2025 Favorite Music List The former presidents roundup of books, music, and movies includes a song from the Berklee alums ...
20/12/2025
Study reveals a key hormonal circuit in the kidneys Scripps Research scientists identify the protein that helps kidney cells regulate renin, providing foundatio...
19/12/2025
With Playout Release 2025.4, ToolsOnAir continues to push professional playout w...
19/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Diversified's Jared Timmins on AI for Broadcast Sports and Cre...
19/12/2025
2025 SVG Summit Audio Recap: Say What?The Audio Production and Distribution Workshop at the SVG Summit 20 took on issues including speech intelligibility, Next-...
19/12/2025
Gamified fun: Channel 5 on its NFL Big Game Night ambitions with Hungry Bear Med...
19/12/2025
College Football Playoff Preview: For ESPN, Round 1 is a Fantastic Yet Familia...
19/12/2025
AWS's Jason Dvorkin on Developing Partnerships With the NBA and PGA Tour, Em...
19/12/2025
Netflix Kicks Off Packed Sports Week with Paul-Joshua Fight Before Shifting to N...
19/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Nareev Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
19/12/2025
Mounted to the pylon of an AH-1Z Viper helicopter, a Red Wolf vehicle successful...
23 July, 2018 - 06:01 
