Cape Town International Film Market & Festival 2017-- --
The 2018 Cape Town International Film Market and Festival (CTIFMF) has announced the official partnership with the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). As of 2019, IFFR's CineMart will be the European hosting partner for EAVE INDABA, the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs' programme that is being developed in collaboration with market director Elias Ribeiro. EAVE is a professional training, project development and networking organisation for audiovisual producers.
Ribeiro explains further: Having gone through the EAVE training myself in 2014 and observed the impact of this programme in my professional path, I thought this should be made a priority. Our continent lacks capable creative producers, who understand development and international financing and who have altruistic intentions towards the industry as a whole. Producers who understand that their role goes beyond the making of films, and extends into trend setting, advocating for, and advancing the financial infrastructure in the territories they practice as well as delivering to audiences. Producers need to be qualified to hold the space for the creative process, to flow and to nurture talent, artistry and creativity, while running a sustainable business. Having one of the pioneering co-production markets in the globe on board as a partner is an honor, and we look forward to crafting the program together, tapping into the wealth of experience both these organisations hold in capacity building and networking, spanning over decades.
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EAVE has also been a partner at this year's CTIFMF where the organisation has strengthened its ties across the African continent. Together with the Independent Producers Organisation (IPO), EAVE and the CTIFMF will be building the foundations for Pan-African and international connections and skills sharing.
The confirmation of IFFR's as official partners means that the CTIFMF will now be part of the on-going annual programme. The call for submissions for the first edition of EAVE INDABA is set for late March 2019. Five African and five European producers will be selected to take part in a year-long programme where 10 audiovisual projects will be developed through two residential workshops and presented at CTIFMF October 2019 and at the 38th CineMart in January 2020.
This partnership is a vote of confidence in the processes and programmes that have been put into place by the CTIFMF and is part of the festival's long-term strategy to develop African filmmakers within a global context.
Head of IFFR Pro, Marit van den Elshout, has this to say about the partnership: We are very keen to join this adventure together with long standing partner of CineMart and Rotterdam Lab, EAVE. We have high hopes of the collaboration with CTIFMF Market run by Elias Ribeiro who we know well as a producer of, among other projects, The Wound which was supported by IFFR's Hubert Bals Fund. IFFR has always had a strong interest in African Cinema. Throughout the years we have presented different film programmes that have focused on young talent from the African continent and also through the Hubert Bals Fund there have been initiatives to support this talent. There is a great variety of amazing stories to be found in the different countries and we would love to play a role in getting them to screen in whichever format. We are looking forward to strengthen the producers in their international careers.
The EAVE Indaba taster at this year's CTIFMF included a series of Master Classes, open to all CTIFMF Market delegates. The first focused on Co-Producing with North America on 11 October, and the second, held on 13 October, focused on Co-Producing with Europe, both lead by EAVE consultant Linda Beath, an international expert guest in financing.
Beath had this to say of the sessions: The energy and focus of the participants at this year's premiere event was remarkable. During the masterclasses on financing and co-production there was notable and very active participation, a lot of interesting questions and comments, but most remarkable to me is the will of these filmmakers to move out of their own country and reach more diverse African audiences, to work with Europe actively and to explore relationships with international film talent and and viewers of every form of screen content and its delivery. I not only enjoyed and exhausted myself but learned a lot!
Additionally, The Producers Circle, open to EAVE Indaba selected producers and lead by EAVE group leader Diana Elbaum, an internationally acclaimed producer and winner of the 2009 European Oscar for Best Producer.
This concentrated taster of the full EAVE immersive experience offered tangible outcomes for participants, providing invaluable insights and skills transfer from these two international professionals. Tina Trap, CEO of EAVE adds, We are proud to be partner of this year's CTIFMF and excited to create EAVE Indaba together with our partners in crime' CTIFMF / EAVE graduate Elias Ribeiro and CineMart / Rotterdam Lab / EAVE graduate Marit van den Elshout. EAVE Indaba is a Pan-African programme building bridges between Europe and Africa and reinforcing artistic and industrial co-operation between the two continents. For EAVE, this programme is the natural next step adding to our existing partnerships and workshops organised so far with Africa and we can't wait to start.
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