DFMI Unveils Selected Filmmakers and Critics for its 2026 Durban Talents

The Durban FilmMart Institute (DFMI) has announced the lineup of participants for the 19th edition of Talents Durban, taking place during the Durban FilmMart (DFM) in Durban from 9 – 12 October 2026. As the African site of Berlinale Talents, Talents Durban plays a vital role in nurturing emerging African filmmakers, animators, and film critics through mentorship, professional development, and international networking opportunities.

The Berlinale Talents is a networking platform organised by the Berlin International Film Festival, offering emerging filmmakers a space to connect, learn, and collaborate. As its African counterpart, Talents Durban provides a similar platform tailored to the continent’s unique filmmaking landscape.

DFMI Director, Magdalene Reddy, explains, “The Durban FilmMart Institute remains committed to advancing African cinema through strategic collaborations that expand international access to professional networks, markets, and sustainable industry opportunities. Talents Durban is central to this vision. Now in its 19th year of partnership with Berlinale Talents, this partnership helps to contribute meaningfully to the long-term growth and sustainability of the African film ecosystem.”

The 2026 edition brings participants from 17 African countries. According to the institute, this year’s selection process was highly competitive, receiving a record 551 applications. From these submissions, 25 participants and 6 film critics were selected across fiction features, documentaries, short films, episodic content, animation, and film criticism. Selected participants will engage in an intensive programme of project-oriented and hands-on professional development initiatives, including Story Junction pitching sessions, masterclasses, mentorship engagements, and one-on-one consultations with leading industry experts. Mentors for the 2026 edition include Akosua Adoma Owusu, Amine Hattou, Bongi Ndaba, Comfort Arthur, Jihane Bougrine, Mayye Zayed, Nicole Schafer, Oris Aigbokhaevbolo, Ramadan Suleman, and Razanajaona Ambinintsoa Luck.

A  highlight of this year’s programme is the evolution of the Talent Press stream through the introduction of a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Digital Newsroom model. Moving beyond the traditional workshop format, the programme will simulate a live festival newsroom environment. Alumni Wilfred Okiche and Domoina Ratsara return as Section Editors, mentoring and collaborating directly with a new generation of emerging African critics serving as Festival Film Writers. The initiative is further strengthened through partnerships with the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival (04 – 14 June 2026) and the Durban International Film Festival (23 July – 2 August 2026), providing participants with real-world reporting experience and opportunities to publish critical writing from around African cinema.

Talent Press is an initiative of Talents Durban in collaboration with FIPRESCI. A new collaboration between the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), and the Durban FilmMart Institute was announced during FIPRESCI’s annual reception. The partnership will see FIPRESCI select an outstanding participant from the Talents Durban Press programme at Durban FilmMart 2026 to receive an award presented by CIFF. The selected critic will be invited to attend the Cairo International Film Festival, cover the festival’s activities, and contribute to its English-language daily publication. This initiative represents an important step in strengthening film criticism across the African continent and creating greater opportunities for emerging critical voices to engage with international film culture and discourse.

The selected fiction features include Tanzanian Kelvin Kagambo’s Dogi Dogi, Ghanaian Lawrencia Aphua Larbi-Amoah’s Bare Feet, South African Meekaseel Adam’s  The Violent Type, DRC’s Mélanie K. ZAWADI’s  THE BASEMENT, Nigerian Russell Oru’s The Things We Leave Behind, and Kenyan Shandra Apondi’s The Words I Do Not Have. 

Documentary projects include Sudanese Ahmed Shams Nagm Eldin’s SABARY, Libyan Hussein Eddeb’s The birth of Derna, DRC’s Junior Mozese’s ABÉTI, South African Michelle Simon’s Rivers: Under Threat, Madagascan Ramaroson Razafimbelo Anatole’s Fitampoha, the Return of the King of Menabe, and Tunisian Sarra El Abed’s Goodbye Party.

Fiction shorts include Ugandan Daisy Masembe’s Rukia, Egyptian Ghazzal Abdullah’s Facing the Sun, Mosotho Moso Sematlane’s Nightbirds, Ghanaian Sarah Abena Adjei’s Awake, Zimbabwean Tendaiishe Chitima’s The Last Tree on Kilimanjaro, and South African Xola Limba’s Only We Remain. 

For its episodic selection, we have Nigerian Cheyi Okoaye’s Cause, Effect & Maybe Consequences?, South African Des Dlamini’s Slightly Awkward, Botswanaian Rudo Furusa’s Borrowed Skin, and Malian SOGOBA Hawa’s The Eleventh Year. 

Three animation projects are selected including, Egyptian Kirollos George’s Alexandria Forever, Zimbabwean Jack Machiridza’s All You Sheep, and South African Pule Mohotsi’s Amandla. 

 For the Talents Press, we have Nigerian Elijah Oluwanisola, South African Hlumela Luvuno, Burkina Faso Neya Harouna, and Kenyan Michelle Abuti. For the Alumni, we have Nigerian Okiche and Madagascan Ratsara. 

The 17th edition of the Durban FilmMart, under the theme “Shifting Worlds: Turning Towards Ourselves,” is inspired by the words of Ousmane Sembène, often referred to as the “father of African cinema,” who said, “Why be a sunflower and turn toward the sun? I, myself, am the sun.” The 17th edition of the Durban FilmMart is expected to be a space for discussions that advance alternative film funding pathways, revise models for distribution, consider equitable co-production frameworks, and create authentic partnerships. Amidst funding cuts and limited international financing, DFM 2026 will encourage looking within to forge relationships and design new strategies that will brace a world in flux and endure the economic and social structures that are changing and destabilising the film industry.

 The 17th edition of Durban FilmMart is funded by the Durban Film Office, eThekwini Municipality, Ford Foundation, the National Film and Video Foundation and IEFTF.