Echoing government’s reassurance to investors into South Africa’s economy, the Durban FilmMart, one of Africa’s premier film industry events will be “open for business” when it begins its four day event on July 20 during the 39th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF).

The DIFF in partnership with the eThekwini Municipality’s Durban Film Office, the City’s film industry development arm under the Economic and Development cluster, has, for nine years, presented this important gathering for filmmakers from across the continent and further afield with the specific aim at growing the African industry.

“The DFM attracts an array of film-makers including directors, producers, scriptwriters, investors and financiers, distributors and broadcasters as well as curators for festivals and other markets, and is globally renowned for providing an important springboard for African stories and ideas, collaborations and investment into film projects,” explains Toni Monty, Head of the DFO and DFM. “Essentially this is how film projects are given a leg up to help them on their way.”

Speaking on behalf of the DFO, Monty says, “As a government entity, in partnership with the DIFF, we take our role very seriously in working on a highly professional level with filmmakers to ensure we provide an environment that is enabling for them.”

“The Mart brings in over 400 experts, people and organisations interested in potential film projects for further development. Here they are able to meet film-makers from Africa, discuss and engage and then it’s over to them to conclude their business independently. The event ultimately seeks to build Durban as an important hub for doing film and television business in Africa.”

The DFM includes a series of masterclasses, seminars and panel discussions to help filmmakers keep up to date on trends, innovations and policies. There are also many networking opportunities for them to build strong business connections on both a continental and international level.

New for DFM is the appointment of local arts and culture administrator, Russel Hlongwane as the curator of both the DFM and DIFF’s industry programme, which has enabled a consolidation that speaks to the DIFF’s theme “leave no filmmaker behind.”

Hlongwane explains, “We have sought a programme that provides delegates with innovation and new thinking, and thought-leadership that we believe will provide insightful and meaningful engagements that can be taken forward.”

Key speakers this year include Dayo Ogunyemi a Lagos-based creative entrepreneur and investor who will give presentation that foregrounds African markets as

lucrative territories. Stephen Follows, from the UK, is a leading trainer and thought-leader in how storytelling can be used to change hearts and minds. Follows, who is also a data researcher in the film industry, will present a high level session which unpacks key shifts and trends shaping the market from an international perspective. LA-based Peter Russell is a screenwriter and story doctor in Hollywood who will present a session in which he will share the secrets of how film storytelling can be adapted into the red hot television storytelling market.

Another major highlight, which is sure to have filmmakers interests piqued, is that Richard Ray Perez, Director: Creative Partnerships at the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Programme will address a gathering for delegates entitled Stories of Change: A Collaborative Model for Impactful Storytelling.

Sessions at DFM will look at the aesthetical and fundamental values that will define films from the African continent; insights into ways African filmmakers can source and work the often hard and tricky world of financing structures on the continent; how to work towards a more ‘’entrepreneurial approach’’ to filmmaking without compromising creative content; distribution, and what makes a successful documentary.

Speaking to current issues, the South African Screen Federation will lead a discussion entitled, Are there any Sacred Cows in Filmmaking? following the recent public debates around handling of sensitive social and cultural issues within film, and Sisters Working in Film and Television (SWIFT) will lead discussions on issues of sexual harassment, race and transformation in the industry. Other important discussions taking place include The practicalities and importance of Co-Production Treaties and Copyright vs Copyleft – where to from here? The National Film and Video Foundation will also present a series of workshops and discussions on policies and local industry trends.

Additional insightful sessions will include the Department of Trade and Industry’s launch of the Industries Film Incentives Guidelines and Emerging Black Filmmakers’ Fund Guidelines. The programme will include a set of discussions, led by the Department of Arts and Culture, on current and future collaborations within the BRICS member countries. Filmmakers will have the opportunity to network with member country filmmaker delegations in attendance.

The official pitching forums will include representatives from sixteen pre-selected African film projects that will be pitching film projects to leading financiers, broadcasters and other potential funders and investors at the DFM’s finance forum.

Running parallel to the DFM, and supported by the experts and visiting speakers, is the Durban International Film Festival’s open industry programme, Isiphethu, aimed at introducing entry level, emerging filmmakers, micro-budget film-makers as well as interested members of the public to the inner-workings of the world of cinema.

Manager of the DIFF, Chipo Zhou says, “Our strategy for Isiphethu, is to support filmmakers in developing quality content. 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. In short to include this sector of the industry into the greater industry fold, “leaving no filmmaker behind.”

“The “economy” of film, is central to the objectives of the Durban FilmMart to encourage African filmmakers to look within to collaborate, finance and develop content,” says Toni Monty. “We are very excited to see so many DFM alumni projects that have come to fruition, doing very well on local and international festival and cinema circuits and many with good distribution deals: these include films like DIFF’s closing film Rafiki, Inxeba: The Wound and, Five Fingers for Marseilles, as well as Silas which is also screening at DIFF to name a few. This is exactly the strategy created by the DFO and DIFF nine years ago, and it is heartening to see the long-term value it provides for the African film industry. This year’s programme is rich in diversity and complexity, and we are looking forward to seeing Durban come alive with a real buzz of the business of filmmaking.”

The 9th Durban FilmMart takes place in Durban, at the Tsogo Sun Elangeni from 20 to 23 July 2018, during the 39th edition of the Durban International Film Festival (19 to 29 July 2018).

Online registration closes on 29 June, 2018, but there is still opportunity to register from July 19 from 2pm manually at the event. For more information on the Durban FilmMart and to register as a delegate visit www.durbanfilmmart.com or for Durban International Film Festival www.durbanfilmfest.co.za

The 2018 Nihilist International Film Festival announced that it is looking for short videos for this year’s program.  Festival Director Elisha Shapiro says, “It’s the Nihilist Film Festival for god’s sake.  Herisy, tastelessness, offensiveness…you get the idea.  We’re looking for that film other festival are afraid of.”   If you are a filmmaker who wants to be part of the fun, Shapiro hopes you will send your entry to the nineteenth edition of the Nihilist Film Festival.  The festival will be presented in December in Los Angeles.

There are no fees for entrants, and modest prizes will be awarded, thanks to a grant from the Cactus Foundation.  “The judges are capricious, but if you can make then laugh at the pointness suffering and idiocy of our species, you’re on the right track.” explained Shapiro.  Submissions must be shorter than 30 minutes and should be submitted on DVD.  The deadline for entries is September 15.  Send all submissions to:  Nihilist Film Festival, Box 36422, Los Angeles, California 90036.  More information is available at the Nihilists’ Corner web site, http://nihilists.net/film.html.  Questions can be emailed to nihilistfun@gmail.com. 

The Nihilist Film Festival is produced by Los Angeles conceptual artist Elisha Shapiro.  Shapiro is known for presenting the 1984 Nihilist Olympics and the 1999 Nihilism Expo.  He was also the Nihilist Party candidate for Governor of California in 2006, President in 1988, and for LA county sheriff in 1992.  So he’s not to be trifled with.

courts south is a festival dedicated to short films. to participate www.cortiasud.it and see the rules

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (aka PÖFF), Youth and Children’s Film Festival Just Film and PÖFF Shorts have opened submissions for the 2018 edition.

19th Annual All Free TromaDance Film Festival

Scheduled for Fall 2018 due to filming of "Shakespeare's Shitstorm"

The call for the fifth edition with the new formula opens next Monday, 9 July

The programme of residencies and development of audiovisual projects Ikusmira Berriak, which is organised by the San Sebastian Film Festival, the Tabakalera International Centre for Contemporary Culture and the Elías Querejeta Cinema School, is changing its model with the call for the fifth edition. So that the film-makers get as much as possible out of the residency, the residency will be split into two periods, with one in February and one in September.

Residents will develop their projects for four weeks between February and March, during which they will attend workshops for film-makers and directors and will be advised by members of the expert committee, which in 2019 will be composed of Savina Neirotti, Sergio Oksman and Valeska Grisebach, who joins the programme.

From March to September, the directors will continue working on their project. During this period, they will receive online tutoring from the experts, and then in September they will return to San Sebastian to complete the last two weeks of their residency, when they will arrive with their project in a more advanced state so that they can share it with the film industry. During this last phase, a learning workshop on the market environment will be organised for them, and they will be prepared for the pitching session (presentation of the project) with the aim of holding meetings with the industry professionals present at the Festival.

The call for the fifth edition of Ikusmira Berriak, with its new structure, will open on 9 July and will close on 31 August. The projects selected will be announced in October.

For their part, the five residents from the fourth edition - Manuel Abramovich, Nele Wohlatz, Elena López Riera, Arantza Santesteban and Grigory Kolomytsev - will begin their residency on 20 August.

Three projects chosen during the first editions of Ikusmira Berriak have been completed and have been screened at the Festival: the short films El extraño by Pablo Álvarez, Calipatria by Leo Calice and Gerhard Treml and Gwendolyn Green by Tamyka Smith were presented at Zabaltegi-Tabakalera in 2016 and 2017.  The programme's first finished feature film will première this year: Trote, directed by Xacio Baño, who was a resident in the first edition of the programme.

Ikusmira Berriak is a programme that seeks to involve new talent as well as producers and people from the audiovisual industry who support innovation and new languages. It is organised by Tabakalera, the San Sebastian Film Festival, and the Elías Querejeta Cinema School in collaboration with REC Recording Studio and the Basque Film Library, and is part of the San Sebastian 2016 European Capital of Culture legacy.

EXPERTS COMMITTE BIOGRAPHIES

VALESKA GRISEBACH

Studied Philosophy and German in Berlin, Munich and Viena. In 1993 began studying filmmaking in the Cinema Academy in Viena with Peter Patzak, Wolfgang Glück and Michael Haneke. Her graduation film Mein Stern, won the Critics Prize in the Toronto International Film Festival and The Great Prize in the Turin Film Festival.

SAVINA NEIROTTI

Born in Genova, she graduated in Philosophy and completed the first year of Master in Aesthetics at the University of Pennsylvania.
After returning to Italy, she became Head of the Press and Communication Office of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, where she was also in charge of the Educational Department.
In the same years she founded Scuola Holden in Torino together with Alessandro Baricco. She has recently been appointed as CEO of Scuola Holden.
In the last ten years she has written articles and interviews on narration and classical music, book reviews and film reviews for Italian and international newspapers.
She has ideated and directed Script&Pitch Workshops since 2005, and TorinoFilmLab -an international lab supporting emerging talents mainly working on their first and second feature films, through training, development and funding activities- since 2008. She is also Head of Programme of Biennale College – Cinema and Biennale College Cinema Virtual Reality. Neirotti was member of the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award jury at the last edition of the San Sebastián Film Festival.
 

SERGIO OKSMAN

A Brazilian resident in Madrid for the past twenty years, Sergio Oksman is a director and a teacher at ECAM. His career is closely tied to documentaries, and Elías Querejeta has produced six of his works. Films he has directed include A Esteticista (2004), Goodbye, America (2006), Notes on the other (2009), A story of the Modlins (2012) or O Futebol (2015).

The deadline for the registration of projects is July, 13th

The XIV Lau HaizetaraDocumentary Co-production Forum will take place on 25th, 26th and 27th September 2018 within the framework of the 66th San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Organised by IBAIA (Association of Independent Audiovisual Producers of the Basque Country) and the Industry Department of the San Sebastian Film Festival, this forum is an space in which to present documentary projects to potential funders and experts from the audiovisual and cinema sectors. It is also a meeting point for professionals from the audiovisual sector linked to the documentary genre.

Independent producers who have a documentary project and/or are looking for a European co-production for the same, will be able to take part.

The selected projects will be presented at the Pitching and will have individual meetings with the Commissioning Editors. Besides, they will compete for the IBAIA prize of 3,000 euros for the producer. The Panel of Commissioning Editors, acting as the jury, will choose the winning project based on presentation, originality, treatment and dissemination potential.

The deadline for the registration of projects is July 13th.

Further information: www.lauhaizetara.eu / lauhaizetara@ibaia.org

The story and legacy of Cinequest is bringing together the Silicon Valley’s technologies and spirit of innovation with the arts to empower great creations—and connecting audiences, youth, artists, and innovators with these creations and with each other, improving our lives and our future.

For it's 10th edition, the festival changes it's name and logo!

SAVE THE DATES! LES ARCS FILM FESTIVAL 10th edition  15-22 DECEMBER 2018

CinemaSlice.com presents: A Slice of Fright Film Festival 2018, a celebration of independent horror!

A Slice of Fright Film Fest is a showcase of short horror films!

A Slice of Fright is a horror anthology series produced by CinemaSlice We are scouring US to find the creepiest, most twisted and terrifying short films that are out there!

CinemaSlice.com presents: A SLICE OF FRIGHT FILM FESTIVAL is a showcase of 13 short horror films! Doors open at 5pm, and the first short film begins at 6pm.

In addition to the 13 short horror films, we're also showcasing the world premiere of the feature-length docu-thriller, The Monster with 21 Faces. After the film entertainment, there will be exclusive merchandise, door prizes, raffles, costume contest, afterparty, and other Halloween theme shenanigans.

Want to get involved?

We are selecting the best of the best and awarding laurels for select films and screenplays in a variety of categories. The top 13 entries will play at the Slice of Fright Film Festival on Oct 13 in Bay City, MI. One lucky film will be featured in our short horror anthology series, A Slice of Fright! Even better, the #1 Screenplay will be produced as a new episode for A Slice of Fright!

SUBMISSION DISCOUNT

In honor of Independent's Day, CinemaSlice is extending a 2-week submission discount code for A Slice of Fright Film Festival!

If you have a short horror film or script, we want to see it!

Submit your films and scripts at FilmFreeway.com/SliceFest

The first 13 submissions to use the code: SoF2018 will receive a 25% discount off of the early bird submission fee.

MEET THE JURY

CinemaSlice is excited to announce our festival with jury members from 5 states

• Nic White - Columbus, OH
• John Sklba, Memphis, TN
• Ray Clark, Bay City, MI
• Justin Harlan, Philadelphia, PA
• Kevin Hosey, Dallas, TX
• Jarod Oertel, Saginaw, MI

Remember that all festival details can be found at CinemaSlice.com/FrightFest

Thanks for all of the support and most importantly for supporting independent film.

#SupportIndependentCinema #SliceThePlanet

Watch the stars and celebrities flock the red carpet with Sting, Asia Argento, Spike Lee, the jury members, and the cast and team of the Closing film by Terry Giliam : the man who killed don quixote

Finding one's own means of expression, remaining true to oneself, putting up resistance: these are qualities that the four uncompromising guests of honor at the 36th FILMFEST MÜNCHEN — Emma Thompson, Terry Gilliam, Lucrecia Martel, and Philip Gröning — have in common along with numerous other international guests, including Jia Zhang-Ke, Jennifer Fox, Margarethe von Trotta, and Alice Rohrwacher, who personally brought their films to Munich. Ten exhilarating, film-filled days have passed in which thousands of people have watched, talked, danced, and debated controversial subjects. It wasn't just the 220 films that thrilled the roughly 80,000 people who attended the festival, but also the diverse Filmmakers Live! discussions that were streamed live across the Internet this year for the first time, including discussions on the future of the German film and series markets and talks with international guests. This is an innovation that audiences and the Internet community eagerly made use of. The live streams of the Filmmakers Live! panel discussions reached a total of about 73,000 viewers via the FILMFEST MÜNCHEN fan page on Facebook. Daily reports broadcast by our new partner, TELE 5, reached between 100,000 and 200,000 viewers. FILMFEST MÜNCHEN is also of growing importance to the film industry: this year, about 10 percent more industry events were held than last year.

Lots of discussions revolved around finding one's own personal means of expression and leaving one's own mark on a film, even if this sometimes means telling a story in an awkward and recalcitrant way. Time is also an important topic of discussion and a theme in lots of films at FILMFEST MÜNCHEN: the time it takes for a work to be completed, for a character to develop, for a plot to unwind on screen. The time an audience takes to explore the other worlds that are presented to it. For ten days, the festival once again made that possible for its audiences.

Looking toward the future, as it's put in the preface to this year's Filmfest magazine, things appear hopeful and innovative, not just with regard to new projects and trends in the market, but also with regard to the festival itself. The budget increase of three million euros that's been announced is one more reason for FILMFEST MÜNCHEN to look toward the future with new ideas and eyes wide open — or as festival director Diana Iljine puts it:

"I'm happy that in the past ten days we've again been able to bring excellent films, wonderful people, new ideas, and certainly even glamor to the city. Once again, FILMFEST MÜNCHEN was a great success. And just as films are always a team project, a festival can be put together only by lots of people working together. It's the accomplishment of a team, and I thank all of our staff for their hard work and commitment! What they say about soccer also applies here: After the festival is before the festival. Having the chance to further develop FILMFEST MÜNCHEN and reposition it in the coming years is a challenge that we gladly accept and that my team and I are very much looking forward to."

The executive council meeting of the 31st International Film Festival for Children and Youth held in Tehran attended by the festival's managers and organizers and eventually the cinema halls of the event were introduced.

The top officials of the festival including Alireza Rezaad, Secretary, Ezatollah Alizadeh, Support and Planning Deputy, Ahad Mikayilzadeh, Communications and Information Deputy, Farzad Azhdari, Head of the Secretariat Office, Farzad Mohajerani, Director of the Electronic Secretariat Office, Adel Dehdashti, Deputy Executive Director of Isfahan and Mehdi Sajjadzadeh, the official in charge of Isfahan Province Secretariat office were briefed about the latest progress of the executive affairs of this international cinematic event.

Rezaadad was also briefed about the various stages and technical preparation of Isfahan City Center, which is a large commercial and entertainment complex in this central province.

Isfahan City Center includes 10 cinema halls and is equipped with the state-or art technologies. The center is the first commercial, cultural and tourism center which has been constructed in the historic city of Isfahan after the triumph of 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Isfahan City Center was inaugurated on June 27, 2018, as the biggest leisure, cultural and tourism complex in this central province.

Meanwhile, Mostafa Hosseini, Director of the Sahel Cinema Hall, also presented his reports on the latest measures implemented for hosting the festival.

This cinema complex will be equipped with technical equipment and world-class standards.

Chaharbagh Cinema Hall will also display films of the festival.

In each of these centers, three cinema halls will be allocated for displaying the festival films.

The 31st International Film Festival for Children and Youth is slated for August 30- September 5 in Isfahan Province.