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South African co-production and film finance market Durban FilmMart (Dfm) has unveiled 31 official projects taking part in its Pitch and Finance Forum.

The 16th edition of Dfm takes place from July 18-21 in Durban under the banner Bridges Not Borders: Stories that Unite.

The 31 projects in development come from 15 countries. The Dfm Pitch and Finance Forum allows filmmakers to network with global broadcasters, financiers, streamers, sales agents, festival programmers and producers.

The line-up includes a feature-length version of Kenyan directors Millan Tarus and Tevin Kimathi’s Stero, whose short of the same name played at Rotterdam in 2024.

Also selected is...

The July 4 premiere of short “Off Hiatus,” presented by artist David Lachapelle and fashion designer Kai Milla, will be one of the highlights of the Monaco Streaming Film Festival.

The short follows Milla as she and her associates provide exclusive access and insight to what really happens behind the scenes of fashion, through storytelling and impromptu dialogue. The premiere will take place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo, the festival’s flagship venue. The same evening, the festival’s gala awards will honor leading contributors to the world of on-demand content.

Speakers this year include Mitch Lowe, founding VP Netflix, “The Biggest Loser” producer David Broome, “MasterChef” creator Franc Roddam, composer Erran Baron Cohen (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”), and Buzz Hays, global lead, entertainment industry solutions, for Google Cloud.

Chris Fetner (Entertainment Globalization Association), Kay Meseberg (Arte), Elizabeth Markevitch (IkonoTV), Haymi Behar (Spi International), Jakob Mejlhede and Marius Johan-sen (Shahid...

Durban–The 10th edition of the Durban FilmMart, the industry program of the Durban Intl. Film Festival, was perhaps its biggest yet, and the popularity of new strands such as the Durban Does Docs forum and the Engage @ Dfm diversity program highlighted how the market continues to grow from strength to strength. “We wanted to ensure that we celebrate this milestone with the birthing of new initiatives, new conversations and new directions,” said Durban Film Office and Dfm head Toni Monty. Here are five key takeaways from the Dfm’s 2019 edition:

Female-led and Lgbtq stories are reshaping the continent’s narrative.

The big winners at this year’s Dfm award ceremony were female-driven and Lgbtq stories, reflecting a growing appetite to reshape the traditional narratives about Africa. Among the award-winners were the story of a Zimbabwean woman grappling with her country’s traditions and customs as she tries to...