Doc filmmakers to receive $115k funding


By Content Nigeria reporter
April 14, 2023

News

Eight African documentary film projects are set to receive a total of US$115,000 in development and production funding from the Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund.

Heidi Tao Yang

The fund enables African doc filmmakers to tell their stories and contributes to the next generation of local doc talent. The projects were selected from 87 applications from 22 countries.

The films are: A Butterfly Hug, produced by Talal Afifi and Sally Abobasha (Egypt, Sudan); Born a Girl, from Jean-Marc Dindané (Burkina Faso); My Dream to Fly, from Asmaa Gamal (Egypt); WildFire, produced by Neil Brandt and Sergeo Kirby (South Africa, Canada); You Don’t Die Two Times, from Raouf Oueslati and Ager Oueslati (Algeria); Zion Music, produced by Yanis Gaye and Rama Thiaw (Senegal); Plagued, from Nicole Schafer and Teboho Pietersen (South Africa); and Pulo, from Christina Ifubaraboye (Nigeria, Italy).

Four of the projects will receive development grants, one will get a production grant and three will be given post-production grants.

In addition, six of the recipients will have the opportunity to participate in a one-year mentorship programme that offers direct access to industry mentors, provides networking opportunities and includes private filmmaker labs at the Hot Docs festival in Canada and the Durban FilmMart/Durban International Film Festival, or other festivals and markets in Africa.

Neil Tabatznik

Heidi Tao Yang, Hot Docs’ director of funds and labs, said: “We are proud to support eight female filmmakers for this round of funding and celebrate their talent, passion and craft of storytelling. These courageous filmmakers confront the ghosts of the past, reveal the dark side of reality and lead us into the light with their confident vision.”

“Over the past 12 years, the Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund has played an essential role as a launching pad for important African doc projects. We are honoured to continue investing in this fruitful partnership and thank Hot Docs for their expertise and deep care in selecting these fresh, innovative and uniquely African projects,” added Neil Tabatznik, Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs co-founder.

The fund was established in 2011 and has supported over 100 unique projects from 27 countries with US$1.433m to date. Its 30th annual edition will be held from April 27 to May 7 in cinemas across Toronto, with a selection of films available online to audiences throughout Canada.