by Thinus Ferreira
Organisers of the 17th Durban FilmMart (DFM) have been forced to postpone this year's edition by four months to October due to a funding crisis.
The Durban FilmMart, usually held in July to run concurrently with the Durban International Film Festival - Southern Africa's oldest film festival - has now been pushed to 9 October.
The Durban FilmMart as a finance and co-production market was established in 2009 to try and stimulate the development and production of African cinema by connecting filmmakers with potential investors, co-producers, and distributors.
The Durban FilmMart is funded by the Durban Film Office, eThekwini Municipality, Ford Foundation and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF).
The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) has not been postponed and is still scheduled to take place from 23 July to 2 August in Durban.
The Durban FilmMart organisers say that it has pushed the market four months later and to October "due to significant funding challenges".
"The viability of hosting the DFM event in July 2026 has been considerably
impacted by the current global financial crisis, which directly affects
funding for film and the arts in general."
"Significant changes in key
funding partnerships and the ongoing reduction of local year-on-year
funding opportunities present challenges for planning and strategic
growth."
Magdalene Reddy, Durban FilmMart Institute director, says, "Rescheduling
the market has been a difficult decision but one that the board and
management had to take because we remain committed to the pan-African
film ecosystem we serve".
"Despite the uncertainty we face with limited long-term, multi-year support for the annual event, we believe that the space
we create for African film professionals must exist and that it is
essential to those who believe in the power and impact of African
independent film."
"We encourage all those who never miss a DFM to move
with us and join us in October for what they have come to cherish."
Although now held later, all DFM market activities, including
the pitch and finance forum for live action fiction, documentary and
animation, Talents Durban and the industry programme made up of panel
discussions, masterclasses and think tanks will still take place in October as planned.
