The Durban FilmMart Institute (DFM) has announced its industry programme for 2026. Artificial intelligence, animation, film financing, co-productions and vertical drama are among the topics, IOL reported.
The event takes place in Durban from 9 to 12 October. Over four days, filmmakers and industry players will discuss the future of African cinema.
“This programme reflects where the African film industry is currently: expanding audiences, growing co-production pathways and new capital arriving in new forms, but also asks real questions about advocacy, technology and who gets to shape the future of the sector,” said Magdalene Reddy, Director of the Durban FilmMart Institute.
The programme also has separate Impact and Animation Day strands. Partners will run some of the sessions themselves.
Several sessions look at the money side of making films. One, under the Talking Cents banner, asks how co-production can go beyond simply sharing costs. It looks at teamwork built on shared responsibility.
A second Talking Cents session will look at new ways to pay for films. These include cooperative models that could give filmmakers more creative control and help them keep ownership of their work.
A panel on film advocacy will bring together guilds, professional bodies, filmmaker groups and civil society organisations. It will look at where lobbying for African film has worked, where it has failed and what role audiences play.
One case study follows DFM alumnus Samantha Biffot and the film Ben’Imana. The Rwandan and Gabonese drama was made by Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo.
The film started as a work in progress at DFM. It later premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. It went on to win the FIPRESCI Prize and the Caméra d’Or.
Biffot will talk about funding a co-production that involved Rwanda, Gabon, France, Norway and Ivory Coast. She will also talk about taking a story of memory and survival after genocide from a market pitch to world audiences.
A session called AI and Animation will look at what the technology could mean for animated films. It will weigh the chances and the risks AI brings to Africa’s growing animation sector.
CTIAF’s Animation Day will focus on how to build an animation industry that can last.
Vertical drama, made to be watched on mobile phones, also gets its own session. Called Short Form, Big Impact, it will look at the fast growth of the format and new ways for creators to earn money from it.
A Co-production Focus will ask whether South African service companies should be seen as true creative partners. Another session will look at the paperwork problems facing South Africa’s co-production treaties.
A further session will explore possible film partnerships between Brazil and Africa.
The Power of Programming stream will look at the pressure on the international festival circuit. Two closed think tanks will discuss ways to reach African audiences through distribution and audience design.
Doc Society and its partners will present Doc Day: Impact Edition. NEWF’s Beyond the Wild sessions will cover nature films and questions of authorship and ownership.
A Canadian delegation will take part. The Cross Continental Forum will also hold a panel to mark its 25th anniversary.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL Entertainment. Image: IOL Entertainment. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Entertainment desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Rirhandzu Baloyi writes about entertainment for Tzaneen Voice. Rirhandzu covers South African music, film, TV, streaming, awards and celebrity news, from amapiano and local soapies to Showmax and Netflix releases. Stories stick to what happened, who was involved and when fans can watch or listen.