CineMart & Hubert Bals Fund team up in support of Durban FilmMart
July 26, 2010, the inaugural Durban FilmMart ended on a high note with the Hubert Bals Fund Award for most promising project handed over to Jenna Cato-Bass for her project ‘Tok Tokkie’.
The Durban FilmMart, modeled after Rotterdam’s CineMart and Rotterdam Lab, aims to become a key event of the South African and African film industry and a key driver in raising the visibility of African film content. While CineMart Manager Marit van den Elshout was involved early on as international liaison before and during the FilmMart, Hubert Bals Fund Manager Iwana Chronis was one of the jury members.
“Although the jury’s decision was unanimous,” says Iwana Chronis, “it was a tough choice because all the projects have enormous promise in some way. ‘Tok Tokkie’ is fresh, innovative and original as well as having enormous commercial promise, that could appeal to South African, African and international audiences alike. In addition, we felt that the € 5,000 prize would really make a significant difference to this project.”
According to Marit van den Elshout, the Durban FilmMart’s international liaison person from CineMart Rotterdam, the DFM / DIFF partnership brings an important business component to the existing Durban International Film Festival. “It provides a focal point for international players to interface and engage about global trends affecting and ultimately impacting on how Africa accesses the global marketplace. Running a film festival and co-production market in tandem is essential to the success of a market of this nature for the long-term,” van den Elshout emphasises.