SOUTH AFRICA-BASED Zimbabwean creative Tafadzwa Hove is among the creatives whose animation productions have been selected for the forthcoming Africa premier film extravaganza, the Durban FilmMart (DFM) 2024.
Hove is the director of Monster Nanny, an amination production produced by Kaya Kuhn which has made the grade among seven animation projects selected from six countries for the 15th edition of the annual DFM pitch and finance forum.
Hove, a director/scriptwriter at Disney+, is a versatile filmmaker, with a background in animation, commercials and television narratives.
Through his works, he showcases his deep passion for animation and commitment to challenging stereotypes surrounding Africa.
His work revolves around narratives which celebrate the triumph of hope, skilfully blending genres like sci-fi and humour to weave stories which shed new light about the continent.
The DFM 2024, presented by the Durban FilmMart Institute (DFMI) with principal funding from the Durban Film Office and eThekwini Municipality, will see the return of the animation elements in its programming this July.
To commence this strand, is the Durban FilmMart Masterclass and Mentorship Programme which will provide knowledge to projects in development as they prepare to pitch in Africa’s leading film finance and co-production market.
The online three-month mentorship programme will feature script development, visual representation, finance planning, project packaging and pitching, while the one-on-one mentorship will allow individual mentors to assist animators with project packaging and pitch preparation.
DFMI director Magdalene Reddy pointed out that global demand for African animation content is growing and international investors are looking for African stories capturing authentic African characterisation.
“Creative talents across the continent are looking for a space to be heard and seen. This is the aim of the Animation@DFM programme to create visibility for quality African content on the global stage,” Reddy noted in a statement.
Reddy revealed that DFMI received more than 100 applications from animators from across the continent and the diaspora and eight projects were selected by an independent evaluation panel.
“This year the programme has selected projects in development from both established and emerging animators from six countries. The strength of the programme lies within these creative individuals who will participate in the DFM Animation Pitch and Finance Forum later this year,” she said.
“All the eight projects will go through a three-month training and development period to ensure they are ready to meet investors in Durban.”
The other animation projects are Jay Fly produced by Nosipho Maketo van den Bragt and directed by Greg Blyth and Barend Kruger and Oarona produced by AJ Pitre and Thandiwe Mlauli and directed by Mlauli (all South Africa).
From Egypt, is Rapid Eye Motion (R.E.M) produced by Ahmad Abdelhameed and co-directed by Mahmoud Hemeda and Ahmed Thabit.
Tanzania has The Legend of Hyena Man produced by Mathew Valerian, directed by Elshadye Berhanu and Joshua Faber while The Legends of Bulan (Nigeria) was produced by Ferdinand Adimefe and directed by Azubuike Joseph Duru.
Sarah Mallia produced Uli & Tata’s African Nursery Rhymes which was directed by Chief Nyamweya (Kenya) with Unseen another production from South Africa produced by Annemarie du Plessis and co-written and produced by Devon Delmar and Jason Jacobs.
Reddy said DFMI’s mission was to provide appropriate and effective programmes and services to promote, support and facilitate investment in the African film industry.
DFMI recently launched Filmmart Africa, an online tool for filmmakers to connect.
