Following the announcement of the 2025 edition of the Durban FilmMart (DFM) earlier this month, the Durban FilmMart Institute (DFMI) has unveiled the official selection of 31 film and television projects for the DFM Pitch and Finance Forum.
By Vivian Nneka Nwajiaku
Following the announcement of the 2025 edition of the Durban FilmMart (DFM) earlier this month, the Durban FilmMart Institute (DFMI) has unveiled the official selection of 31 film and television projects for the DFM Pitch and Finance Forum.
The official selection includes filmmakers from South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Cameroon, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Libya, Sudan, Cape Verde, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“This year’s selection continues our proud tradition of championing authentic African narratives and voices from across the continent,” said Magdalene Reddy, Director of the DFMI. “The projects selected for DFM 2025 demonstrate exceptional storytelling that bridges cultures while remaining deeply rooted in their unique contexts.
“Given the remarkable success of our DFM alumni in recent years—with projects premiering at major international festivals and securing global distribution—I’m confident this cohort will follow a similar trajectory of recognition and impact. These stories not only connect different regions of Africa but also reach out to our diaspora and Global South communities, embodying our theme of building bridges through cinema,” she added.
With the 16th edition of the Durban FilmMart set to take place from 18th to 21st of July, 2025 in Durban, South Africa, it remains one of the continent’s foremost co-production, industry networking and film finance markets, offering a vital platform for African filmmakers to engage with global broadcasters, financiers, streamers, sales agents, producers, and festival programmers. This year’s event, themed “Bridges Not Borders: Stories That Unite”, aims to strengthen connections across Africa, the African diaspora, and the Global South, through cinema.
The Pitch and Finance Forum is a platform of the DFM that showcases fiction, documentary, episodic, and animation projects in development, providing filmmakers with the opportunity to acquire the necessary support to transition projects from development to production.
In addition to the Pitch and Finance Forum, DFM 2025 will offer an Industry Programme of masterclasses, roundtables, and panel discussions led by some of the continent’s most influential film professionals.
Early Bird registration for DFM 2025 is open until 31st May, 2025. Details on registration as well as the official project selections are available on the DFM website.
See below for the highlights from the Official Selection.
Animated Fiction Features
- Aisha Qandicha (Morocco)
- Au Nom du Roi Njoya (In The Name of King Njoya) (Cameroon)
- Crocodile Dance (South Africa/Nigeria)
- Kamaroza (Egypt)
- Kintuadi: Simon Kimbangu (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- Tribe (South Africa)
Animated Fiction Series
- Mboudgui (Cameroon / France)
- Nunu Rhu/The Girl With Wings (South Africa)
Documentary Features
- Akal (Morocco)
- Climbing the Mountains (Algeria)
- Golden (Zimbabwe)
- Kivu (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- Plastic Atlantis (Cape Verde)
- Samaa Gafa (Dry Sky) (Sudan)
- The Salt of the South (Tunisia)
- Un/Settled (South Africa)
- Vuka (South Africa)
Documentary Series
- Planet Carnival (South Africa)
- Retour à Thiaroye (Return To Thiaroye) (Tunisia)
Fiction Features
- ‘n Doop om Stilte (Baptism of Silence) (South Africa)
- Al Assas (The Guardian) (Libya / Algeria / Canada)
- Bupya (Renewed) (Rwanda)
- Corruption Is An English Word (South Africa)
- Dowar Alqamar (The Sunflowers of the Moon) (Tunisia)
- Le Sanglier (The Boar) (Senegal)
- Nomvula (She Who Brings the Rain) (South Africa)
- Space Maasai (Tanzania)
- STERO (Kenya)
Fiction Series
- High Flyers (South Africa)
- The Second Coming (South Africa)
- VigilAunties (South Africa)