Written by Joe Jackson on Feb 2, 2022. Posted in Awards and Festivals

Shortlist of African filmmakers announced for Netflix and UNESCO competition

21 shortlisted candidates have been revealed for Netflix and UNESCO's short film competition African Folktales, Reimagined. The nominees cover 13 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa. An extra candidate was included in the original list of 20 as result of the high quality of submissions. Over 2080 submissions in numerous languages were evaluated by industry professionals from across the continent.

 

“Congratulations to those who have been shortlisted!” says UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture, Ernesto Ottone. “They should all be proud of the quality of their work. This competition showcases the extraordinary cultural richness that Africa has to offer that we want to share with people all over the world, as Africa is a priority for UNESCO.”

 

 

“We also want to thank our panel of independent industry professionals,” adds Ben Amadasun, Netflix’s Director of Content, “who undertook the mammoth task to read over 2080 applications until they found 21 strong submissions! The response from all the aspiring filmmakers who took time to submit their application also proves that there's a wealth of storytelling potential and talent in Africa and we at Netflix are excited to be part of this journey for more talented new voices to share their stories with the world.”

 

These emerging filmmakers now proceed to the next phase of the competition. They are required to pitch their stories to a judging panel of mentors. This panel includes: Nigeria’s Femi Odugbemi,and South Africa’s Bongiwe Selane, Leila Afua Djansi from Ghana, David Tosh Gitonga from Kenya, and Jean Luc Herbulot from the Congo, as well as representatives from Netflix and UNESCO.

 

 

The panel will select the final six filmmakers. Finalists will receive a production grant of USD75,000 through a local production company. In turn, this grant will help the filmmakers develop, shoot and post-produce their projects under the guidance of Netflix and industry mentors, thereby ensuring everyone involved in the production is fairly compensated. Each of the six winners also receives USD25,000.

 

The shortlisted filmmakers include:

  • Nosa Igbinedion (Nigeria)
  • Ebot Tanyi (Cameroon)
  • Loukman Ali (Uganda)
  • Tongryang Pantu (Nigeria)
  • Walt Mzengi (Tanzania)
  • Venance Soro (Côte d'Ivoire)
  • Mark Wambui (Kenya)
  • Volana Razafimanantsoa (Madagascar)
  • Mohamed Echkouna (Mauritania)
  • Nader Fakhry (Côte d'Ivoire)
  • Anne Catherine Tchokonté (Cameroon)
  • Mphonyana Mokokwe (Botswana)
  • Anita Abada (Nigeria)
  • Samuel Kanyama (Zambia)
  • Machérie Ekwa-Bahango (Democratic Republic of Congo)
  • Oprah Oyugi (Kenya)
  • Ndiyathemba Modibedi (South Africa)
  • Gcobisa Yako (South Africa)
  • Akorede Azeez (Nigeria)
  • Katya Aragão (São Tomé and Príncipe)
  • Voline Ogutu (Kenya)

More information about the competition is available at: www.netflix-growcreative.com/unesco.

 

 

Related Posts

Comments

Not Logged in

You must be logged in to post a comment

    There are no comments

[s]