Mark Wambui, Oprah Oyugi and Voline Ogutu are among the 21 African filmmakers longlisted for the Netflix and UNESCO’s short film competition titled “Anthology of African Folktales, Reimagined”.
The aim of the competition is to discover new voices and to give emerging filmmakers in Sub-Saharan Africa visibility on a global scale.
Prospective candidates were selected following an evaluation process by a wide range of industry professionals from across Africa. The professionals assessed over 2080 applications from the continent in multiple languages to arrive at a dynamic group of African creatives from across 13 countries in the region.
Who made it to the list?
- Voline Ogutu (Kenya)
- Oprah Oyugi (Kenya)
- Mark Wambui(Kenya)
- Nosa Igbinedion (Nigeria)
- Ebot Tanyi (Cameroon)
- Loukman Ali(Uganda)
- Tongryang Pantu (Nigeria)
- Walt Mzengi (Tanzania)
- Venance Soro (Côte d’Ivoire)
- 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)
- Ndiyathemba Modibedi (South Africa)
- Gcobisa Yako (South Africa)
- Akorede Azeez (Nigeria)
- Katya Aragão (São Tomé and Príncipe)
The 21 will go on to the next phase of the competition where they will be required to pitch their stories to a judging panel.
The panel comprises Nigeria’s Femi Odugbemi, South Africa’s Bongiwe Selane, Leila Afua Djansi from Ghana, David Tosh Gitonga from Kenya, and Jean Luc Herbulot from Congo and representatives from Netflix and UNESCO.
The panel will select the final six filmmakers who will receive a production grant of Ksh 8.5 million (USD 75,000) to develop, shoot and post-produce their films under the guidance of Netflix and industry mentors.
This will ensure everyone involved in the production is fairly compensated. Each of the six winners will also receive Ksh 2.8 million (USD 25,000).
Storytellers in Sub-Saharan Africa to Benefit from Netflix’s $1Mn Scholarship Fund
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