Ugandan filmmaker and theatre practitioner Adong Judith, was the big winner at the 2020 Durban Film Mart award ceremony held Sunday September 13th 2020. Ms. Adong rode on the back of the script of her upcoming feature film titled “Between Worlds” to scoop two awards namely the DFM TALENTS DURBAN AWARD (South Africa) and the International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA) Award at the 11th edition of the Durban Film Mart. Both endorsements affirm her desire to direct the film whose script she wrote.
The DFM TALENTS DURBAN AWARD (South Africa) qualifies Ms. Adong’s project “Between Worlds” automatically for the DFM 2021 pitch and finance forum while the IEFTA award guarantees Ms. Adong a mentorships by IEFTA and connection with established members of the entertainment community, not just for “Between Worlds”, but her future film projects for a life-time development programmes and labs on their journey from script to screen.
Central to the IEFTA mandate is connecting new and emerging filmmakers with established members of the entertainment community.
The award ceremony was a culmination of 10 days packed with virtual panel discussions, conversations, presentations, pitches, and meetings. A total of 64 projects were selected to participate at the DFM, Africa’s premier co-production and finance market. These included: 32 official fiction and documentary projects, 26 Talents Durban projects and six Jumpstart projects.
“We were impressed by the high quality of project submissions that were pitched to the various broadcasters, financiers, investors, markets and producers at our first virtual edition,” says Mandisa Zitha, Chairperson of the Board of the Durban FilmMart Institute. “What is coming through in these projects is an overall boldness, and willingness of filmmakers to push the boundaries of their uniquely African stories. We are delighted that through our partners and funders that some of these film projects will be given the opportunity to develop further through some very generous grants and awards provided.”
This year’s edition of the Durban Film Mart was virtual due to the travel restrictions brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Both awards are very good news for the fledging Ugandan film industry which mostly operates in a guerrilla mode with hardly any structure.
Ms. Adong also wears the hat of Artistic Director of Silent Voices Uganda. She is a Noble Laureate of the Prestigious Prince Claus Award 2018, a TED Fellow and prides herself in being a practicing and professionally-trained Theatre/Film Director, Writer and Producer.
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