Realness Institute has announced the six African film professionals selected for the third edition of its highly successful Southern Africa-Locarno Industry Academy(SALIA), a prestigious programme fostering talent in the film and television industry on the continent.
Left to right : Top Awoua Keita Epse Diallo (Côte d'Ivoire), Bethlehem Tesfu Estifanos (Ethiopia), Duwayne Murphy (South Africa).Bottom: Mphumelelo Mnisi (Eswatini), Rehima Awol Ibrahim (Ethiopia), Tshiamo Malatji (South Africa).
SALIA is a collaboration between Realness Institute, the Locarno Film Festival with the support of The Story Board Collective which takes place in partnership at FAME Week Africa. It aims to support the development of young film professionals working in sales, traditional and online film distribution, theatrical exhibition, and programming for festivals, and archives.
This year the programme takes place during FAME Week Africa from 1 to 7 September in Cape Town, with the programme will be led by Elias Ribeiro, director of Realness. Participants will be given the opportunity to network with global experts, attend masterclasses, workshops, and panel discussions.
David Rimer, Founder of the Story Board Collective a Geneva-based organisation dedicated to advancing transformative storytelling, says, “StoryBoard recognizes the significant role that programs like the Southern Africa-Locarno Industry Academy play in advancing the careers of emerging African film professionals. By bridging local talent with international industry leaders, these initiatives help to enrich the film industry with diverse and authentic voices,”
“We're excited for a new great edition of the Salia, for which our partners at Realness draft each year a strong and more interesting programme, which enables to create an incredible professional network in the region,” says Markus Dufner, Head of Industry, Locarno Film Festival.
“We are grateful to our partners and with the opportunity to hold space for distribution, one of the most fractured parts of the value chain in the audiovisual business in Africa,” says Elias Ribeiro Realness Institute Co-founder.
Participants include:
Awoua Keita Epse Diallo (Côte d'Ivoire) the Acquisitions Director at COTE OUEST, who brings over 15 years of experience in content acquisition, including work with American studios, telenovela producers, and European distributors.
Bethlehem Tesfu Estifanos (Ethiopia) is the Festival Coordinator for the Addis International Film Festival (AIFF) on Human Rights.
Duwayne Murphy (South Africa) focuses on environmental issues through film and is the Founding Director of the Roots Film Festival, and has worked on international films and significant projects like iKasi Voices Season 2.
Mphumelelo Mnisi (Eswatini) is the Head of Programmes for Eswatini TV who has played a pivotal role in shaping the public broadcaster's programming and content strategies.
Rehima Awol Ibrahim (Ethiopia) is an expert in television programming and media research, and a key figure at Kana Television since 2016, who has served as a jury member for the International Emmy Awards since 2018.
Tshiamo Malatji (South Africa) is a filmmaker and exhibitor, who directs the CineBa! Film Club and Festival in Bloemfontein.
For more information about the participants and the programme, please visit www.realness.institute
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