The 17th Durban FilmMart (DFM) has wrapped up its 2026 edition with 39 awards worth more than R2 million, giving African filmmakers access to funding, international markets, development programmes and mentorship opportunities.
Held in Durban from 9 to 12 October, DFM 2026 brought together 131 film professionals and filmmakers from 56 countries under the theme “Shifting Worlds: Turning Towards Ourselves”.
The awards were presented by 30 partners, with prizes ranging from cash grants to international festival opportunities and professional development programmes.
Among the cash prizes, Algeria’s The Thread and the Wall received the JustFilms Documentary Award, while Palestine’s On the Sea Road won the Al Jazeera Co-production Award, with both prizes worth $10,000 (about R165,000).
Libya’s The Birth of Derna also received the Climate Story Labs Award, worth $10,000.
The National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa awarded R100,000 each for Best Fiction, Best Non-fiction and Best Animation. The winning projects were Nigeria’s The Boy Who Spoke Static, Kenya’s The Ones With the Tempered Flowers and Ethiopia’s Sunday Morning.
Other cash awards included grants of $5,000 (about R83,000) and $3,000 (about R50,000), supporting projects from countries including Sudan, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Kenya and Egypt.
Beyond The Cash Prizes
Several filmmakers also secured opportunities to take their projects into international markets and development programmes.
Projects received support to attend events including Rotterdam Lab, DOK Leipzig, Sheffield DocFest, El Gouna Film Festival, TorinoFilmLab and Visions du Réel.
Kenya’s The Ones With the Tempered Flowers, Sudan’s Where Do I Belong? and Libya’s The Birth of Derna were among the projects that collected multiple opportunities.
The programme also included mentorship and distribution support. Palestine’s On the Sea Road received the Women Make Movies Award, while South African projects Waiting for Evolution and Designing Divide received distribution consultancy support.
Durban FilmMart Institute director Magdalene Reddy said the quality of projects presented this year reflected the strength of African cinema, while the partnerships created during the event could continue to benefit filmmakers beyond the festival.
With more than R2 million in awards and dozens of international opportunities secured, DFM 2026 has once again positioned Durban as an important meeting point for Africa’s growing film industry.
Main Image: Supplied
