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Christine Trostrum Pens Down As Berlinale Talent Project Manager

After 19 successful years, Christine Tröstrum will step down as project manager of Berlinale Talents in summer 2023. From then onwards, she will continue her position as managing partner at a consulting firm on a full time basis. She joined the Berlin International Film Festival in 2004, and contributed significantly to shaping and leading Berlinale Talents along its evolution into one of the most recognised talent development initiatives and biggest film communities worldwide, now boasting nearly 10,000 alumni. “For many generations of emerging filmmakers, Berlinale Talents and its project manager, Christine, are inseparable. We were always more than pleased to put the strategic development of the platform, the continuous refinement of its range of events in an ever-changing film world, and a solid budget for the third-party project into her faithful hands. We thank Christine very much and wish her all the best in her future career,” said Berlinale directors, Mariëtte Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian.

“Being able to help shape the programme from its beginnings with so many companions and wonderful film creatives from all around the globe was incredibly enriching for me. In co-creation, standards in talent development, places of mutual learning and innovative forms of training for filmmakers have been created – certainly a unique achievement. My special thanks goes to the founders of Berlinale Talents (called Talent Campus at the time) and today’s festival directors, the large network of partners, as well as my co-head for many years, Florian Weghorn, our fantastic team and the Berlinale colleagues”, comments Christine Tröstrum. The statement from Berlinale indicates that Berlinale Talents programme manager Florian Weghorn will continue his tasks in the equal-part dual leadership.

African Screenwriters Shine At Series Mania Forum In France

SCREENWRITERS from Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Ghana pitched their new projects to a standing-room-only international audience of broadcasters, video-on-demand platforms, and potential producers at the Series Mania Forum, a film industry market aimed specifically at TV series, in Lille, France, yesterday. Tony Sebastian Ukpo (Nigeria), Angela Wamai (Kenya), Chantel Clark (South Africa) and Jessica Hagan (Ghana) were at the market after a rigorous six months of being mentored, coached, and supported in a South African film industry development initiative, AuthenticA Series Lab. This Lab is presented by the Realness Institute in partnership with The Storyboard Collective, a Swiss philanthropic organization, which aims to develop transformative and authentic stories, and the Series Mania Forum (France). The cohort began its work within the Lab at the Coot Club, Stanford in the Western Cape, South Africa, with a 10-day in-person mentorship programme, followed by ten weeks of online mentorship in a programme designed by Elias Ribeiro (Realness Institute Executive Director) with Story Expert, Selina Ukwuoma, and Creative Producer, Mehret Mandefro (Realness Institute co-founder) and two months residency in Geneva Switzerland where they worked full-time on their pilot scripts and pitch decks which are now ready for market. Speaking from Lille, France Ribeiro said that the response was encouraging and promising.

“After two years of running the Episodic Lab in partnership with Netflix (for SA, Nigeria, and Kenyan projects) we could not be prouder to have expanded our offering across all African countries through this AuthenticA Series lab,” he said. Creative Producer, Mehret Mandefro noted, “We are all so proud of the work these writers have done in the Lab because it reflects a standard of excellence that is possible when African writers get the right resources and support.” Also, David Rimer, Founder of The Storyboard Collective is convinced of the power TV series have in shaping new cultural narratives, as well as bringing politically and geographically diverse people together. Nigerian Filmmaker and photographer, Tony Sebastian Ukpo pitched his horror genre series, Masquerade. His story is about 13-year-old Nigerian-American teenager, Aduni, who after losing her father, finds herself feeling trapped in the harsh, remote boarding school in Nigeria, a country still struggling to escape the shadow of its colonial history, where spurned local spiritual practice and folklore remain strong and very real. For details of these and other projects, follow Realness on Twitter @rlnsinstitute, Instagram realnessinstitute or Realness Institute on Facebook.

African Indigenous Language Film Festival Holds In July
THE maiden edition of the African Indigenous Language Film Festival (AILFF) has been further extended from its May 2023 date to July 2023. According to festival Founder and Executive Director, Osezua Stephen Imobhio, the festival will now hold from July 4 to 7 at the Nigerian Film Corporation Complex in Lagos and at the Freedom Park in Lagos, Nigeria. The festival director explained that the ‘uncertainty in the political atmosphere in Nigeria’ necessitated the shift in date first from March 2023 to May 2023 and then to July 2023. “We didn’t anticipate that the governorship elections will be extended and with inauguration of the President-Elect in May 2023, we felt it was necessary to give a one month breather and then converge in July for the festival,” said Osezua, who also hinted that submission of entries for the festival has been extended to May 31, 2023. To be held under the theme, African Indigenous Language Films: Prospects & Imperatives, AILFF aims at promoting, projecting and preserving African Indigenous language films, arts, culture and tourism