Cape Town-based Realness Institute, the pioneering organisation that supports the growth of independent African storytellers in cinema and television, has announced the appointment of a new Board and Alumni Advisory Council to steer the organisation into a new era of sustainability.

Since its inception in 2015, Realness has been a driving force in supporting African voices through skills development programmes in writing and producing and networking opportunities that connects talent to professionals both on the continent and internationally. Its programmes include the prestigious Creative Producer Indaba – a fellowship for producers focused on sustainability and co-financing opportunities that can and stabilize their companies and career, and the AuthenticA Series Lab, which supports the development of episodic content in partnership with StoryBoard Collective and Series Mania. The institute has empowered 200+ film industry professionals who have gone on to become award-winning producers, writers and directors with premieres and wins at festivals that include Sundance, Cannes, and Venice Film festivals.

Alongside the appointment of four new board members, nine alumni from across various Realness programmes will serve on an advisory Sub-Committee to the board. Drawing on their hands-on experience of the programmes, they will support both the Board and the operational team in contributing to the development of an alumni network offering and strategic direction for the organisation. Nigeria’s Enyinnaya Omeruah is on the Realness Institute Board. Enyinnaya is a talent manager and film financier who has extensive experience in film production and distribution.

Other members of the Dillion Phiri (South Africa). a filmmaker, founder, and creative entrepreneur known for building platforms and networks like Creative Nestlings that boasts over 100K+ creatives and aims to unlock the power of creative tech to power Africa’s transformation, Moussa Sene Absa (Senegal), painter, writer, musician, and award-winning film director whose works have been celebrated at Carthage, FESPACO, and Berlinale, and whose paintings have been exhibited in Europe and North America, and Thabiso Molefe (South Africa), media and communications professional with experience in television, public sector strategic communication, and political stakeholder engagement across the SADC region. There are two Nigerians on the sub-committee comprising Realness Alumni and they are Mimi Bartels and Omotunde Akiode. Mimi is a filmmaker and producer with extensive experience in production and film financing while Omotunde is a screenwriter with extensive experience working on live action shows.

“Across much of Africa, the near-absence of government support for film and television means filmmakers are left to shoulder every risk alone – and that’s simply not sustainable,” says Mehret Mandefro, Managing Director and co-founder of Realness Institute. “With a committed, skilled, and film-savvy Board now in place, and the deep experience of our Alumni Advisory Council Sub-Committee, we are ready to provide African screen talent with the structural support they deserve — the kind that makes sustainability inevitable.” For more information on the Realness Institute: https://www.realness.institute/