The public programme and the dates for the Berlinale Talents presentations and networking events will be announced later in February.
By Helena Olori
Nigerian fast-rising actor, Tobi Bakre, has been selected as one of the participating talents for this year’s Berlinale Talents. The former Big Brother Naija star and AMVCA9 “Best Actor” winner and 11 other African talents are among the 202 talented filmmakers selected from 68 countries.
Amongst the African talents selected are Nigerian film critic and journalist, Ini-Abasi Jeffrey; South African director and screenwriter, Advik Beni; Morad Mostafa, director from Egypt, Tunisian actor, Slim Baccar, South African actor and screenwriter, Niza Jay; Senegalese producer and audience designer, Chloé Ortolé; Maisha Maene, director and cinematographer from DR Congo; Kenyan Film producer, Wangechi Ngugi; and Nigerian director-producer, Linda Leila Diatta. Other African talents are Sudanese-born US director and screenwriter, Fatima Wardy, and Rwandan-born actor, Aline Amike selected for Germany.
Commenting on the selection process which emphasised diversity and gender balance, the Berlinale Talent development programme noted in a statement that these talents “selected from a record 3,832 applications from 131 countries […] are united by their professional experience, having presented their work at international festivals, worked on well-known projects or initiated them themselves in their up-and-coming film companies. Their passion for making an artistic and social impact can now be strengthened in the Berlinale Talents community”.
The Berlinale Talents is an annual networking summit organised on the sidelines of the Berlin International Film Festival and supported by MasterCard, the German Ministry of State for Culture and Media, and others.
This year’s edition themed “Common Tongues – Speaking Out in the Language of Cinema” is scheduled to be held from February 17-22,2024, featuring six days of talk seminars, workshops, and discussions, introducing these emerging selected filmmakers to one of the world’s most vibrant film communities.
Meanwhile, Maisha Maene’s documentary, Spaceman in Kongo, is the only African film among this year’s 40 Talent Lab Projects. Recall that in late 2023, five outstanding African films were selected for the Berlinale World Cinema Fund.
All official films selected for this year’s festival, the public programme, and the dates for the Berlinale Talents presentations and networking events will be announced later in February. The main festival, 74th Berlinale, will occur from February 15-25, 2024.