Three Kenyan projects are among 36 African titles selected for the 17th Durban FilmMart (DFM), Africa’s film finance and co-production market, set to take place from 9 to 12 October in Durban, South Africa.
The selected Kenyan projects include Mkamzee Mwatela’s fiction series Fisi, Mary Waweru Wanjiku’s animated series capoZOOeira, and the documentary feature Majuto si Mjukuu (Heirs of No Regret), produced by Mumo Liku and directed by Saitabao Kaiyare.
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This year’s edition will bring together eight animation, ten fiction features, ten documentary features and seven series projects in development for the Pitch and Finance Forum, alongside an industry programme focused on the trends, innovations and challenges facing the industry.
Mwatela will present Fisi, which she is producing alongside South African director Sanele Zulu (Losing Lerato). She is known for her work as a writer on productions such as Kenya’s first Netflix series Country Queen, the Showmax telenovela Second Family, and the youth drama Shuga Mashariki. Recently, Mwatela and fellow writers Annette Shadeya, Natasha Likimani, Arnold Mwanjila and Makagano Mamabolo won the Best Writing TV Series award at the 2026 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) for Shuga Mashariki.
Wanjiku will present capoZOOeira, a Kenyan-Brazilian animated series she is co-producing alongside Carlos Zerpa Bravo, with Orlymar Paredes attached as director. She is the co-founder of Studio M&A, a Nairobi-based animation and production company.
Also being showcased is Majuto si Mjukuu (Heirs of No Regret) from producer Mumo Liku and director Saitabao Kaiyare. As part of Baruu Collective, Liku has previously produced documentary projects such as If Objects Could Speak, winner of the Sembene Ousmane Prize at ZIFF 2021, and Unyagoni, which won Best Short Documentary at the 2024 Carthage Film Festival.
Other projects from East and Central Africa selected for the market include the Ethiopian animated series Sunday Morning from producer Nahom Abiy and director Minasie Terefe; the Sudanese feature Arbaa Shuhuor wu Ashara Ayam (Four Months and Ten Days) from producer Alsamoual Hussein and director Alyaa Musa; the Rwandan feature Mother Theresa from producer Shema Faustin and director Mutiganda wa Nkunda; the Congolese series Again from producer Giresse Kassonga and director Erickey Bahati; the Ugandan docuseries Children of the Nile from filmmaker Tina Obo; the Tanzanian documentary The Ones With the Tempered Flowers, produced by Kenyan filmmaker Ivy Kiru and directed by Neema Ngelima; and the Sudanese documentary Where Do I Belong? from producer Talal Afifi and director Ibrahim “Snoopy” Ahmed.
The selected projects will receive online mentorship from industry experts ahead of the market to help prepare them for in-person pitching and meetings with potential collaborators and financiers in Durban.
The 8 animation projects will receive additional support from industry experts through participation in the Digital Lab Africa (DLA) programme presented by DFM partner, Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct.
“Our stories are our voices; they represent our culture, our history, our joy, our pain and our victories. DFM is honoured to present a unique selection of African stories that will add to the successes that have gone before,” says Magdalene Reddy, DFMI director. “We look forward to following the journey of these projects for years to come, as we do with all our project alumni. The DFM provides an important platform, not only to showcase the creative work of filmmakers but also to support them in building a cross-continental community, creating networks and access.
The full list of the projects selected for the 2026 Durban FilmMart:
ANIMATED SERIES – FICTION
‘Beast Seeker’
Producer: Danielle Retief
Director: Robyn Viljoen
South Africa
‘capoZOOeira’
Producers: Mary Waweru Wanjiku, Carlos Zerpa Bravo
Director: Orlymar Paredes
Kenya, Brazil
‘Hadu: The Series’
Producer: Damilola Solesi
Director: Precious Anih
Nigeria
‘Juju Soccer’
Producers: Oge Obasi, Somto Ajuluchukwu
Director: C.J. Obasi
Nigeria
‘Nerve’
Producer: Raffaella Delle Donne, coproducer: Renee Van Reenen
Director: Tshepo Moche
South Africa
‘Sunday Morning’
Producer: Nahom Abiy
Director: Minasie Terefe
Ethiopia
ANIMATED SHORT – FICTION
‘In Her Hands’
Producer: Gehad El Akhal
Director: Hagar Basiony
Egypt
ANIMATED – FEATURE-LENGTH FICTION
‘Midnight Metro’
Producer: Wako Sefara
Director: Lesego Vorster
South Africa
FICTION FEATURES
‘A Touch of Paradise’
Producer: Sarra Ben Hassen
Director: Houcem Slouli
Tunisia
‘Arbaa Shuhuor wu Ashara Ayam’ (‘Four Months and Ten Days’)
Producer: Alsamoual Hussein
Director: Alyaa Musa
Sudan
‘Fairway to Freedom’
Producer: Tarina Patel
Director: Jahmil Qubeka
South Africa
‘Holy Cow’ (selected at El Gouna 2025 through partnership)
Producer and Director: Asmae el Moudir
Morocco
‘Mieta’
Producer: Neil Brandt
Director: Carla Fonseca Mokgata
South Africa
‘Mother Theresa’
Producer: Shema Faustin
Director: Mutiganda wa Nkunda
Rwanda
‘Taht El Sama El Khadra’ (‘Under Green Skies’)
Producer: Yara Goubran
Director: Jad Chahine
Egypt
‘The Boy Who Spoke Static’
Producer: Mathew Cerf
Director: The Agbajowo Collective
Nigeria
‘Vino Amargo’ (‘Bitter Wine’)
Producer: David Franciscus
Director: Pablo Pinedo Bóveda
South Africa
‘Waslap’ (selected through DFM ACCESS)
Producer and Director: Batandwa Alperstein
South Africa
FICTION SERIES
‘Again’
Producer: Giresse Kassonga
Director: Erickey Bahati
Democratic Republic of the Congo
‘Daddies’
Producer: Cati Weinek
Director: Sean Mongie
South Africa
‘Fafi’
Producer and Director: Dominique Jossie
South Africa
‘Fisi (Hyena)’
Producer: Mkamzee Mwatela
Director: Sanele Zulu
Kenya
‘Smoke & Mirrors’
Producer: Luke Rous
Director: Jozua Malherbe
South Africa
‘The Coven’ (selected through DFM ACCESS)
Producer and Director: Sihle Mthembu
South Africa
DOCUMENTARY SERIES
‘Children of the Nile’
Producer and Director: Tina Obo
Uganda
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
‘Banat Aljazira Alkhadra’ (‘Green Island’s Girls’)
Producer: Amrosh Badr
Director: Rogena Tarek
Egypt
‘Designing Divide’ (selected at Talents Durban 2025)
Producer and Director: Jessie Ayles
South Africa
‘Gwijo Nation’
Producer: Quinton Fredericks
Director: Sesihle Manzini
South Africa
‘Le Fil et Le Mur’ (‘The Thread and the Wall’)
Producer and Director: Mouni Boullam
Algeria, France
‘Ma Nuit Du Djomele’ (‘My Djomele Night’)
Producer: Hicham Falah
Director: Barkima Nafissatou Laguempedo
Burkina Faso
‘Majuto si Mjukuu’ (‘Heirs of no Regret’)
Producer: Mumo Liku
Director: Saitabao Kaiyare
Kenya
‘Mdantsane – Home of Boxing’ (selected through DFM ACCESS)
Producer and Director: Phumlani Veto
South Africa
‘The Ones With The Tempered Flowers’
Producer: Ivy Kiru
Director: Neema Ngelime
Tanzania
‘Urban Zulu: The Busi Mhlongo Story’
Producer: Struan Douglas, coproducer: Vusi Mchunu
Director: Rehad Desai
South Africa
‘Waiting for Evolution’
Producer and director: Karin Slater
South Africa
‘Where Do I Belong?’
Producer: Talal Afifi
Director: Ibrahim “Snoopy” Ahmed
Sudan
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©️ 2026 Sinema Focus / African Film Press. All rights reserved.
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