DOK.network Africa Partners
Durban FilmMart Institute
Established in 2020, the Durban FilmMart Institute (DFMI) is a non-profit company that facilitates local and international trade and investment in African film content. The mission of the Durban FilmMart Institute is to provide appropriate and effective programmes and services in order to promote, support and facilitate investment in the African film industries, so that African film industry professionals and products are competitive and celebrated globally.
The DFMI hosts an annual film market in July. For further information, visit: http://www.
Encounters South African International Documentary Festival
Encounters South African International Documentary Festival (Encounters) is the premier documentary festival in Africa and one of the oldest film festivals on the continent. It celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2023. It remains one of only a few on the continent that is solely dedicated to the genre. Since its inception, the festival has advanced the currency of documentaries in the country and region, supporting new productions and giving an African platform to international documentaries. DOK.network Africa has been connected to Encounters since 2016. Since then multiple German and South African documentary films have been exchanged, masterclasses have been held, and much more – this year Encounters festival director Mandisa Zitha was part of the curatorial team of the DOK.network Africa Retrospective and visited DOK.fest München for the first time. We are delighted to be a partner of the Adiaha Awards in 2023, which recognises outstanding African women filmmakers.
DOCUBOX East African Documentary Film Fund
DOCUBOX is the East African documentary film fund. They exist to enable talented, driven, focused and accountable East African artists to produce unique films that unearth new realities and cross trans-national boundaries. Through training, development and production grants, screenings for people who love documentary films, they promote East African filmmakers and share their unique stories with the world through creative documentary.
In 2019, DOCUBOX presented one of their films – NEW MOON by Philippa Ndisi-Herrmann – at DOK.fest München and the Africa Day. Before the festival we had a chance to talk with the founder of DOCUBOX Judy Kibinge and programme director Peter Mudamba to tell us a bit more about the origins, work and visions of DOCUBOX: Read the full interview
Zimbabwe International Film Festival
Established in 1997, the Zimbabwe International Film Festival (ZIFF) is the flagship programme of the Zimbabwe International Film and Festival Trust (ZIFFT). Progressive, Forward-thinking, Dynamic, Creative, Relevant, and African; ZIFF is a premier 8-day annual festival that showcases the best in film from around the world. The Festival also incorporates the Trust’s other programmes: the Film Forum (FF), which forms the industry programme; Outreach2Educate (o2e), which screens films and hosts workshops in disadvantaged and grassroots communities; and Short Film Project (SFP), which produces quality short films by mentoring emerging filmmakers to make their first film, thereby kick starting their careers. ZIFF has distinguished itself as a significant player in the region for developing talented film makers through its unique training opportunities, and contributes to the telling of vibrant, socially and politically relevant African stories. ZIFFT has been a partner of DOK.fest since 2014.
iREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival
iREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival holds annually in the third week of March, in Lagos, Nigeria. The inaugural festival was held in 2011. The festival was founded by Femi Odugbemi, Jahman Anikulapo, and Makin Soyinka, to promote awareness about the power of the documentary film genre to serve as a means of deepening and sharing social and cultural education as well as encouraging participatory democracy in our societies. iREP is conceptualized on the framework of AFRICA IN SELF-CONVERSATION; and it is designed to create a platform of awareness and expression for aspiring and practicing filmmakers who are creating socially relevant documentary films to positively impact our world. iREP Film Festival has been a partner festival with DOK.fest since 2013.
Afrikanische Filmtage München
Since 2011, the African Film Days Munich have taken place annually in October at the Gasteig. Mostly feature films, but also documentaries are shown that provide insights into African realities and counteract stereotypical representations. The focus is on current productions, occasionally complemented by a classic of African cinema. The diversity of the African continent is reflected in the multitude of countries and regions where directors and films are originated from. The African Film Festival Munich is organised by the non-profit association Afrikanische Filmtage MUC e.V. – from the beginning in cooperation with the Münchner Stadtbilbiothek. In 2019, they have been included in Filmstadt München. The annual cooperation with DOK.fest München has existed since 2016.
