… who wants to develop a feature film idea? Are you looking for financing and training opportunities? Then you’ve come to the right place!
The DW Akademie Film Development Fund offers a one-year fellowship program for filmmakers working on the development of their feature-length documentary, fiction or hybrid films.
If you are selected, you will receive 10.000€ and will be matched with an experienced mentor, who will be by your side during the duration of the program. You will also have access to tailor-made training and networking opportunities.
If this sounds interesting to you, please take the time to read through the descriptions of the program’s eligibility and its application process below.
Ayman El Amir
Director, Producer and Writer
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Ayman El Amir is an Egyptian script consultant and filmmaker. He has worked as a script consultant for several programs, labs and institutes including TorinoFilmLab, Doha Film Institute, Cannes’ Short Film Corner, Marrakech Atlas Workshops, and Full Circle Lab. His previous films participated in many film festivals including Cannes’ Critics Week, TIFF and Idfa.
Hawa Essuman
Filmmaker and Producer
© Tom Vandas
Hawa Essuman has been working as a filmmaker for over 15 years to some success. She co-directed the documentary feature SILAS, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and the multi award winning film SOUL BOY that screened at over 40 film festivals worldwide.
She also supports and grows the next generation of young African filmmakers by mentoring, running master classes, workshops and panels on filmmaking across the continent.
Ekwa Msangi
Writer and Director
© Nadia Kist
Ekwa’s award-winning film Farewell Amor premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and earned her the 2021 Indie Spirit “Someone To Watch” Award. She is a 202/24 ReFrame Rise Director Fellow and is currently in development on several projects including a miniseries adaptation of the award-winning book Behold the Dreamers.
Mohamed Saïd Ouma
Filmmaker and Writer
© Courtesy
Mohamed Saïd Ouma is a filmmaker and writer, former director of festivals in Reunion and Comoros, trainer and lecturer on Indian Ocean cinema. He is head of DOC-A (Documentary Africa), a pan-African initiative to strengthen the documentary film ecosystem through workshops and grants for development production and impact.
Kivu Ruhorahoza
Writer and Director
© Dirk Michael Deckbar
Kivu Ruhorahoza is an award-winning Rwandan filmmaker. Kivu’s films include Father’s Day (Berlinale 2022), Europa (IDFA 2019), Things of the Aimless Wanderer (Sundance 2015) and Grey Matter (TriBeCa 2011).
Kivu is the 2022-2023 Stewart McMillan Residential Fellow at Harvard University.
Sam Soko
Filmmaker
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Sam Soko is a documentary filmmaker based in Nairobi, Kenya. With his captivating approach to socio-political storytelling, he has developed content and collaborated with firebrand artists worldwide. His work has been showcased at numerous festivals, including Sundance, Berlin, and the Toronto International Film Festival. Sam has won many awards and has received Emmy, Peabody, and PGA nominations for his work.
Yared Zeleke
Writer and Director
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Yared Zeleke’s first feature, Lamb, screened at Cannes in 2015. It was the first out of his native Ethiopia to be in the „Official Selection”. Variety magazine featured Zeleke among the “10 Screenwriters to Watch”. In 2016, Lamb made the shortlist for the Oscars Best Foreign Language Film Award.
Am I eligible to apply?
To be able to apply, you must fulfill two main eligibility requirements:
What is being supported?
Eligible formats are narrative, documentary or hybrid feature-length films (at least 60 minutes) currently in development.
The fund focuses on the development stage of a film’s overall production. This is the phase for creating ideas, writing screenplays, acquiring financing, contracting rights, etc.
Development activities eligible for funding include, but are not limited to: work on a screenplay; research (travel); production of a mood reel; participation in labs (lab and travel fees); acquiring financing for production (work on further funding applications, travel to festivals, etc.); location and/or character/protagonist scouting, etc.
Is my project eligible to receive support?
Your project is eligible to receive support if:
Henok Legesse Birhanu
The DW Akademie Film Development Fund presents an excellent and thrilling opportunity for me to bring my story ideas to life.
Abigail Megbar Debebe
"It is so rare that a film project gets funded this early, and having an experienced filmmaker's mentorship is a unique opportunity. I can’t think of a more perfect way to start my filmmaking career!"
FREDDY FERUZI
"As I am aspiring to be the best filmmaker I can be, DW Akademie Film Development Fund is the best opportunity to expose me to the world class expertise of filmmaking."
Habtamu Gebrehiwot
"The DW Akademie film development fund is a great opportunity for my career as a writer, because it helps me to develop an industry standard proffesional writing skill with the help of the mentors and development team. it will also give me a chance to concentrate my time and energy at writing my first feature film script for year long."
Kelvin Kagambo
"A long time ago... wait, we don't have enough space for that, but the story I wanted to tell ends with me, as filmmaker, receiving a grant from DW Akademie to facilitate the development phase of my script. I believe this grant is a tremendous boost to my script development. It will provide the resources and support necessary to bring my vision to life in a very professional way."
Frank Sylvester Machiya
"To be considered for DW Akademie Film Development Fund is a great honor and a privilege, so thank you DW"
Daisy Masembe
“Every once in a while, I need a little help to harness the talents and skills that God has given me to tell my stories. I am so grateful to DW Film Development Fund for the help that I get to receive to do this.”
Ruth Nazzinda
"It’s a pleasure DW development film fund for our Film to be part of this program, this means a lot to different victims. It’s an opportunity to break the stereotypes and tell stories that are worth being told and change the narrative about stories that are happening in our society but people pretend not to know. Let’s break the silence into conversational solutions towards certain topics through film."
Neema Ngelime
"Excited to put my curiosity to good use, DW Akademie Film Development Fund will give me the support to explore the storytelling possibilities of my film. "
Patience Nitumwesiga
"I feel so privileged to be able to get this grant and mentorship to work on a script for a story I have been working on for a couple years now. It feels quite divine because I think I am at the exact right time to take time off to write and it is so relieving to have support to do this kind of development work that needs so much more than we are usually able to afford."
Ritha Saxon
“My project is like a small plant, DW Akademie Film Development Fund gives light for it to grow well and be of great impact to the society.”
Daniel Semulema
"The DW Akademie Film Development Fund gives me the freedom to create."
Bontu Shiferaw
"DW Akademie Film Development Fund is very important for film makers from developing countries out there who are finding it hard to tell their stories because there is lack of budget, proper guidance and mentorship. DW Akademie Film Development Fund offers fund to develop the idea , one to one mentorship and creates the stage for networking and many more."
Leul Shoaferaw
"Development programs like DW Akademie’s Development Fund helps filmmakers to spend adequate time crafting and developing their concepts, without being rushed or financially hurdled – it (the program) also gives them an opportunity to work with mentors who bring vast experience to the process."
Ivan Tusabe
"The DW Akademie Film Development Fund supports the creation of impactful and original African films by empowering African storytellers to develop their stories into powerful scripts because from them it's where it all begins, like George Cukor once said, "Give me a good script, and I'll be a hundred times better as a director."
When and how can I apply?
The next call for applications from all three countries (Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania) opens on September 14, 2022 on this website! Deadline is October 26, 2022.
The application form (in English) and all supporting material will be available here on this website, and we will be organizing virtual information sessions during the application period where you can ask all your questions before applying.
Make sure that your application is complete, and you have read all supporting materials. Incomplete application will not be considered.
If you need support or have any questions, please contact us at dw-akademie.film-fund@dw.com
How are projects selected?
After the deadline, we will need around four weeks to evaluate the applications and to consolidate a shortlist. If your project made it on the shortlist, you will be asked to submit a treatment (eight pages max).
The shortlist then goes to an independent jury, which selects five projects from each country to be funded. For each country, we put together a jury of three international film professionals, with different people for each funding round.
We will inform the 15 selected filmmakers approximately 8 weeks after the application deadline. Please don’t contact us during the process, as we won’t be able to give you any information.
Required supporting documents
Applicants who’s projects are shortlisted will be asked to submit a treatment (8 pages max.)
Tamara Dawit
Country lead Ethiopia
Tamara Dawit is an Ethiopian-Canadian filmmaker whose films Forgotten Children (2007), Girls of Latitude (2008), Grandma Knows Best (2014), Finding Sally (2020), and others have been broadcast and screened at festivals globally. She is an alumnus of the Berlinale and Durban Talents, EAVE, Doha Film Institute, and Rotterdam Lab and has been awarded fellowships by Docs in Progress, Logan Nonfiction, and TIFF. Tamara has recently won the Adiaha Award, the Gordon Parks Award and the Doc Institute Vanguard Award. She is currently co-producing two feature documentaries and developing a slate of dramatic films. In addition to producing, Tamara is an advisor on equity and inclusion in the screen sector and the Vice President of Growth and Inclusion at the Canada Media Fund.
Esther Dorn-Fellermann
Project Manager
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Esther Dorn-Fellermann studied political science, media studies and European cultural studies at the Friedrich-Wilhelms University in Bonn, where she completed her PhD in media studies. Her research focuses on participatory media and democratization. Since 2014, she has been working at DW as a project manager in various departments.
Fibby Kioria
Country lead Uganda
Fibby Kioria is the Co Founder of Manyatta Screenings. She is a film producer and is passionate about reimagining African Cinema for African audiences, providing the much needed support for emerging filmmakers and also keen on the film education space.
She is also an Associate Producer for the ‘Sembene Across Africa’ screenings, which annually brings Ousmane Sembene’s work to over 35 countries in Sub Saharan Africa through parallel community screenings. She regularly sits on international juries and film selection committees.
Nadja Lischewski
Project Manager
Nadja Lischewski studied communication, political science and psychology (M.A.) before working as a producer of documentaries for ZDF, arte, WDR and others. In 2019, she joined DW Akademie’s film industries team as project manager. There she oversees various projects such as the documentary program Generation Africa and the DW Akademie Film Development Fund.
Lise Mercier
Project support
Marion Schmidt
Consultant
Marion is a freelance consultant and cultural manager. She is co-director of the Documentary Association of Europe and advisor to the DW Akademie film department and works regularly with clients like the Goethe-Institut or Martin Roth Initiative. She sits on the board of NAAS Network and ARTEF Anti Racism Taskforce in European Film.
Amil Shivji
Country lead Tanzania
Amil Shivji is an award-winning filmmaker based in Tanzania who believes in using images to challenge the powers that be, in particular deconstructing urban facades of development and emphasizing the strength and struggles of marginalized communities. His films have competed across festivals such as Toronto, Seattle and Rotterdam.
Ansgar Vogt
Project Manager and Consultant
© Lina Rodriguez
Ansgar Vogt works as project manager and consultant for DW Akademie Film Development Fund, and for Cartagena International Film Festival/Colombia as Head of Programming. For 15 years he worked as a programmer at the Forum section of the Berlin International Film Festival. He has served as a jury member for film festivals all over the world.
