Screen International Announces Creative Producer Indaba Cohort 5 Selection
Fifteen filmmakers from around the globe, who have a focus on African film and television content have gathered for the fifth edition of Creative Producer Indaba, the prestigious audiovisual producers’ professional development programme that strengthens the entrepreneurial and leadership skills of a new cohort of media leaders and builders.
This acclaimed programme is created and designed by Cape Town-based media house, Realness Institute, in partnership with EAVE, the Indian Ocean International Film Festival (FIFOI) and Maison du Cinéma et des Jeux Vidéo, with the financial support of Region Réunion. The programme is also supported by the Brazilian Foundation Projeto Paradiso, Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada, the Swiss Foundation for professional training in cinema and audiovisual media (FOCAL), the Austrian Film Institute, the French National Centre of Cinema (CNC), and Institut français Creation Africa.
It kicked off last week with an online Opening Assembly (12 November) with Guest Speaker Ivana Kirkbride, Media and Tech Executive and current NorthStar Media Group Co-Founder, who led a discussion on "Leadership".
The cohort includes:
African/Indian Ocean Producers with a project:
Ique Langa (Mozambique), Lova Nantenaina (Réunion), Wame Merafhe (Botswana), Yasmin Hassan (Kenya) and Shveta Naidoo (South Africa)
African/Indian Ocean Producers interested in professional development:
Xolani Nhlapho and David Franciscus (South Africa), Mahelet Gezachew (Ethiopia/USA), Iman Djionne (Senegal), Linda Qibaa (Morocco/France).
International Producers collaborating with African/Indian Ocean Producers:
Mo Harawe (Austria/Somalia), Stefan Eichenberger (Switzerland), Soko Negash (Canada)
Aswathi Naduthodi (India), and Talita Arruda (Brazil).
The current online sessions for the programme includes a Story Masterclass with Story Expert Tracey-Lee Rainers, award winning entrepreneur and international story practitioner with Story Oasis (Johannesburg); an International Sales Masterclass with Julien Razafindranaly film sales executive and Head of Sales at Films Boutique, as well as Alicia Petrusa, Media and Entertainment Senior Relationship Manager at Royal Bank of Canada, to discuss corporate strategy, cash flow, and private equity financing.
This introductory session is followed by an in-person workshop in February next year in Johannesburg, where participants will have sessions on financing, PR and marketing, and project development. The cohort will then move to Saint-Paul, Réunion, during the International Indian Ocean Film Festival (FIFOI), in April 2026 where the workshops will focus on legal, organisational development, network management and leadership.
The programme blends seminars, workshops, and mentorship to support creative projects within a business framework. Participants gain practical insights across project planning, financing, legal, marketing, advocacy, organisational growth, and leadership.
Mehret Mandefro, Interim Managing Director of Realness Institute and Creative Producer Indaba Group Leader comments: “Global media systems are going through an unprecedented set of disruptions and in year 5 of Creative Producer Indaba we are focused on equipping producers with future-facing skills that can help them weather the storm and come out stronger.”
Diana Elbaum, award-winning producer, and Creative Producer Indaba Group Leader says, "CPI celebrates producers as bold leaders, changemakers, and vital forces in the vibrant African and Indian Ocean creative landscape. By connecting producers, talents, and ideas, CPI provides the tools and experience to amplify extraordinary voices whose narratives are reshaping global majority storytelling."
For more information go to : https://www.realness.institute/creative-producer-indaba
Read about it in Screen.
BIOGRAPHIES:
African/Indian Ocean Producers with a project:
Ique Langa (Mozambique) Currently finalizing post-production on his debut feature film Chapa in Maputo, Ique Langa is a filmmaker and illustrator who trained in directing at the London Film School. He has worked in South Africa and Mozambique as a videographer and illustrator, nurturing his cinematic vision.
Lova Nantenaina (Réunion/Madagascar) Founder of Endemika Films, Lova is a documentary filmmaker based in Réunion whose work explores memory and resistance to globalization. He holds a master’s from ENSAV Toulouse and has earned international acclaim at festivals like IDFA, DOXA, TIFF, FIFOI and FESPACO.
Wame Merafhe (Botswana) Wame is a Botswana-based producer with a BA in Motion Picture Medium, currently developing a supernatural crime drama, Borrowed Skin. She co-produced Seipone, which won a Bantu Film Festival award in 2024. Her experience spans cinematography, production coordination, and reality TV, and she’s an alumna of StoryLab and the Botswana Ignite Cohort.
Yasmin Hassan (Kenya) Yasmin is producing Jua Kali, a feature narrative expanding on her acclaimed documentary short film which won the 2024 Youth Jury Award at FIFOI 2024. She is co-founder of Wheelbarrow Films in Kenya. She was a participant at the 2025 Rotterdam Producer’s Lab. Yasmin’s ability to manage large-scale productions while championing authentic African narratives has made her a sought-after collaborator in the industry.
Shveta Naidoo (South Africa) is a writer-producer focused on Pan-African content, currently developing The Moon Can’t Run. She’s produced 10 international short films, worked across transmedia formats, and was the first South African accepted into the Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris program. Her portfolio consists of a diverse range of Transmedia content and has worked on music videos for South African artists StiffPap and Mafikizolo, commercials for NIKE x Caster Semenya and documentary work with NEWF and East African Development Bank.
African/Indian Ocean Producers:
David Franciscus (South Africa) is a SAFTA-winning producer, one of Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans in 2019, whose feature Street Trash premiered at Rotterdam in 2025; he studied filmmaking at CPUT and creative writing in Wisconsin. He’s known for developing identity-driven stories and co-producing award-winning shorts My Beskermerand Bosryer, now being adapted into features
Mahelet Gezachew (Ethiopia/USA) is a producer and development executive working between Los Angeles and Addis Ababa, currently a Script and Book Reader for SKYDANCE and a Producer for Wax & Gold, while pursuing a law degree at UCLA. Her past roles include leading content at D!NK TV, developing Nike’s Sports Film Label, and working at ARRAY and Marvel Studios.
Iman Djionne (Senegal) is a writer-director and founder of Guddi Productions, currently developing her debut feature Coura + Oulèye. She has produced short films and worked as a casting director on numerous local and international projects including Banel & Adama by Ramata-Toulaye Sy (Cannes' Official Competition 2023) and Io Capitano by Matteo Garrone (Venice 2023, Oscar nominee for Best International Feature 2024).
Xolani Nhlapho (South Africa) is an executive/creative producer and founder of Eccentric Circus, with credits on 15 made-for-TV films and 3 Showmax features and an independent film. A graduate of AFDA and the M-Net Magic in Motion Academy, he’s known for balancing storytelling with production logistics.
Linda Qibaa (Morocco/France) is co-producing her debut documentary ROAD-TRIP through RUYBA Films and SaNoSi Productions, selected for FIDADOC (2022), Atlas Workshop (2023), and IDFA Project Space & IDFAcademy (2024). With studies in photography, philosophy, and anthropology, she brings a pan-African and pan-Arab lens to auteur cinema from her base in Marseille and Casablanca.
International Producers:
Mo Harawe (Austria/Somalia) is co-founder of Donkey Films, whose award-winning shorts and debut feature The Village Next to Paradise have screened internationally. His acclaimed short Will my parents come to see me was selected at the FIFOI 2025.He studied Visual Communication and Film at Kassel University (Germany) and continues to produce globally rooted stories, including Lost Frames, a co-production with Kosovar director Samir Karahoda.
Stefan Eichenberger (Switzerland) is an Oscar-nominated Swiss producer and partner at Contrast Film. He has produced acclaimed works such as WONDERLAND (Competition Locarno), MIDNIGHT RUNNER (Competition San Sebastián), and the international spy series DAVOS 1917, sold to over 30 countries.. Stefan Eichenberger is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the European Film Academy (EFA), and the international producers’ network ACE. In 2022, he was selected as a Cannes Producer on the Move.
Soko Negash (Canada) is a producer spanning documentary, scripted, podcasts and more. She worked on all four seasons of Netflix’s Emmy-winning documentary series Hip-Hop Evolution. Soko is also an alumni of the Netflix/Hot Docs’ Doc Accelerator program, Black Screen Office Producer’s Program, Black Women Film! Canada, and RealScreen’s Pathways Mentorship program.
Aswathi Naduthodi (India) is founder of VU Talkies, Aswathi is a producer and post-production expert across South Indian cinema, recently expanding into animation and tech advising. She supervised post on Oscar-winning The Elephant Whisperers and continues to develop films and series blending creative vision with technical precision.
Talita Arruda (Brazil) is an award-winning Brazilian distributor and curator who founded Fistaile, specializing in audience strategy and film marketing from development onward. With a Master’s from UFRB and over 100 film releases, she is a frequent industry tutor and award-winning innovator in Black cinema distribution.