Documentary Network Africa (DNA) unites African filmmakers

Johannesburg - More than 150 documentary filmmakers from across Africa came together at the People-2-People Documentary Conference, and decided it was "time for African filmmakers to do things for themselves".

A joint resolution that emerged after the three-day Johannesburg conference created a new organisation, Documentary Network Africa (DNA), and the participating filmmakers agreed "to work together to create a network and process to empower both our own storytelling and each other".

"This will be by Africans, for Africans, and with Africans," the DNA statement said.

The vision of Documentary Network Africa is "to promote the importance of African documentary in the genre, and to use this to promote our view of Africa".

DNA's goals include:

• sharing and building resources for African filmmakers
• promoting the role of documentary in social change
• making African documentaries more accessible
• supporting young, emerging filmmakers and a diversity of voices
• breaking down the imagined boundaries that have divided Africa for years
• promoting the telling of African stories by Africans themselves
• Being accountable and transparent to their audiences and subjects

"Africa is now in dialogue with itself, and we have a new optimism about our own future," the DNA statement said. More details will become available soon.

The DNA is represented in the following countries by:
Appie Matere (Kenya) amatere@gmail.com
LAZA (Madagascar) dir@rencontresdufilmcourt.mg
Neiloe Whitehead (South Africa) neiloek@gmail.com
Philip Rizk (Egypt) rizkphilip@gmail.com
Pascal Schmitz (South Africa) pascal@amariam.co.za
Eve Rantseli (South Africa) info@wos.org.za
Femi Odugbemi (Nigeria) femiodugbemi@gmail.com
Paulin Bertrand Bidzogo (Cameroun) bidzogo.official@gmail.com
Moussa Sene Absa (Senegal) seneabsa@gmail.com
David Forbes (South Africa) david@shadowfilms.co.za
David Constantin (Mauritius) david@cameleonprod.com
Terance Mzuza (South Africa) maseveni@hotmail.com
Joel Haikali (Namibia) joelhaikali@yahoo.com
Carlos A Dominguez (Spain) carlos@fcat.es
Rehad Desai (South Africa) rehad@icon.co.za
Jihan El-Tahri (Egypt) jihan_tahri@hotmail.com