The Great Lakes Creative Producers Lab has selected 15 participants for its 2026 program, representing production talent from Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. The cohort consists of 13 producers actively developing fiction and documentary features, alongside two observing producers attending for career development purposes without ongoing projects.
The week-long program will take place Oct. 26-30 in Kigali, Rwanda. During the lab, participants will engage in workshops, individual mentoring sessions, and peer-led discussions designed to strengthen their creative capabilities and practical filmmaking skills. The curriculum emphasizes building the technical and business acumen required for producers to develop, finance, and complete films with international market potential while maintaining connections to local narratives and perspectives.
Four mentors will guide the cohort. These include Themba Bhebhe, a South African professional with extensive background in international film sales and recent leadership experience in diversity initiatives at the Berlin International Film Festival’s European Film Market; Tiny Mungwe, a South African producer and programmer involved with the pan-African anthology Generation Africa and the Locarno Open Doors platform; Perivi Katjavivi, a Namibian filmmaker whose feature Under the Hanging Tree screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and served as Namibia’s Academy Award submission; and Neigeme Glasgow-Maeda, a Trinidad-born producer whose work has been selected for Cannes and who established Luxembourg-based NGM Productions.
Juliana Kabua, a founder of Great Lakes, characterized the lab as fostering cross-border collaboration among African producers. The 2026 edition marks the first year the program has incorporated observing producers into its structure. The initiative receives support from the French Embassy in Kenya, the Fund for Authors and Producers From Africa, Africalia, regional cultural institutions, and production companies, operating in partnership with IFFR Rotterdam Lab and Locarno Open Doors.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI