African directing talents invited to international festivals

The compilation of six short fiction films, set in Lagos (director: Folasakin Iwajomo), Abidjan (Philippe Lacôte), Dakar (Marie KA), Johannesburg (Vincent Moloi), Cairo (Ahmed Ghoneimy) and Nairobi (Jim Chuchu), the filmmakers' work shows the face of a modern and cosmopolitan Africa and challenges long-standing clichés about the continent.

Besides the screenings and a panel discussion in Rotterdam, Marie KA, one of its directors, will talk about her experiences at Berlinale Talents 2014, the Berlin International Film Festival's annual platform for the most promising emerging filmmakers.

This is an initiative of the Goethe-Institut South Africa and South African executive producer Steven Markovitz, with support from Guaranty Trust Bank and the Hubert Bals Fund of International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Gertjan Zuilhof, international programmer and Peter van Hoof, head of short film programme of IFFR, say, "Big city films from African big cities is just what we have been waiting for. It is about time we move on from pre-colonial nostalgia. The best would be if this project could work as a model for the future."

For more information, go to www.goethe.de/africanmetropolis.