The IDFA Bertha Fund has announced its latest selection of documentary projects. The Democratic Republic of Congo film Spaceman in Kongo is one of the 13 chosen projects. The project is a co-production between Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Kingdom
The film is directed by Maisha Maene, with production from Leo Nelki Productions, and co-production from Josune Hahnheiser, and Dale Dobson.
According to a published logline, the film tells the story of two young rocket engineers, Nestor and Isaac, who work on building the first Congolese Space Program. Both men are “propelled by the memory of African dreamers and a resilient belief in their country”.
This year, the Bertha Fund, under the auspices of the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, says it is awarding a total of €202,500 in development and production financing to the selected films. It will also offer “tailor-made support for the filmmaking teams” across two categories. Spaceman in Kongo is one of seven projects in the IBF Classic – Development category, or which it will receive €7,500. Moroccan film Looking for Bacchus, directed by Ali Essafi, is also in that category and will receive the same amount.
Other Projects
Also selected for development are Bhutan’s Once Upon a Time in a Jungle, Guatemala’s The Pulse of the Volcanoes, Kyrgyzstan’s Road of Bones, Colombia’s Trail on the Water, and Myanmar’s When a Poet Goes to War.
In the IBF Classic – Production & Post-production category, the six chosen projects are Black River, Oma, Qashqai Tribe: Once Upon a Time in Shiraz, The Shadows of the Forest, Under the Flags, the Sun, and one project for which no details have been released.
The selection committee for the Bertha Fund this year are Karim Aitouna, producer at Haut les Mains Productions and Waq Waq Studio; Gema Juárez Allen, producer at GEMA Films; Isabel Arrate Fernandez, Deputy Director of IDFA and Executive Director of IDFA Bertha Fund; Fabien Greenberg, producer at Antipode Films; and Clara Vuillermoz, producer at Solent Production.
The IDFA Bertha Fund has been in operation since 1998. Its IBF Classic funding “offers grants to filmmakers from and living in a country on the IBF Classic Country List”. That list includes several African countries. Alongside grants, the fund says “support is available for documentary projects from starting up and developing a project to the final phases of post-production”.
The next deadline for submissions is December 10. More details here.
