Eight African documentary projects will receive a total of $120,000 in support from the Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund. Hot Docs announced the list of projects for the 14th annual cohort that aims to bolster voices from Africa. The selected projects represent nine countries from the African continent (and additional regions through co-productions) drawn from 127 applications representing 30 countries.
The Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund provides development grants up to $10,000, which were assigned to four projects, and production grants of up to $40,000, assigned to three projects. The eight project received a post-production grant. Up to five teams are also selected for a year-long mentorship program, which includes exclusive workshops at Hot Docs and several African events.
“The Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund has built an impactful legacy through its support of the documentary filmmaking community in Africa,” said Elizabeth Radshaw, Hot Docs’ Director of Industry Programs, in a statement from Hot Docs. “We are so honoured to recognize this incredible group of storytellers through the Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund and are grateful to nurture these projects as they strive to share important stories from across the continent.”
“This year’s Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund recipients represent a notable variety of projects that reach across the documentary genre to share stories of great significance and impact from nine African countries,” added Neil Tabatznik, Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund co-founder. “I am delighted to be able to play a part in their success through the dissemination of these funds, and I congratulate them all on their tremendous efforts to bring their works into the world.”
Previous recipients of support from the Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund include Milisuthando, The Mother of All Lies (directed by Asmae El Moudir, whose Don’t Let the Sun Go Up on Me is among this year’s recipients), and Softie, which was selected to open the 2020 festival.
The recipients of the Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund grants are:
Development Grants:
Children of Honey (Olanakwe Sa Ba’alako)
Directors: Jigar Ganatra, Emanuel Musa Marco
Production Companies: JG Creative Ltd, Storyboard Studios
Country: Tanzania, Scotland
Three young friends from the last generation of Hadza hunter-gatherers co-create a landmark vérité film. Can their community protect 50,000 years of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in rapidly changing times? “We are Hadza. We want the world to know who we are.”
The Islander (L’île des invisibles)
Director: Amédée Pacôme Nkoulou
Producer: Amédée Pacôme Nkoulou
Production Companies: Pas Comme les Autres Films, Girelle Production
Country: Gabon
Gabon, 2023. As presidential elections loom, unemployed Bravo, 25, survives on his canoe by transporting islanders to the heart of the capital, Libreville, while nurturing many ambitions. On August 30, 2023, the military seizes power, opening a new, tumultuous political chapter with an uncertain outcome. Forgotten by the authorities and development programs, Bravo and the island’s inhabitants hope to finally see their lives change.
Pure Madness
Director: Inès Arsi
Producer: Sarra Ben Hassen
Production Company: Instinct Bleu
Country: Tunisia
Shaped by her own mental health journey, a filmmaker uncovers her great-uncle’s 1970s disappearance in France. Found years later in a psychiatric hospital, his story reveals hidden family wounds, the cost of migration, and intergenerational psychological trauma.
Vuka
Director: Matthew Robinson
Producers: Matthew Robinson, Rehad Desai
Production Company: Trevendy Films
Country: South Africa
Amidst the challenges of township life on the outskirts of Cape Town, an inspirational choir conductor uses the language of music to guide young singers through their daily struggles. Together, they push themselves to the limit as they compete for national honours.
Production Grants:
Born a Girl
Director: Kady Traore
Producer: Ousmane Samassekou
Production Company: Athena Films Productions
Country: Burkina Faso
At 7 days old, I was a victim of female genital mutilation (FGM). At 21, I had partial reconstructive surgery against the will of my parents. I now wish for full medical restoration of my clitoris. In this film I travel back to my hometown seeking my family’s consent as I travel towards physical and emotional healing.
Don’t Let the Sun Go Up on Me
Director: Asmae El Moudir
Producer: Asmae El Moudir
Production Company: Insightfilms
Country: Morocco
Don’t Let the Sun Go Up on Me is the story of a group of young dreamers, the children of the moon, who fight to escape the sun. No matter the cost, the sun’s rays must never touch their skin, for it could mean their end.
Dry Sky
Director: Ibrahim Omer
Producers: Aya Tallah Yusuf, Ibrahim Omer
Production Company: Shoghl Cairo Pictures
Countries: Egypt, Sudan
On his way back to his hometown, Ibrahim endeavors to build what he has dreamt of all his life; however, he faces a fate intertwined with the memories of the past in the village. Alongside his friend and their donkey, he strives relentlessly to break free from this constraint.
Post-Production Grant:
We, the People of the Islands
Directors: Elson Santos, Lara de Sousa
Producers: Elson Santos, Lara de Sousa, Pedro Borges
Production Companies: Soul Comunicação
Countries: Cape Verde
Through a forgotten photo of a group of clandestine guerrillas in the jungles of Cuba, Elson, a young Cape Verdean filmmaker, goes in search of the silenced heroes of this daring and little-known military operation whose main objective was to fulfill Amílcar Cabral’s dream to free the country from the grip of colonialism.
