NEWF Brings the Wild Side to Durban FilmMart 2026
African storytellers take natural world storytelling into the industry conversation at DFM’s 17th edition, 9 to 12 October 2026
The Nature, Environment and Wildlife Filmmakers (NEWF) will present a dedicated natural world storytelling strand at the 17th Durban FilmMart, running in Durban from 9 to 12 October 2026, bringing African filmmakers, their craft and their questions into the heart of the continent’s most significant film industry gathering.
Africa holds some of the richest natural spaces and biodiversity on the planet, and for generations those places have been narrated by people who do not live in them. NEWF exists to support African storytellers and creators in leading natural history filmmaking, enabling local communities who live alongside wildlife to tell their own conservation stories and shape the future of African storytelling from an African perspective. DFM that work steps out of the labs and onto the industry floor, in a programme of panels, an immersive exhibition and a curated screening selection, all built around the Fellows and storytellers reshaping what a film about the natural world can be.
Importantly, this strand is not reserved for filmmakers who already describe themselves as wildlife or environmental storytellers. It is an open door to the rest of the industry.
“So many of the stories emerging from the continent remind us that nature is not separate from people,” says Pragna Parsotam-Kok, Executive Director, NEWF.
“Social, environmental and climate justice intersect, conservation films explore people and place, and stories about the natural world can move between documentary, fiction and natural history. Now more than ever, it matters that African voices are part of global conversations about our environment, nature and wildlife. Together, we hope to invite filmmakers who may not yet see themselves as nature world storytellers, to bring their voices, craft and perspectives to the wild side; and to expand what natural world storytelling can be, who gets to shape it and how these stories are shared with the world.”
Beyond the Wild: the panel programme
NEWF’s three DFM sessions sit under a shared banner, Beyond the Wild, each taking on natural world storytelling from a different vantage point, the spiritual, the technical and the thematic.
Beyond the Wild: Representing Nature and Spirituality on Screen
Drawing on their latest film, Pippa Ehrlich and Zolani Mahola in conversation with Dr Gcina Mhlophe and Gogo Lindi Dlamini explore how filmmakers represent African spirituality and the relationships between nature, culture, ancestry and identity on commercial screens. They consider cultural authority, authenticity and the value carried through indigenous knowledge. Panellists: Pippa Ehrlich (Sea Change Project), Zolani Mahola, Dr Gcina Mhlophe (Gcinamasiko Arts & Heritage Trust), Gogo Lindi Dlamini.
Beyond the Wild: Getting the Shot
NEWF Fellows unpack the technical and creative decisions behind topside, underwater and aerial wildlife cinematography, using clips and sequences as case studies. Panellists: Chisomo Kawaga, Nkosikhona Mthembu, Carlos Norhona, Elshadaye Temesgen. Moderated by Nathan Rice (Untitled Entertainment).
Beyond the Wild: Expanding Stories About the Natural World
NEWF Fellows behind films exploring indigenous foodways, land restitution and conservation, human-elephant coexistence and environmental legacy discuss the breadth of natural-world storytelling across the continent. Panellists: Matamba Kombila (Dougantsi Films), Nondumiso Masache (Zenkosi Films), Anthony Ochieng Onyango (TonyWild Foundation). Moderated by Thihangwi Ramutsindela (Nga Maanda Awe Film Festival and NEWF).
Delegates can walk into Africa’s natural worlds at The NEWF Room, an interactive exhibition built on immersive and emerging storytelling. A 360° VR journey carries visitors from the wildlife of Zululand out to the coral reefs of Sodwana Bay. Aquabots, a multiplayer conservation game, puts them to work. A pop-up macro exhibition turns attention to the hidden detail of the natural world.
Providing a visual representation of this programme stream, NEWF will present The Wild Side, a curated selection of short films and works-in-progress exploring nature, culture and conservation, while celebrating the African storytellers expanding how stories about the natural world are imagined, crafted and shared.
“For us, this is about more than putting nature on screen, and making space for the people who live in these environments, know them and carry their stories. When African filmmakers bring their own voices and perspectives to the natural world, the stories become richer, and we can begin to shape how they are shared with the world,” Parsotam-Kok concluded.
Press release supplied