In a first for the African film ecosystem, seven of the most influential
women-focused film advocacy organizations have united for one cause: to
ensure gender equity at African film festivals.
REEL BALANCE, initiated by The Ladima Foundation and the Durban
FilmMart, is being implemented in partnership with Rawiyat SIF (Sister
in Film), Sisters Working in Film & Television (SWIFT), Womxn Activating
Transformation Africa (WATA), Girls in Film SA, African Female
Filmmakers Collective (AFFC), and African Women in Animation.
REEL BALANCE is tangible and collaborative intervention constructively
engaging with over 50 film festivals in Africa to secure a commitment to
increase the representation of women, both on screen and behind the
scenes.
Informal research conducted by The Ladima Foundation in early 2026 from
12 film festivals on the continent revealed two key challenges. Firstly,
it is apparent that it is extremely difficult to access the data
required to accurately interrogate and understand the issues of gender
representation at film festivals in Africa. Despite this lack of access
to data, the research did clearly yield a second insight; the
significant need to increase the representation of films directed and
produced by women, and particularly African women at film festivals in
Africa.
REEL BALANCE has been designed to address both of these challenges,
working in partnership with film festivals via a pledge to be signed
that will commit signatory festivals to strive for 50/50 representation
for films directed or produced by women, but also in management and jury
positions, and in terms of participants in panels and workshops at
festival events.
Signatory festivals also commit to sharing data on the number of women
filmmakers submitting films, as well as the numbers of those selected.
The compiling, benchmarking and reporting on this data over the coming
years will be an integral part of the initiative and inform best
practice solutions to address identified challenges.
To support this process, REEL BALANCE will harness the power of the
eight participating partners who will activate extensive networks across
the continent to promote participating festivals and encourage women
filmmakers to submit their films to significantly increase the pipeline
of available films for selection.
REEL BALANCE is founded on partnership and collaboration, as The Ladima
Foundation’s Executive Director Lara Utian explains,
“Since its inception in 2018, The Ladima Foundation has worked to
address the significant gender imbalances within the film landscape in
Africa. We understand that lasting and impactful change takes place only
through collaborations and partnerships. This is why we are
particularly excited to have initiated REEL BALANCE along with the DFM,
and to have been able to partner with so many other like-minded
organizations on the continent. The fact that so many festivals have
already signed the pledge is inspiring and, with our partners, we will
continue to engage more festivals over the coming weeks and months. We
will also work closely with signatory festivals to support them and to
find constructive solutions to address issues of gender imbalance. In
partnership with these signatory festivals, we believe that change can
and will happen and that we will see more African women represented both
on and off screen in the years to come.”
Nineteen festivals have already signed the pledge, reflecting the
commitment of their leadership teams to supporting gender equality and
transforming Africa’s film festival landscape. These festivals are to
be applauded for their willingness to be leaders in the industry and to
make intentional efforts to ensure gender parity at their events and
REEL BALANCE will work to support and promote these festivals as we work
together in the coming years.
Also read: https://brandspurng.com/2026/10/16/steve-babaekos-short-film-ramat-selected-for-afriff-2026/
Film festivals that have signed the pledge to date include:
● Kitale Film Week (Kenya) https://kitalefilmweek.org/ [1]
● Bantu Film Festival (Botswana)
https://filmfreeway.com/BantuFilmFestival [2]
● Juiced Short Film Festival (Kenya)
https://filmfreeway.com/JuicedFilmFestival [3]
● Kilifi Creek Festival (Kenya) https://kilificreekfestival.com/
[4]
● Mashariki African Film Festival (Rwanda)
https://www.masharikifestival.org/ [5]
● Ethiopian International Film Festival (Ethiopia)
https://www.facebook.com/ethioiff/ [6]
● Animatex Animation Festival (Egypt) https://animatex.net/ [7]
● Fak’ugesi Festival (South Africa) https://fakugesi.co.za/
● Cameroon African Animation Film Festival (Cameroon)
https://canimaf.org/index.php/en/ [8]
● AVIJOZI (South Africa) https://avijozi.com/ [9]
● Durban International Film Festival (South Africa)
https://ccadiff.ukzn.ac.za/ [10]
● Joburg Film Festival (South Africa)
https://joburgfilmfestival.co.za/ [11]
● Encounters South African International Documentary Festival
(South Africa) https://encounters.co.za/ [12]
● FESPACO (Burkina Faso)
https://fespaco.bf/en/welcome-to-fespaco/ [13]
● Zanzibar International Film Festival (Zanzibar)
https://www.ziff.or.tz/ [14]
● FAME Week Africa (South Africa) https://www.fameweekafrica.com/
[15]
● LIFANIMA – Nigeria’s Animation Festival (Nigeria)
https://lifanima.com/ [16]
● Luxor African Film Festival (Egypt)
https://www.luxorafricanfilmfestival.com/ [17]
● Festival International du film de l’océan Indien (Reunion
Island) https://fifoi.re/ [18]
All film festivals within the African continent are invited to become
part of this movement and to sign the pledge. Interested festivals can
contact lara@ladima.africa for more information.
REEL BALANCE was officially launched on 10 October at the Durban
FilmMart who are co-founders of the initiative with Magdalene Reddy,
Director of Durban FilmMart Institute explaining their support:
“Since its inception, the Durban FilmMart’s purpose has been to
develop, support and sustain the African film industry, and to shape how
African storytelling is represented in the global market. Partnering
with The Ladima Foundation on REEL BALANCE is a natural progression of
that mission. Lasting change in on-screen representation begins behind
the scenes, with the people who select, programme and decide. As the
leading film market in Africa, we can speak directly to festivals and
industry players in a way advocacy alone cannot. We are using our
platform to open the pipeline for African women filmmakers, and to
ensure that the commitment is measured, not merely stated.”
REEL BALANCE will continue to engage with film festivals across the
continent to sign the pledge as well as to encourage women filmmakers to
submit films to signatory festivals. Updates will be issued via media
and across partner organization social media platforms.
For more information: www.ladima.africa
