Mastercard Enablement Programme

Radioxity Stop Motion Animation Academy

The Radioxity Stop Motion Animation Academy is about enabling manpower and local capacity to execute world class stop motion animated projects telling beautiful African stories. With skills taught by industry legends, the new generation will use the beautiful art of stop motion to diversify the presentation of the African culture.

Learn more on their website and Instagram. 

Return to the Source: Film Workshop & Residency Programme

Return to the Source aims to teach marginalised youth about history and African cinema, to get African artists collaborating and working with each other in interdisciplinary ways using film and history as a meeting point. This is done by using an investigation of real-life physical sites related to traumatic colonial history in Namibia, that are engaged with by youth from the descendants of these affected communities. I want to use the funds to teach students about African approaches to film production, primarily “The return to the source” as a uniquely African film genre with Souleymane Cisse’s Yeleen (1986) as the best example. This type of film searches for precolonial African traditions that can contribute to the solution of contemporary problems, and for a new film language. Students learn about colonial violence in Namibia — and its relevance to the sites we explore — e.g: hanging trees, colonial monuments, etc. Students produce a film/visual work as their artistic outcome, inspired by the aforementioned sites and making use of a precolonial or alternative epistemology in their approach.

UnderCurrent

Lighting departments in India, as in many parts of the world, have almost no women technicians. This makes it hard for women to envision themselves in these roles, let alone break in. We created UnderCurrent to change this and build a more equitable Indian film industry. Our trainees receive hands-on instruction from industry mentors and are placed in on-set internships.

Sunshine Cinema

Sunshine Cinema, a 2020 recipient of the Mastercard Enablement Programme fellowship. This support emerged during the uncertainty of the cinema industry's future. Sunshine CInema pioneers solar-powered mobile cinemas, empowering over 100 youths across South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya reaching 1000s of direct audience members a year. Through training in impact facilitation rural young people are trained as Sunbox Ambassadors, they conduct free screenings, fostering dialogue on key issues like gender equality and active citizenship. The program focused on economic development, and participants earn income from digital marketing gig work during the training. The Mastercard provided vital leadership, financial support, and mentorship, enabling growth and informing their Spark Impact training approach to working with alumni to play it forward.

TransStories

Carlos is a Peruvian filmmaker and founder of La Fiebre Films. "TranStories" is a creative lab with the aim of empowering the Peruvian trans community through the force of filmmaking. Each year 20 Peruvian trans women will explore their resilience by making short explorative documentaries, telling their own stories using their own words, bodies, and thoughts.

Learn more.

WE FILM MX

Miguel is an independent Mexican filmmaker and activist. WE FILM MX is a digital platform for female journalists, activists, and human rights defenders. Its aim is to provide training and tools for the creation of audiovisual projects that can be used to broadcast their activities, expose or prove police abuses and to produce campaigns and documentaries in a country in a humanitarian crisis. It is a tool for democracy.

Majoaneng (Academy of Images and Letters)

Phillip Leteka is a short story writer, filmmaker and a Fulbright Scholar based in Maseru, Lesotho. Majoaneng (Academy of Images and Letters) is an intensive programme which provides training, space, support and equipment to young dedicated individuals who are interested in developing their filmmaking craft in the thick of Lesotho’s non-existent film industry.

Learn more on their website. 

Girls' Sexual Abuse Prevention Program (GSAP)

At least 1000 young girls from marginalised communities of Sindh & Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be empowered to prevent, recognize, and react smartly towards advances of sexual abuse. Moreover, through social media, thousands of Sindhi and Pashto speaking parents will be sensitised to identify and intervene without shame and victim blaming.

Jury Statement:
“Having considered the details of the Girls’ Sexual Abuse Prevention Program, the clarity of their goals and immediate need to act are both very compelling. The fact that they have structured the program in a solid, cadenced way to tackle such an important issue also inspires confidence.”

Learn more about the project on their website, Facebook or Instagram.

Third Cinema Honduras

-Creating a space for independent cinema screenings & open dialogues and reflections through cinema with the Central American community to achieve an impact on our social imaginary. -Offering new opportunities for professional and human development through the knowledge of filmmaking and the power of stories.

Jury Statement:
“Third Cinema Honduras brings films to communities that would otherwise not have access to them. The project promotes love and interest in the arts and highlights the importance of identity representation within film. We welcome that Third Cinema Honduras has already shown how well it works as an initiative with great dedication and hope to contribute to greater sustainability with our funding.”

Learn more about the project on their website, Facebook or Instagram.

UnderCurrent

Growing numbers of competent women and non-binary people in grip and electric can dramatically change the work culture on Indian sets. This behind-the-camera change can support the increasing numbers of feminist narratives being produced. Not just that, grip and electric work is well paid with strong labor protections (even for workers who aren’t in the union).

Jury Statement:
“The concept of "UnderCurrent" has inspired us! A concrete and factual idea that is well thought out from A to Z. The focus on the entry of women in the Grip & Electric sector in Indian filmmaking is a thoughtful and realistic approach to social change. We trust the concept has the right approach to make a lasting impact on the industry of an entire country. And to change the world, you also have to stay down-to-earth.”

Learn more about the project on their website. 

Sunshine Cinema

A solar-powered cinema network with screenings in rural communities in Sambia, Simbabwe and Malawi. Young people are provided with mobile kits called 'The Sunbox' and are trained to become media facilitators, sparking conversation in their communities inspired by the power of African film.

Learn more about the project on their website, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. 

Documentary Association of Pakistan

A pilot mentorship and training scheme in the city of Quetta. Working with ten emerging documentary makers from the Hazara, Baloch and Pashtun ethnic communities, the project's aim is to overcome sectarian and ethnic division in an otherwise vibrant cultural centre of Pakistan.

Learn more about the project on their website, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. 

The Seeds Project

An educational project for indigenous children in the Peruvian Andes. Through screenings and classes at rural schools, protagonists from Diego's documentary "Mothers of the Land" pass on their knowledge of traditional organic farming practices and pride in their Quechua heritage.

Learn more about the project on their website, Facebook or Instagram.