Focus Features announced the five filmmakers who will be awarded $10,000.00 a piece for their African First Program. There are three women and two men from four different African countries. From South Africa, Jan-Hendrik Beetge and Jenna Bass; from Rwanda, Edouard Bamporiki; From Senegal, Dyana Gaye; and from Kenya, Wanuri Kahiu. Congratulations.

Focus CEO James Schamus applauded both the winners and other participants: “Given the response to our program, there was no shortage of new talent to choose from. The final five have great stories to tell that are original in every respect, but what was even more impressive were the scores and scores of other strong projects we were unfortunately not able to help – this time.” Kisha Imani Cameron, who supervised the Africa First program, added, “I’m so pleased that we found diverse finalists from all over continental Africa.”

Each of the recipients will use the money to create a short film based on their submitted proposal. The five films will be:

• Long Coat (Edouard Bamporiki) a drama about a young Hutu coming to terms with Rwanda’s and his own family’s past;
• The Tunnel (Jenna Bass), a 1980s-set story centering around a 10-year-old girl’s quest;
• The Abyss Boys (Jan-Hendrik Beetge): a thriller about an illegal trade in a small fishing town;
• N’Dar [Saint Louis Blues] (Dyana Gaye): a musical about public transportation;
• Pumzi [Breath] (Wanuri Kahiu): a futuristic sci-fi tale.