The highly successful Creative Producer Indaba (CPI), widely recognised for its impact in the film industry, is seeking 15 producers to join its 5th edition which begins in November 2025.
The CPI is a professional development programme designed for film producers that aims at sharpening their leadership and entrepreneurial skills while expanding their creative capacity.
Created and designed by Cape Town-based media house, Realness Institute, in partnership with EAVE, as well as the Brazilian Foundation Projeto Paradiso, Canada Media Fund, Telefilm, the Swiss Foundation for professional training in cinema and audiovisual media (FOCAL), the Austrian Film Institute, the French National Centre of Cinema (CNC), and Institut français, the programme will be run over three workshop periods.
With a focus on creative outputs within a professional business framework, the programme combines group seminar sessions as well as collaborative group workshops that will look at successful case studies, drawing on the learnings from these. One-on-one engagements with mentors and guest experts around participants’ projects are also offered, so that participants have tangible takeaways from their experience. The cohort will focus on key areas including project development and planning, financing, legal frameworks, marketing, publicity, advocacy and lobbying, organisational growth, network management, and leadership.
For the first time in the CPI’s history, all three workshops will take place in the African and Indian Ocean regions, and this year the programme collaborates with two new festival partners which will be announced in a few weeks.
Workshop 1 will be held from 14 to 21 November 2025; Workshop 2 from 8 to 12 February 2026, and Workshop 3 from 25 to 30 April 2026.
For this edition Ethiopian–American film/television producer, and Interim Managing Director of the Realness Institute, Mehret Mandefro and Belgian award-winning film producer Diana Elbaum, will serve as group leaders and mentors.
The CPI is looking for African and Indian Ocean Producers (not directors) with or without a film project (feature film, episodic or feature documentary project) and producers outside of Africa (without a project) who have an interest in co-producing with Africa. Relevant criteria for the programme can be found on the application forms.
While some costs are covered by the programme, other costs are not. Applicants are advised to familiarise themselves with the funding structures on the application forms so that they can be sure they will be able to provide their own funds or obtain funding from other sources for aspects of the programme.
However, through the partnerships with the Brazilian foundation Projeto Paradiso, Canada Media Fund, Telefilm, the Swiss Foundation for professional training in cinema and audiovisual media (FOCAL), the Austrian Film Institute, and the French National Centre of Cinema (CNC), each has one spot specifically reserved for a producer in their country wanting to co-produce an African project. This partnership guarantees that all programme expenses will be covered for the selected participants from the listed partnering countries (except for per diems).
Applications are now open and will close on 5 October 2025.
To apply go to : https://www.realness.institute/creative-producer-indaba
For more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Image supplied by Realness Institute with permission: The Cohort from the 2024 edition of the CPI.