Ramata-Toulaye SY

After completing a Master 1 in Performing Arts, specializing in Cinema and Audiovisual Studies at the University of Paris Nanterre, and a Master 2 in Screenwriting at the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français, Ramata-Toulaye Sy attended the Equality of Opportunity Workshops at La Fémis in 2009-2010. Admitted to La Fémis in 2011 in the Screenwriting Department, she graduated in 2015. Franco-Senegalese, Ramata-Toulaye Sy currently works between Dakar and Paris, where she has recently resettled. In 2020, she directed her first short film, Astel, supported by the CNC’s Pre-Production Grant, France 3, Canal+ International, and FOPICA in Senegal. The film had its world premiere in the Short Cuts competition at Toronto before its European premiere at FIFF Namur.
Photo credit: ©AnnaBroujean

Sameh Alaa

Born in Cairo, Egypt, Sameh studied German literature at Cairo University. Before moving to Europe, he worked as an assistant director on commercials and feature films. In 2016, he completed his master’s degree in directing at EICAR film school in Paris. Sameh’s first short film, FIFTEEN, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017 and won several awards worldwide. In 2019, he directed his first advertising campaign as a writer and director. His latest short film, I AM AFRAID TO FORGET YOUR FACE, was the first Egyptian film in 50 years to be selected for the official short film competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d’Or in 2020. Sameh is currently developing his first feature film.
Photo credit: ©Les Cigognes Films

Amina Mamani Abdoulaye

Amina Abdoulaye Mamani is Nigerian. She is a director and producer at Diam Production in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). She began her film career with the African Documentary Film Forum in Niamey (Niger). After three years studying audiovisual directing at IFTIC in Niamey (Niger), she won the Best School Documentary Award at Fespaco 2013 with her graduation documentary Le Hawan Idi. In 2014, she attended a writing residency and directing training for 12 months at Cinédoc-films (Annecy/France), where she directed Le silence des papiers, selected at the African Cinemas Festival of Apt (France). In 2018, after extensive research, she completed her first feature-length documentary, Sur les traces de Mamani Abdoulaye, which was selected, awarded internationally, and broadcast on TV5 Monde. In 2020, she trained in production at CINEKAP in Dakar (Senegal). Amina recently directed her first fiction short film, God’s Envoy, pre-purchased by TV5 Monde, which had its world premiere at FESPACO 2023, where it won four special prizes and two special mentions.
Photo credit: ©DiamProduction

Ruth Hunduma

Ruth Hunduma is an Ethiopian-Australian writer, director, photographer, actress, and poet. She received the John Hay Lobban Prize for English Literature from Birkbeck, University of London, and has been featured in publications such as Dazed and Perfect Magazine. Ruth won the Roundhouse Film 2022 and the BFI Short Documentary Fund 2022, through which she has now released two films. Her first fiction short, A BAND APART, premiered at the London Independent Film Festival and won Best Short Film (British Directors’ Award). As a writer and director, Ruth was shortlisted and accepted into the Guy Ritchie Creative Access Mentorship Program 2021. She was selected to join the Independent Film Trust’s Catalyst program in 2022 for London’s top emerging talents. Ruth’s script, WASTEMAN, was selected for Get It by the Center Frame Made Scheme and is currently in development. Ruth also wrote a novel that won The Literary Consultancy’s Free Reads Scheme. She is currently editing her novel. Ruth is based in London.
Photo credit: ©Story Compound