Call for Producers: CPI 5th Edition Announced
a number of international partnerships ensure broader access. Project Paradiso in Brazil, the Canada Media Fund, Telefilm, FOCAL in Switzerland,
The leadership for this edition will comprise Ethiopian-American TV and film producer Mehret Mandefro, who is Interim Managing Director of the Realness Institute, and Belgian award-winning producer Diana Elbaum. Photo/ Courtesy
By Juliet Jerotich
The fifth edition of the Creative Producer Indaba (CPI) officially opened its call for applications, allowing Kenyan producers to be part of class 2025/2026. The programme, which takes 15 producers, is most renowned as the most sought-after professional training opportunity for African and Indian Ocean region film producers. Its primary objective is to equip producers with entrepreneurial and leadership potential, as well as enhance their creative eye and competitive capacity at the global level.
Many Kenyan filmmakers in the past have been beneficiaries of this program, including Bramwell Iro, co-founder of Nairobi-based production firm LBx Africa, which makes high-quality fiction and documentary content for global audiences. Iro’s professional profile entails being a producer of services in the acclaimed short film Watu Wote/All of Us (2017) and Executive Producer on a documentary featuring activist Boniface Mwangi. Reflecting on his own experience, Iro characterized the programme as a highly valuable experience which broadened his experience and contacts.
The CPI is structured on a model which fuses creative research with healthy business acumen. Participants are engaged in group seminars, joint workshops, and case study discussions of best-practice producer-driven projects. In addition to the group exercise, participants also receive one-to-one counseling and direction from industry professionals. The approach guarantees that each participant leaves equipped with workable plans and takeaways specific to their projects which they can use immediately on their projects.
The subsequent cycle will emphasize major themes such as project planning, development, financing, legal matters, marketing, publicity, advocacy, organisational development, leadership, and international networking. The three workshops in the 2025/2026 cycle will be carried out regionally in the Indian Ocean and African regions, the first session scheduled for November 14–21, 2025, the second from February 8–12, 2026, and the final one from April 25–30, 2026.
The leadership for this edition will comprise Ethiopian American TV and film producer Mehret Mandefro, who is Interim Managing Director of the Realness Institute, and Belgian award-winning producer Diana Elbaum. They will together mentor the participants and take them through the process.
African and Indian Ocean producers, with or without a project, can be eligible. Foreign producers who are not African-based may also apply, but non-project, if they want to co-produce with the Africans. Potential applicants are advised to carefully screen the funding requirements because they do not subsidize all the costs of the programme.
However, a number of international partnerships ensure broader access. Project Paradiso in Brazil, the Canada Media Fund, Telefilm, FOCAL in Switzerland, the Austrian Film Institute, and the French National Centre of Cinema (CNC) all fund one delegate per country and cover all programme expenses except for daily allowances.
Entries remain open until October 5, 2025, providing interested manufacturers with only a brief window to prepare and submit their entries in hopes of participating in this revolutionary program.
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