Out Of Africa: Berlinale’s European Film Market Launches Academy For African Film Distributors
The Berlinale’s European Film Market (EFM) has launched the Toolbox Distribution Academy, a three-year training and networking programme catering to film distributors from Africa. Through cross-continental collaboration with the European film industry, the programme seeks to help build a self-sustaining infrastructure and create wider audience reach for African films, while also enhancing the circulation and […]

The Berlinale’s European Film Market (EFM) has launched the Toolbox Distribution Academy, a three-year training and networking programme catering to film distributors from Africa.
Through cross-continental collaboration with the European film industry, the programme seeks to help build a self-sustaining infrastructure and create wider audience reach for African films, while also enhancing the circulation and visibility of European content in Africa.
The new Toolbox Distribution Academy will train up to ten African professionals annually through a five-week residency in Europe, culminating in participation in the Berlinale’s EFM. Over the course of thirty in-depth and hands-on workshops, participants will receive advanced training and mentoring from experienced European distributors, sales agents and industry experts in key aspects of film distribution, including marketing, audience building, legal and business affairs, as well as the smart use of innovative technologies, to succeed in a changing global market environment.
The trainees will also participate in several B2B events, including the International Film Distribution Summit (IFDS) during German-focused film showcases Filmfest Hamburg and DOK Leipzig.
The following African film practitioners have been selected for the inaugural cohort of the Academy, scheduled for 2026:
- Eden Tigabu (Ethiopia)
- Ivy Wangui Muiruri (Kenya)
- Julie Nguyo (Kenya)
- Kelvin Osoo (Kenya)
- Inès Girihirwe (Rwanda)
- Everbright Everready (Tanzania)
- Semulema Daniel (Uganda)
The EFM Toolbox Distribution Academy is a joint initiative designed together with leading industry professionals Torsten Frehse and Fabian Massah, by building on their promising 2024 pilot project AEDA (the African-European Distribution Academy). The idea is to mutually share expertise in global film distribution and to create a comprehensive framework that supports the dissemination of diverse content. In collaboration with established European distributors, the new Academy expands the successful EFM Toolbox Producers Programme, which will continue to offer training and market intelligence to German and international film producers from underrepresented groups facing structural inequities. Scaling this experience, it will contribute to equip selected participants with an ambitious skillset and network needed to create sustainable careers in film distribution in Africa.
The initiative is mainly supported through the Creative Europe Media 360° funding scheme, as well as Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg, Neue Visionen Filmverleih, GIZ – German Agency for International Cooperation, FilmfestHamburg, European Work in Progress (EWIP), DOK Leipzig and the Goethe Institute Addis Abeba, among other organisations.