Filmmakers from DR Congo, Tunisia, Algeria, Ethiopia and Morocco received awards at Final Cut in Venice on 8 September 2026, the Venice Film Festival’s work-in-progress platform for films from Africa and selected Middle Eastern countries.
Congolese filmmaker Machérie Ekwa Bahango won the €10,000 La Biennale di Venezia Prize for “Madi Makambu.” The project also received support from Oticons, MAD Solutions, Mnemonica and the Red Sea Fund, including music services, distribution support, digital asset management and a €5,000 cash award.
Tunisian filmmaker Youssef Chebbi’s “Plague (Balaa)” received €15,000 in colour-correction services from Laser Film and €2,500 from the Amiens International Film Festival toward DCP production.
Algerian filmmaker Sofia Djama’s “A Quarter to Thursday” received post-production support from Titra Film, including colour grading, DCP or platform-file production and subtitling, plus $5,000 from El Gouna Film Festival and an invitation to CineGouna.
Ethiopian filmmaker Abraham Gezahagne’s “Mehal Sefari” received the Cinémathèque Afrique “Coup de cœur” Prize, including a five-year non-commercial rights acquisition valued at €4,000–€6,000, plus €2,500 from the Fribourg International Film Festival toward DCP production.
Moroccan filmmaker Alaa Eddine Aljem’s “Eldorado, the Taste of the South” received €5,000 from the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie toward post-production services.