Realness Institute selects African screenwriters for fourth AuthenticA Series Lab

EXCLUSIVE: Four screenwriters from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt will participate in the fourth edition of AuthenticA Series Lab, the development programme from South Africa-based Realness Institute that and supports writers to advance their series ideas into pilot scripts.

The filmmakers are Gamel Apalayine from Ghana, who works across film, TV, theatre and music; Nigerian-British poet, filmmaker and photographer Jolade Olusanya; Kenyan scriptwriter and author Mona Ombogo; and Egyptian-Canadian filmmaker Reem Morsi, who wrote and directed 2024 comedy Banned.

The AuthenticA programme begins with a residency in the Western Cape, South Africa in September, followed by online sessions until mid-December.

A second residency takes place in Geneva from January -March 2026, with a final residency in Lille in March where the participants will pitch their projects as part of the African Series Pitch at Series Mania Forum.

The lab will be led by Mehret Mandefro, interim managing director of the Realness Institute, with director of writing programmes Selina Ukwuoma.

Story expert Mmabatho Kau and creative producer Thandeka Zwana have joined the teaching team. 

“Giving African writers the time and space to get closer to their voice remains a critical intervention in a landscape that underinvests in the pre-writing and writing phase of development,” said Mandefro.

“We see a well of untapped potential, that brings vision rooted in the wisdom of the spaces from which they come and our job is to show them how they can take people on the journey with them,” added Ukwuoma.

AuthenticA aims to provide participants with professionally developed pitch decks, pilot scripts and a series ‘bible’, all in line with international standards, to assist their proposals for funding and support for their episodic projects.

The lab is run in partnership with The StoryBoard Collective and the Canada Media Fund.

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