Mastercard Enablement Programme

Dedicated to doing well by doing good, the Talents Footprints Mastercard Enablement Programme provides three selected fellows with mentoring, financial support and public awareness for their film-related initiatives, networks or platforms that contribute to their local communities in an inclusive and impactful way.

The 2023 Fellows

Carlos Ormeño Palma

TransStories

Carlos is a Peruvian filmmaker and founder of La Fiebre Films. "TranStories" is a creative lab with the aim of empowering the Peruvian trans community through the force of filmmaking. Each year 20 Peruvian trans women will explore their resilience by making short explorative documentaries, telling their own stories using their own words, bodies, and thoughts.

Miguel Ángel Sánchez

WE FILM MX

Miguel is an independent Mexican filmmaker and activist. WE FILM MX is a digital platform for female journalists, activists, and human rights defenders. Its aim is to provide training and tools for the creation of audiovisual projects that can be used to broadcast their activities, expose or prove police abuses and to produce campaigns and documentaries in a country in a humanitarian crisis. It is a tool for democracy.

Phillip Leteka

Majoaneng (Academy of Images and Letters)

Phillip Leteka is a short story writer, filmmaker and a Fulbright Scholar based in Maseru, Lesotho. Majoaneng (Academy of Images and Letters) is an intensive programme which provides training, space, support and equipment to young dedicated individuals who are interested in developing their filmmaking craft in the thick of Lesotho’s non-existent film industry.

Mastercard Enablement Programme 2023

For the 2023 selection, actor Honor Swinton Byrne (The Souvenir), Marene Arnold (Vice President Marketing & Communications Mastercard DACH) and Hania Mroué (Director Metropolis Cinema Beirut) were appointed to the jury. The trio selected three fellows from applicants from the international Berlinale Talents Alumni Community who, beyond their cinematic projects, have initiated social organisations, cultural networks or educational programmes themselves and are thus actively committed to gender equality, ecological sustainability and inclusion in the film industry in the long term. The announcement of the fellows took place in the presence of the jury during the Dine&Shine dinner on 19 February 2023.

Left to right: Hania Mroué, Honor Swinton Byrne and Marene Arnold

Who can apply?

Initiators of and activists with film-related social initiatives, who participated as officially invited Talents at our previous two editions. Berlinale Talents alumni from other years can run for a limited number of wild cards upon individual request.

What kind of project can I submit?

You can apply with a film-related social initiative focusing on inclusive, innovative and impactful solutions in one of the following four key domains: Gender Equality and Diversity; Quality Education and Work; Peace, Justice and Understanding; Environmental Awareness and Climate Action. This can be for example a stakeholder group with film-related social goals, training institution, lab or hub, community film venue, festival or distribution platform, or environmental initiative. The development, production or post-production of singular film projects is not fundable.

What’s the structure?

Selected fellows receive 5,000 Euro financial support for project-related investments and practical support action, as well as the equivalent in mentorship. A personalised mentorship support package is developed with each fellow at the beginning of the programme. Once goals have been identified through the individual plans, the Berlinale Talents team will help each fellow to reach the aim of their social initiative. In order to increase sustainability beyond the duration of the programme, the fellows can apply for additional support along with their final reports.

What will I take away?

This is an opportunity to develop your initiative based on the tutorship of dedicated mentors, public awareness and financial support. The aim of the Mastercard Enablement Programme is to allow you to take your project to the next step, improve your personal and professional capacities, and help to create sustainable change in the Talents community and beyond.

How do I apply?

The next application will be available on the Berlinale Talents website in September 2023.

Mastercard Enablement Programme 2022

The 2022 fellows of the Talents Footprints – Mastercard Enablement Programme were selected by a jury comprised of actor Zazie Beetz ("Joker"), Jeanette Liendo (Senior Vice President Marketing and Communications at Mastercard Europe) and producer Jonas Weydemann ("System Crasher"). The three fellows were announced on February 13 during the “Dine & Shine Goes Global” event. Their pragmatic proposals for change come in the form of three different approaches to sustainability in work on film sets and beyond, and are united by a commitment to create positive change and lasting impact in their local communities.

Ammar Aziz

Girls' Sexual Abuse Prevention Program (GSAP)

At least 1000 young girls from marginalised communities of Sindh & Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be empowered to prevent, recognize, and react smartly towards advances of sexual abuse. Moreover, through social media, thousands of Sindhi and Pashto speaking parents will be sensitised to identify and intervene without shame and victim blaming.

Jury Statement:

“Having considered the details of the Girls’ Sexual Abuse Prevention Program, the clarity of their goals and immediate need to act are both very compelling. The fact that they have structured the program in a solid, cadenced way to tackle such an important issue also inspires confidence.”

Laura Helena Bermúdez Mesquita

Third Cinema Honduras

-Creating a space for independent cinema screenings & open dialogues and reflections through cinema with the Central American community to achieve an impact on our social imaginary. -Offering new opportunities for professional and human development through the knowledge of filmmaking and the power of stories.

Jury Statement:

“Third Cinema Honduras brings films to communities that would otherwise not have access to them. The project promotes love and interest in the arts and highlights the importance of identity representation within film. We welcome that Third Cinema Honduras has already shown how well it works as an initiative with great dedication and hope to contribute to greater sustainability with our funding.”

Shuchi Talati

UnderCurrent

Growing numbers of competent women and non-binary people in grip and electric can dramatically change the work culture on Indian sets. This behind-the-camera change can support the increasing numbers of feminist narratives being produced. Not just that, grip and electric work is well paid with strong labor protections (even for workers who aren’t in the union).

Jury Statement:

“The concept of "UnderCurrent" has inspired us! A concrete and factual idea that is well thought out from A to Z. The focus on the entry of women in the Grip & Electric sector in Indian filmmaking is a thoughtful and realistic approach to social change. We trust the concept has the right approach to make a lasting impact on the industry of an entire country. And to change the world, you also have to stay down-to-earth.”

Mastercard Enablement Programme 2020

In 2020 a jury consisting of Wim Wenders, Jeannette Liendo and Dominga Ortúzar evaluated over 50 applications from around the globe and selected the following three projects. In addition, Wim Wenders offered insights and encouragement to all 250 participants during Berlinale Talents 2020.

Sydelle Willow Smith

Sunshine Cinema

A solar-powered cinema network with screenings in rural communities in Sambia, Simbabwe and Malawi. Young people are provided with mobile kits called 'The Sunbox' and are trained to become media facilitators, sparking conversation in their communities inspired by the power of African film.

Learn more.

Anam Abbas

Documentary Association of Pakistan

A pilot mentorship and training scheme in the city of Quetta. Working with ten emerging documentary makers from the Hazara, Baloch and Pashtun ethnic communities, the project's aim is to overcome sectarian and ethnic division in an otherwise vibrant cultural centre of Pakistan.

Learn more.

Diego Sarmiento

The Seeds Project

An educational project for indigenous children in the Peruvian Andes. Through screenings and classes at rural schools, protagonists from Diego's documentary "Mothers of the Land" pass on their knowledge of traditional organic farming practices and pride in their Quechua heritage.

Learn more.

Read more about the 2020 projects in these Mastercard editorials:
Sunshine Cinema
The Seed Project