A Ghanaian-Canadian writer-director is among four African screenwriters selected for the 2026 edition of the AuthenticA Series Lab.
Lindsey Addawoo has been selected alongside Nigerian writer, director and cinematographer Lateefah Mayaki, South African filmmaker Phumi Morare and Cameroonian filmmaker Sahndra Fon Dufe for the development programme run by the Realness Institute.
The eight-day residency is currently underway in Ethiopia, where the participants are developing their series projects with mentorship from Realness director of producing and showrunning Mehret Mandefro and director of writing programmes Selina Ukwuoma.
The lab will continue online through January 2027 before the participants return for an in-person residency in Geneva. It will conclude in Lille, France, where the writers are scheduled to pitch their projects at the African Series Pitch during Series Mania Forum in March 2027.
This year’s edition received 144 applications from 27 countries, with the four participants forming an all-female cohort.
For Addawoo, the selection places a Ghanaian-Canadian writer within a development programme connecting African series creators to international mentorship and industry platforms.
The AuthenticA Series Lab is run by the Realness Institute in partnership with Geneva-based philanthropic organisation The Storyboard Collective, with support from the Canada Media Fund and Series Mania Forum.
The programme now moves from Ethiopia to its next stage of development, with the four writers set to continue their work online before heading to Geneva and, ultimately, Series Mania Forum next March.
