BREAKING INTO THE INDUSTRY: TRAINING AND STRATEGIES FOR WOMEN FILMMAKERS (TALK)
With Chanelle Ellaya (Ladima Foundation South Africa), Paula Essam (Actress, Author, Board member ProQuote Film), and Mariame N’Diaye (Director)
Moderation: ShaNon Bobinger (Moderator, systemic Life & Business Coach, DEI Consultant) In cooperation with German Africa Foundation
SUN 16 NOV
14:00 SINEMA TRANSTOPIA
Breaking into the Industry: Training and Strategies for Women Filmmakers
Women remain underrepresented in the film industry worldwide, both in front of and behind the camera. This panel brings together voices from Africa and Europe to highlight different experiences, challenges, and success strategies. Chanelle Ellaya (Ladima Foundation, South Africa), Paula Essam (Actress, Author, and Board Member of ProQuote Film), and Mariame N’Diaye (Director) will discuss the importance of training, networking, and targeted support for women in film.
In many African countries, issues of education and access are at the forefront, while filmmakers in Europe often face unequal funding structures and a lack of representation in decision-making positions. Under the moderation of ShaNon Bobinger (Moderator, Systemic Life & Business Coach, and DEI Consultant), the discussion will explore how different approaches can inspire one another and what strategies can help achieve greater equality and diversity in the film industry.
In cooperation with the German Africa Foundation, this conversation offers an inspiring exchange on empowerment, training, and sustainable change in global filmmaking.
Biographies:
Paula Essam grew up in Cologne. After graduating from high school, she studied International Social Sciences at Sciences Po in France. She spent a year abroad in South Korea, where she gained her first media experience as a reporter for a travel reality show and appeared in digital formats and variety shows. She also became the first foreign cheerleader for the Doosan Bears.
Back in Germany, she co-founded a fashion start-up and appeared on Die Höhle der Löwen – though without a deal. She was trained in acting at IAF Cologne and has appeared in productions such as Sam – Ein Sachse (Grimme Award 2024), How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast), and Der Beschützer 2. She completed an internship at Endemol Shine (Lego Masters) and worked as a writer in the show writers’ room at btf.
Since 2024, she has also been active as a presenter—among others at the Berlinale and the Max Ophüls Preis Festival—where she discovered her passion for live formats and audience interaction, reigniting her love for entertainment. She volunteers as the chairwoman of Pro Quote Film.
As a fiction writer, she was recognized in the FM:Stories competition by ndf x ZDF and took part in the “Diverse Geschichten” residency in Austria. She contributes to writers’ rooms and develops her own comedy and dramedy projects. Inspired by Keke Palmer and Issa Rae, she envisions her future in fiction and entertainment.
Mariame N’Diaye began writing film and theater projects eight years ago on topics such as young women’s abstinence and the French language from the perspective of immigrants (she teaches French as a Foreign Language and English). Her interest lies in presenting people who are both ordinary and universal, suddenly confronted with a situation that confuses them and must be faced. N’Diaye’s dual French-Malian culture allows her to empathize with the different characters she creates while also being seen and heard as a Franco-Malian. In 2023, Mariame N’Diaye directed her first short film, LANGUE MATERNELLE, produced by Golgota Productions.
Chanelle Ellaya is an experienced developmental programme curator and manager having successfully transitioned her expertise as a journalist to serve Africa’s creative and cultural industries. Since 2020, she has channelled her skills and passion into developmental work, contributing to and shaping initiatives that strengthen and sustain the continent’s creative economy.
Chanelle has been a core member of the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme team since 2021, working to curate and coordinate the CANEX programme annually. Additionally, she is a board member of the Ladima Foundation – a pan-African NGO dedicated to supporting African women in Film and Content – having previously worked as project coordinator at the foundation since 2020.
Deeply passionate about creativity in all its forms and its potential to drive transformation across Africa, through her work Chanelle is dedicated to advancing the African continent’s cultural and creative industries.
ShaNon Bobinger is a host, ECA certified systemic life-, business coach, and political JEDI facilitator and key note speaker. The focal point of her hosting is societal change, with the aim of communicating inclusively, from multiple perspectives, and diversely, in order to foster interactive dialogue and exchange.
Additionally, she used to appear as regular guest author for FOCUS Online, where she penned a monthly video column on current topics and contributed her extensive expertise. Furthermore, ShaNon hosted a discussion format on the YouTube channel of the Grünen Bundestagsfraktion. In this role, she contributed to promoting discussions and exchanges, shedding light on important societal issues from an intersectional perspective.
As a JEDI facilitator and consultant , ShaNon accompanies teams within companies and organisations in their process development towards becoming anti-racist organizations, including Amnesty International, the German Federal Police, and the GIZ.
In her role as a certified systemic coach, she pursues a holistic approach and focuses on mental wellbeing and personal development within an intercultural context.