Sahndra Fon Dufe joins AuthenticA Series Lab's first all-female cohort

Cameroonian filmmaker Sahndra Fon Dufe has been selected for the fifth edition of the AuthenticA Series Lab, becoming the first person from Cameroon to join the program. Her selection also lands in AuthenticA's first all-female cohort, a 2026 development slate that will take African screenwriters from Ethiopia to Geneva and then to Series Mania in France.

Why it matters: - Sahndra Fon Dufe's selection marks the first time a Cameroonian has been chosen for AuthenticA Series Lab. - The pick places a Cameroonian creative into an international development pipeline that ends with pitching at Series Mania Forum in March 2027. - Fon Dufe joins AuthenticA's first all-female cohort, a shift that broadens representation in a program focused on African screenwriters.

What happened: - Sahndra Fon Dufe was selected for the fifth edition of the AuthenticA Series Lab. - Fon Dufe will develop an original project as a limited television series through the program. - The 2026 cohort is made up of four women selected from 144 applications across 27 countries. - The other selected writers are Nigerian writer Lateefah Mayaki, Ghanaian-Canadian writer-director Lindsey Addawoo and South African filmmaker Phumi Morare.

The details: - AuthenticA is run by the Realness Institute with Geneva-based philanthropic organization The Storyboard Collective. - The program also has support from the Canada Media Fund and Series Mania Forum. - The 2026 edition began with an eight-day in-person residency in Ethiopia. - The writers will continue with online development sessions. - The cohort will then travel to Geneva for a second residency. - The final stop is Lille, France, where the writers will pitch their projects as part of the African Series Pitch at Series Mania Forum in March 2027. - Fon Dufe will work with mentors and industry professionals to build her project into a professional pilot script and pitch materials. - Writers keep the rights to the material developed in the program. - Fon Dufe is the founder of African Pictures International, a creative ecosystem centered on African and diasporic storytelling. - Fon Dufe is also founder and Editor-in-Chief of Black Film Wire, an independent trade publication covering Black and African cinema and the wider creative economy.

Between the lines: - Fon Dufe's selection strengthens Cameroon’s visibility in international screen development. - The all-female cohort signals a notable change in a program that launched in 2022 and has now selected an all-women class for the first time. - AuthenticA is positioning original African stories for global industry access, not just local development. - Fon Dufe's background in filmmaking, media, and creative entrepreneurship fits a program built around both story development and market readiness.

What's next: - Fon Dufe will move through the Ethiopia, Geneva and Lille development track with the rest of the cohort. - The group is expected to refine projects into pitch-ready episodic concepts ahead of March 2027. - Fon Dufe will continue advancing her broader media and storytelling platforms alongside the lab.

The bottom line: - AuthenticA has chosen its first Cameroonian and its first all-female cohort, and Sahndra Fon Dufe is now part of a program designed to turn African stories into internationally marketable series.