By Doc Moore
Cameroonian filmmaker, writer, actress and cultural entrepreneur Sahndra Fon Dufe has made history as the first Cameroonian selected for the AuthenticA Series Lab, joining the programme’s first-ever all-female cohort of African screenwriters.
Fon Dufe was selected for the fifth edition of the international development programme, where she will develop an original project as a limited television series. Her selection marks a notable milestone for Cameroonian storytelling and reflects the growing participation of the country’s creative voices in international screen development platforms.
The 2026 cohort brings together four women selected from 144 applications across 27 countries. Fon Dufe is joined by Nigerian writer Lateefah Mayaki, Ghanaian-Canadian writer-director Lindsey Addawoo, and South African filmmaker Phumi Morare.
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. Since its launch in 2022, the programme has focused on supporting African screenwriters as they transform original concepts into professionally developed episodic projects.
The 2026 programme began with an eight-day residential session in Ethiopia, followed by online development activities. Participants are scheduled to undertake a second residency in Geneva, Switzerland, before travelling to Lille, France, where they will present their projects during the African Series Pitch at Series Mania Forum in March 2027.
During the programme, Fon Dufe will work with established mentors and industry professionals to develop her project towards a professional pilot script and pitch materials intended for the international television market. Writers retain the rights to material developed through the programme.
Fon Dufe’s selection builds on a career spanning filmmaking, writing, acting, publishing, media and creative entrepreneurship. She is the founder of African Pictures International, a creative ecosystem focused on African and diasporic storytelling, and the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Black Film Wire, an independent publication covering Black and African cinema and the wider creative economy.
Born in Cameroon, Fon Dufe became the country’s youngest published author in 2014 and was nominated for Most Promising Actress at the African Movie Academy Awards that same year. She is the creator of the Yefon trilogy, an Amazon No. 1 bestselling historical fiction series and children’s book collection, with Yefon: The Red Necklace later republished by Cameroon’s national publishing corporation, SOPECAM.
Her screen credits include Madam Secretary, Mind of a Man, The Forgiven, Black November, One Night in Vegas and Refugees. Her writing credits include Unconditional Love and 15 Wives.
Through her work, Fon Dufe continues to promote African storytelling, creative entrepreneurship and international opportunities for African and diasporic filmmakers, with her AuthenticA selection opening a new international chapter in her career.