Selected for the Talents Durban 2026 program, the Malagasy film critic continues her commitment to the training and professionalization of film criticism in Africa.
The Malagasy presence continues to make waves at major African cinema events. Domoina Ratsara, a cultural journalist turned film critic, is among the participants of Talents Durban 2026, a program renowned for supporting professionals in the seventh art across the continent.
For over twenty years, her career has been built around cultural journalism and reflection on cinema. After several years covering artistic news, she chose to specialize in film criticism, convinced that the development of the film industry must be accompanied by structured critical discourse. “The dynamics of the film industry also require the development of discourse on cinema,” she explains.
This conviction led her to co-found the Association of Film Critics of Madagascar (ACCM) in 2019, with the mission of promoting film criticism on a national and regional scale. Until 2022, she also coordinated the pan-African film criticism journal Awotélé and participated in numerous industry events as a jury member, speaker, selector, or collaborator for cinema support programs.
A Vital Requirement
In recent years, Domoina Ratsara has been particularly invested in the training and mentoring of emerging critics. Faced with rapid transformations in the sector, marked by the rise of digital technology, streaming platforms, and artificial intelligence, she considers knowledge transmission a major challenge. “Transmission and training are a vital requirement in an industry undergoing profound change,” she emphasizes.
Her commitment has led her to support young critics during workshops held in the Seychelles in 2024, in Burkina Faso on the sidelines of Fespaco 2025, as well as within the Talent Press program of Talents Durban 2026. Her international track record also includes a selection for Talents Durban in 2017 and Berlinale Talents in 2018.
For her, this new selection represents much more than professional recognition. “My selection for Talents Durban 2026 is a new step in my career, as it will allow me to consolidate my achievements as a mentor across the African continent and the Indian Ocean region,” she affirms. She also views this program as a space for exchange and mutual learning with the new generation of critics, whose experiences and adoption of digital tools particularly inspire her.
In the long term, Domoina Ratsara wishes to continue strengthening the skills of film critics in the region. She also aims to contribute to the establishment of a university curriculum dedicated to film criticism in Madagascar, a project that is beginning to mobilize several stakeholders in the sector.
“The creation of a film criticism program in our universities is an idea increasingly shared within the local professional community,” she concludes.
Cassie Ramiandrasoa
Captured & Published at: 2026-06-23 06:30:21 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/06/talents-durban-2026-domoina-ratsara.html