
Ask Me Anything is a free drop-in space open to all DAE Members to seek advice and consultation tailored to your needs.
We open our doors for four times 20-minutes slots for individual meetings with DAE senior advisor Mitchell Harper and first time feature consultant Olya Chernyk.
Looking for advice on your latest project?
A second opinion on discussions with your partner?
DAE offers free 20 minute consultations with our senior consultants.
You can:
- Bring up any topic or a burning question related to your current project or your career to this session.
- Seek further advice for an advanced matter or just detect where you can start solving your current struggles.
- Give us feedback and to share with us your expectations for future programming for DAE members.
Mitchell is back by popular demand with slots for you on 24 & 29 April. Book here.
About Mitchell Harper:
Mitchell Harper is a curator, producer, arts manager and consultant from South Africa and Ireland specialising in the arts in areas of film, with over a decade of experience in the film industry. He is the Durban FilmMart’s Industry Programme Curator.
He has worked with festivals on Durban International Film Festival, Berlinale Talents, the African International Film Festival, DocsIreland, Belfast Film Festival, the European Union Film Festival, The National Arts Festival, the Cape Town International Film Market and Festival, and DigiFest4. He is a co-founder of Engage, a Pan-African Think Tank aimed to create and foster continental networks, with activities at the Durban FilmMart, Toronto International Film Festival, 10th African International Film Festival, and European Film Mart. He has worked in film development, including the Durban FilmMart Institute’s Future Mentors Programme, and as a programme manager of the iLembe Story Lab.
He is a partner of Ctrl. Alt. Shift, a creative industry consultancy and production company, having produced documentary and fiction projects that have screened at local and international festivals. He has participated as a member of programmes such as Locarno Pro: Under 30, Locarno Southern African Industry Academy and NFVF’s SEDIBA producer’s programme.

NEW!! I’m a First-Time Director, Get Me Out of Here!!
DAE offers free 30 minute consultations with director Olya Chernykh.
Olya’s feature debut film A PICTURE TO REMEMBER opened IDFA in 2023, and she is here to answer your questions if you are a director working on your first feature documentary!
Bookings now open!! Book your meeting for 21 March here.
This session is only for first time feature directors currently working on their debut. Films and projects can be at any stage from research to rough cut. Please write a short note when booking your slot with Olya about what kind of questions you’s like to ask her.

About Olya Chernykh:
Olya Chernykh was born in Donetsk, Ukraine. She graduated with an MA in Cinematography from the Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Karyi University. She started her career working as a cinematographer. After receiving a post graduation diploma of documentary filmmaking she fully shifted to directing. As a director she has taken part in workshops and residency programs such as IDFA Academy, IDFA Project Space, The Bergman Estate Residency (Sweden), the “Aristoteles Workshop” (Romania), B2B Doc.
Her first feature-length documentary – “A Picture to Remember” was an opening film of IDFA 2023 and was awarded with the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary Film.