Selected for the Durban Talents 2026 program, Madagascar's film critic continues her commitment to training and professionalizing film criticism across Africa. Domoina Ratsara aims to strengthen her work in support of African film criticism.

Madagascar's presence continues to stand out at major African cinema events. Domoina Ratsara, a cultural journalist turned film critic, is among participants in Durban Talents 2026, a program recognized for supporting cinema professionals across the continent.

For over twenty years, her career has been built around cultural journalism and film reflection. 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 about cinema," she explains.

This conviction led her to co-found the Association of Film Critics of Madagascar (ACCM) in 2019, whose mission is to promote film criticism at national and regional levels. Until 2022, she also coordinated the pan-African film criticism review Awotélé and participated in numerous sector events as jury member, speaker, selector, or collaborator on cinema support programs.

Vital Necessity

In recent years, Domoina Ratsara has particularly invested in training and mentoring emerging critics. Facing rapid sector transformations marked by digital growth, streaming platforms, and artificial intelligence, she considers knowledge transfer a major issue. "Training and mentoring are vital necessities in an industry undergoing profound change," she emphasizes.

Her commitment has led her to support young critics during workshops organized in Seychelles in 2024, Burkina Faso during Fespaco 2025, and within the Talent Press program of Durban Talents 2026. Her international career also includes selection at Durban Talents in 2017 and Berlinale Talents in 2018.

For her, this new selection represents far more than professional recognition. "My selection for Durban Talents 2026 is a new step in my career, as it will allow me to consolidate my achievements as a mentor at the African continental and Indian Ocean regional levels," she affirms. She also sees this program as a space for exchange and mutual learning with the new generation of critics, whose experiences and mastery of digital tools particularly inspire her.

Looking ahead, Domoina Ratsara wishes to continue strengthening film critics' skills in the region. She also aims to contribute to establishing a university program dedicated to film criticism in Madagascar, a project beginning to mobilize several sector actors. "The creation of a film criticism program in our universities is an increasingly shared idea in the local professional community," she concludes.