Anr step towards pan-African content creation

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Another step towards pan-African content creation --

Mon, 23 Feb 2015 14:59

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Another step towards pan-African content creation

While we were working on this issue the news broke that a new, bi-annual edition of DISCOP Africa would be launching in June this year in Abidjan, C te d Ivoire. Co- production discussions are also underway between the South African and Ivorian governments. These welcome developments indicate two encouraging trends. Firstly, it marks the resurgence of a nation that already had a distinguished history of filmmaking excellence prior to the economic collapse and political unrest of the 1980s and 1990s, and secondly it appears to mark a bridging of the cultural gaps between Anglophone and Francophone Africa a gap that has existed, implicitly at times and more obviously at others, since the independence era of the 1960s. Of course it s great that South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya are strengthening filmmaking ties amongst them, but it is extremely heartening that this circle is widening even further, with the inclusion of C te d Ivoire and its French-speaking associates.

It s wonderful to imagine a world in which Africans of various nations and ethnicities working together to create film, television and new media content, but I think it s vital to remember that for this to happen will take a lot more than co-production treaties. It takes the initiative and action of our continent s content creators. A piece of paper signed by two governments might be important when ending a war, but in our industry it is unenforceable by the government agencies involved and is really completely useless unless the industry itself takes action. We must still turn to government in some matters particularly funding until such time as we can make our industry self-sustaining. But this is one area where I think we can safely forget about governments and reach out to our colleagues across our continent s barely relevant borders. I would be willing to bet that for any project being planned within a particular African country, there are filmmakers in a neighbouring state who would jump at the opportunity to make their contribution to it. And while our resources may be insufficient (a highly arguable assertion in my opinion), they would surely go further when combined.

Tentative steps are being taken towards this kind of work but we could be taking bold strides and it has never been more possible to do so. I don t suggest that we should be moving toward co-production and neglecting the creation of content within our own countries. But if co-productions are worth exploring and many people in our industries seem to think they are then what are we waiting for?

I, for one, can t wait for the release of an epic series whose story world spans Johannesburg, Addis Ababa and Kinshasa, featuring all the biggest stars from several African countries. But then again, we may find ourselves sparking a major diplomatic crisis trying to decide which country s star will be the hero and which one will play the villain!

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