The Business of African Film & Content at Pavillon Afriques, Cannes Film Festival 2019

The Business of African Film & Content at Pavillon Afriques, Cannes Film Festival 2019

Something intriguing is brewing this year at the Cannes Film Festival, close to the flashes of the famed red carpet, a walking distance from the yachts banked on the French Riviera, and within the Village International.

Across the African continent, the Caribbean and the Americas, the buzz abounds about this new initiative that is taking place for the first time this year at the Marche du Film of the Cannes Film Festival, which is bound to rally the entire content and film ecosystem from across the diaspora.

The buzz is about the Pavillon Afriques.

The Pavillon Afriques is slated to become THE busiest, most glamorous meeting, networking and business hub at Cannes this year.

With a program that features a mix of private and public sector roundtables discussions on film financing, distribution, piracy and content sourcing, a series of country-focused film destination seminars, celebrity-hosted panels, a leadership workshop with Stedman Graham, multiple women in the business of film sessions, Pavillon Afriques at Cannes will offer substance, perspectives, guidance and entertainment for those who are excited to know more about the goings of the African & Diaspora content for TV and movie industry.

Discussing the future of Africa and its diaspora cinema at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 is a golden opportunity that comes at the right time.

A host of business leaders, filmmakers, producers, distributors, music brasses, fashion trendsetters, and literary moguls have already signed on to share their insights at Pavillon Afriques in Cannes from May 14 to May 25, 2019, including so far:

Stedman Grahan, Entrepreneur, USA (leadership, education)

Marilyn Johnson, former VP Market Development @ IBM, USA (technology & diversity)

Nichole Onome Yembra, Venture Capital Garden, Nigeria (financing, partnership)

Rene Robinson, Film Commissioner, Jamaica Trade & Investment Board, Jamaica (international partnership)

Adedayo Thomas, Nigeria Film & Video Censor Board (international partnership)

Mehret Mandefro, Film director & Producer, Ethiopia (production and cooperation)

Shirley Frimpong-Mansoo, Director, Producer, Distributor, Ghana (distribution and content sourcing

Inya Lawal, CEO, Ascends Studio, Nigeria (talent management)

Muhammad Jagana, President, Gambian Chamber of Commercer (cooperation)

Davidson Oturu, Partner, Aelex, Nigeria (contract management, Intellectual Property)

Daniel Nyalusi, Film Board, Tanzania (strategic partnership)

Andy Thompson, Producer/ director, Gambia/UK (financing, cooperation)

Juliet Asante, National Film Institute / Black Star International Film Festival, Ghana (business of film, education and international cooperation)

WInston G. Williams, Capital City Black Film Festival, USA (business of film)

Brian Afande, Black Rhino VR, Kenya (virtual reality and film technology)

Fibby Kioria, Maisha Film Foundation, Uganda (education, production)

Hiwot Admasu, Film Director, Ethiopia (film production)

Chioma Ude, Founder of AFRIFF, African International Film Festival, Nigeria (Education, Distribution, Financing)

Mohamed Said Ouma, FEPACI, Comoros (advocacy, education, production)

Lula Ali Ismail, Film Director, Djibouti (production, advocacy)

Adam Morse, Film Director, UK (film financing, screen-writing)

Pegi Vail, NYU, USA (documentary maker, location scouting)

Melvin Estrella, Film Producer, Dominican Republic (advocacy, partnership)

Jean-Bernard Fernandez Versini, VVIP Restaurateur, France-USA (partnership)

Prof. Martin Mhando, Zanzibar Film Festival, Tanzania (education, production advocacy)

Justin Morgan, Producer, Nollywood (tripartite agreements negotiation)

Asked about the timeliness of Pavillon Afriques, Prudence Kolong, communication & operation directors stated that: There has never been a more opportune time than now for African countries to talk about their film and content industry. It is a billion US dollars market spurred by Nigeria's Nollywood, South Africa, Kenya, and Ethiopia movie industries. The time has come for the world to take notice.

Africa and its Diaspora Cinema at Cannes

Since its inception in 1946, the Festival de Cannes has remained faithful to its founding purpose which is to celebrate cinema on the global stage. And to this day, this profession of faith constitutes the first article of the Festival regulations.

In 1963, the African continent officially joined the Festival de Cannes with a lineup of then-unknown directors who have since become legends of the African film history.

Semb ne Ousmane, the pioneer, followed closely by Mahamat Saleh Haroon, Spike Lee, Ava Duvernay, Raoul Peck, Wanuri Kahiu or Med Hondo's masterpieces opened the world's eyes to the uniqueness of motion pictures with stories told from a different perspective. Countless cinematographic works authored, written, directed and produced by creatives and artists from Africa and its diaspora are showcased every year at Cannes.

Thousands of movies are traded at the March du Film, the world's biggest gathering for film professionals who come to sell rights, team-up with partners, search for distributors, find financing or build their professional networks.

Numbers don't lie

According to Forbes and Fortune, by 2009, Nigeria's Nollywood had surpassed Hollywood as the world's second-largest movie industry by volume, right behind India's Bollywood. And in 2014, the Nigerian government released data for the 3first-time showing Nollywood is a $3.3 billion sector, with 1844 movies produced in 2013 alone.

A rising number of world-class directors and actors of African descent use their clout to lure financiers to support African movie making or get production firms to initiate location scouting in their countries of origin.

Lupita N

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