Create | 2030 in Burkina Faso

In the last fifteen years, film production has grown exponentially on the continent. Topping the list is Nigeria, where one million people currently work in the film industry. Nollywood produces 2000 videos and films annually, generating 300 million euros*. Today, Nigeria is conquering digital platforms such as Netflix and reaching international audiences with popular movies like Big Wedding and Lion's Heart. South Africa is also home to a thriving film industry, which generated 2.2 billion rand in 2012, equivalent to 130 million euros. Among francophone countries, Senegal distinguishes itself thanks to famous directors such as Alain Gomis.

However, the film industry still faces important challenges, including providing adequate technical and professional training to ensure that its productions meet international market standards. In order to meet this need and strengthen the film industry’s value chain, the 2005 Convention supported four projects through the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD). The projects aimed to strengthen the cinema and audiovisual industries in Africa by promoting adequate public policies and actions on the ground that support the production and distribution of African films.

As part of the 26th edition of the Panafrican film and television festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), UNESCO, through its Diversity of Cultural Expressions entity, is organizing its first "Create | 2030 " debate in Africa on Thursday, February 28, 2019 at the Place de la Nation Chapiteau, from 10.30 to 11:30 am.

Entitled "Action! UNESCO supports cinema in Africa ", this debate will bring together representatives of the four projects that benefitted from IFCD funds to share their thoughts on the following questions: How can their projects contribute to sustainable development and the elaboration of cultural policies in their countries? How can they improve regional cooperation to ensure greater cultural diversity? What are the main challenges faced by African producers trying to access international markets?

SPEAKERS

Ezaius Mkandawire (Malawi)  

Ezaius Mkandawire is a cultural activist. He was project manager at the Malawi National Commission for UNESCO and led the project "Cinema as a development strategy for Malawi". The purpose of this project was to review the state of the film industry in Malawi in order to establish a strategy for the development of the industry. Following this project, Malawi created a National Arts and Heritage Council and elaborated a development and investment strategy for the film industry (2015-2020) that targets priority areas such as policy and legal frameworks, funding, education and training, distribution, gender, and international cooperation.

Andry Ramarovelo (Madagascar)

Andry Ramarovelo is the director of the T-Movie association. The association’s project, "Cinema as a means of expression for the film industry in Madagascar", aims to offer young people an academic curriculum in film production so that they can acquire relevant film production skills. A database of jobs and key players in Malagasy cinema will also be created as part of the project. In addition to these initiatives, this project has also led to the creation of an audiovisual training and orientation center for young people, as well as a platform for the diffusion of short films made by students.

Remi Atangana (Cameroon)

Remi Atangana is the President of the Association pour la promotion de l’audiovisuel et du spectacle (APPAS), which has implemented the project "Database: Cinema as a Distribution Tool in Cameroon and Africa". This project has enabled the creation of a regional database that includes more than 400 film titles and audiovisual productions from Central Africa in order to promote their distribution and marketing in Cameroon.

Ousseynou Thiam (Senegal)

Ousseynou Thiam is an itinerant filmmaker who directs the project "Mobicine Senegal: Cinema as a Tool for Promoting Cultural Diversity in Senegal". The project aims to promote access to cinema by creating new mobile broadcasting units in various regions of Senegal. Since the beginning of the project, six new mobile broadcasting units have been created in Saint-Louis, Matam, Kedougou, Ziguinchor, Kaolack, and Thies.

The debate will be moderated by Claire Diao, a Franco-Burkinabe journalist who is a member of the Association of Burkinabè Cinema Critics (ASCRIC-B) and the African Federation of Film Critics (FACC). Specialized in African cinemas, she is a correspondent for the South African magazine Screen Africa and collaborates with SoFilm, Bondy Blog, The World Africa, Canal + Africa. In 2015, she co-founded the online magazine Awotele with several film critics. 

*Source: Key data on African cinema - 2014