The Story ⚡
The 5th edition of the African Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival 2023 will hold this May and is set to deliver a “Nollywood Day” event on May 24th, 2023.
Tell Me More
In partnership with the Nigerian International Film & TV Summit, the Cannes Film Festival is set to host a Nollywood Day agenda tagged “Nollywood Day: Breaking New Film Business Frontiers with Nollywood”. The event will begin with a meet and greet of Nollywood talent and also a spotlight on Nigerian stars and talent.
The Nollywood Day event will begin by 9 AM and include conversations with the Nigerian ambassador to France, a keynote presentation from Ope Ajayi, Chairman, of the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria and CEO of Cinemax. Between 11 AM and 12 PM, there will be a fireside chat on the success of the Nigerian box office and exploiting the potential of the Nollywood Hollywood dynamic with Ope Ajayi and Ijeoma Onah, Founder of the Nigerian International Film Summit.
By noon, Ronya Man, founder of RMA Productions will deliver a speech on Bridging the World Through Film: Your Plug Into Nollywood. This will be followed by a second fireside chat with Ronya Man and Peter Fada. The event will also host a session on Nigerian female directors with Jade Osiberu and Hamisha Daryani Ahuja.
A Nollywood Day will come to a close with a final session on “Spotlight on African and Arab world festivals” with Moly Kane, Director of Dakar Court Festival.
What To Look Out For
The African Pavilion will begin on Tuesday, May 16th 2023, and here’s a breakdown of the 9-day event.
09:30 am | Tuesday, May 16th – Opening Day
Where: The African Pavilion, booth #23.07 (Palais -1)
09:30 am | Wednesday, May 17th – African Pavilion Business Breakfast
Where: The African Pavilion, booth #23.07 (Palais -1)
11:30 am | Thursday, May 18th – High Level Conference of the African Pavilion
Panel #1 – Show me the money: African Film Financing
Abdoul Aziz Cissé, Permanent Secretary of the FOPICA
Ayman El Zoghby, Director of Trade, Investment & Corporate Finance at Afreximbank
Moses Babatope, Film Producer, Managing Director of FilmOne
Emad Eskander, Head of the Red Sea Fund
Moderated by Astrid Audibert, Cultural and Creative Industry Expert
Panel #2 – Re-enchanting the World from Africa
Moky Makura, Executive Director of Africa No Filter (ANF)
Danny Damah, Film producer at TD Akuna Studios
Jade Osiberu, Writer, Director and Film Producer
Samba Bathily, Chairman of ADS Group and Philanthropist
Moderated by Ijeoma Onah, Founder of the Nigerian International Film Summit
01:30 pm | The Africa Narrative-Change Film Award
Where: The African Pavilion, booth #23.07 (Palais -1)
Followed by a Meet & Greet offered by ANF.
Africa No Filter is partnering with the African Pavilion to acknowledge the efforts of filmmakers who have used brilliant storytelling through their film content to influence and project a progressive Africa that defies the prevalent harmful stereotypical narratives about Africa or within Africa.
9:30 am | Friday, May 19th – African Pavilion Business Breakfast: Distribution and production of Filmed Content
Where: The African Pavilion, booth #23.07 (Palais -1)
From West Africa to the World in Focus. Meet Moses Babatope, Managing Director of FilmOne.
9:30 am | Saturday, May 20th – African Pavilion Business Breakfast: African Women in Cinema
Where: The African Pavilion, booth #23.07 (Palais -1)
Chioma Ude (Nigeria), Founder of the Africa International Film Festival
Fatou Kandé Senghor (Senegal), multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker
Cornelia Glèle (Benin), Promoter of the Cotonou International Women’s Film Festival
Ijeoma Onah (Nigeria), Founder of the Nigerian International Film Summit
Aminata Diop-Johnson (Senegal), Founder of The African Pavilion in Cannes
Zulu Oyibo (Nigeria), Co-Founder of Inkblot Productions
Claire Diao (Burkina Faso), CEO of Sudu Connexion
11:30 am | Movie screening – “Marabout Chéri”
Where: Palais F (Marché du Film)
The successful comedy by Kadhy Touré and Luis Marques released in May 2023 aims to reach 100,000 entries in Benin, Togo, Burkina, Guinea, Cameroon, Niger, Gabon, Senegal, Congo Brazzaville and Cote d’Ivoire.
With the presence of the actress and producer Kadhy Touré and the co-producer Axel Guyot.
09:30 am | Sunday, May 21st African Pavilion Business Breakfast: Spotlight on Senegal
Where: The African Pavilion, booth #23.07 (Palais -1)
Meet Senegalese producers and directors, as well as the Fund for the Promotion of Cinema and Audiovisual Industry in Senegal (FOPICA),
12:00 pm | Presentation of the book “Ousmane Sembène, Le Fondateur” by Ghaël Samb
Where: The African Pavilion, booth #23.07 (Palais -1)
In the presence of the author and His Excellency Professor Aliou Sow, Minister of Culture and Historical Heritage of Senegal.
01:00 pm | Meet & Greet Talents
Where: SODEC Pavilion (for participants only)
Young producers and directors supported by the program TALENTED CAMERAS OF AFRICA (The African Pavilion), LA FABRIQUE, SODEC LAB, and DEENTAL will meet to exchange and network in a convivial setting.
02:10 pm | In conversation with Ramata-Toulaye SY
Where: The African Pavilion, booth #23.07 (Palais -1)
Director of the film “Banel and Adama”, in the official competition of the Cannes Film Festival.
09:30 am | Monday, May 22nd – African Pavilion Business Breakfast: African Film Festivals
Where: The African Pavilion, booth #23.07 (Palais -1)
Meeting of African film festivals directors.
01:00 pm | In conversation with Baloji
Where: The African Pavilion, booth #23.07 (Palais -1)
Director of the film “Augure”, in Un Certain Regard.
Followed by a cocktail offered by the production of the film and The African Pavilion.
02:30 pm | Shoot the book: Le continent africain ne fait pas exception à la règle !
Where: The African Pavilion, booth #23.07 (Palais -1)
Renaud Boukh, editor
Valérie Berty, professor and author
Eric Idriss Kanogo, producer and director
Sami Tlitli, author
Meeting moderated by Catherine Ruelle, journalist and film critic
04:00 pm | Movie screening – “Sira”
Where: Palais H (Marché du Film)
The film of the Burkinabe director Apolline Traoré won the silver Stallion of Yennenga at the 28th edition of FESPACO in 2023. In the presence of the producers Souleymane Kébé and Denis Cougnaud.
09:30 am | Tuesday, May 23rd – African Pavilion Business Breakfast: Film makeup
Where: The African Pavilion, booth #23.07 (Palais -1)
Film makeup in focus with Khady Niang Diakhaté, professional Senegalese make-up artist
02:30 pm | Audiovisual Content Market In Focus: Mediawan Africa
Where: The African Pavilion, booth #23.07 (Palais -1)
With the ambition of becoming the preferred partner of content operators in Africa, Mediawan Africa focuses on the production of original premium dramas with African talent, as well as on international co-production.
Meet Alexandre Rideau, Production Manager at Mediawan Africa.
Wednesday, May 24th – Nollywood Day: Breaking New Film Business Frontiers with Nollywood
Where: The African Pavilion, booth #23.07 (Palais -1)
09:00 am – Nollywood Power Breakfast
Meet and Greet Nollywood Stars and Talents
10:00 am – Welcome Speech
In Conversation with: His Excellency Ambassador Kayode Laro, The Nigerian Ambassador to France
10:30 am
Nollywood Day, Keynote Presentation: Nollywood and the Global Film Industry by Opeyemi Ajayi, Chairman of the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria/CEO Cinemax Distribution.
11:00 am
Fireside Chat – Nollywood Focus: The success of Nigerian Box Office and Exploiting the Potentials of the Nollywood vs Hollywood Dynamics with: Opeyemi Ajayi, Chairman CEAN/CEO Cinemax Distribution, and Ijeoma Onah Founder of the Nigerian International Film Summit.
12:00 pm
Bridging the World Through Film: Your Plug Into Nollywood. A presentation on production services in Nigeria for international projects by Ronya Man, Founder RMA Productions.
Fireside Conversation: The Nollywood-Israeli Connection in Cross Border Film Making, with Ronya Man & Peter Fada.
01:00 pm
Nigerian “Jollof ” Networking Lunch in Partnership with Filmhouse Group /FilmOne Entertainment.
02:00 pm – Spotlight on Nigerian Female Directors
Fireside chat with Jade Osiberu, Writer & Director on Navigating and Positioning for the Global Film Terrain: The Opportunities and Challenges of a Nigerian Female Director.
Fireside chat with Hamisha Daryani Ahuja on The Nollywood-Bollywood Connection: Driving Cross-Cultural Film Collaborations.
03:00 pm
Working with Nollywood, a presentation by the City of Nice and Studio de la Victorine Nice.
04:00 pm
Nollywood Day Closing Networking Reception (on invitation only). In partnership with Studio de la Victorine & CINEMAX Distribution.
04:00 pm | Spotlight on African and Arab world festivals
Where: Workshop 2 | Short Film Corner
With Moly Kane, Director of Dakar Court Festival
A keynote on the festivals and sections dedicated to short films in Africa and in the Arab world, and what are the different selection opportunities within regional and international festivals.
From 09:30 am | Thursday, May 25th – Africa Day
Where: The African Pavilion, booth #23.07 (Palais -1)
Africa Day is the annual commemoration of the foundation of The Organization of African Unity founded on May 25th 1963, the precursor of The African Union.
In Summary
The African Pavilion was created in 2018 by Aminata Diop Johnson, to promote and enhance the visibility of the African creative industry at high profile events in Europe and across the globe.
The African Pavilion will hold between the 16th the 25th of May 2023 at the Cannes Film Festival in France. Registration is currently underway.
