Author: Rahab Kimani

African pay TV giant MultiChoice Group and Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky unveiled a partnership that “will bring some of the world’s best content and technology to streaming customers across MultiChoice’s 50-market footprint in sub-Saharan Africa at a time when Africa is approaching an inflection point in terms of broadband connectivity and affordability.”

They will form the new Showmax group, which will be 70 percent owned by MultiChoice and 30 percent owned by NBCUniversal. “It will build on Showmax’s success to date and aim to create the leading streaming service in Africa,” the companies said.

“Powered by Peacock’s leading, globally-scaled technology, Showmax subscribers will have access to an extensive premium content portfolio, bringing African audiences the best of local and international programming.” Continue Reading

The Festival des Cinémas Africains-FCAT, whose 20th edition will be held from April 28 to May 7, 2023, will host a new edition of FCAT LAB , the post-production workshop, which will offer another year one-to-one meetings and a project market, and will award a total of €25,000 in cash prizes and post-production services, to support the development of African film productions.

If we can notice, in recent years, an increase in the production of African films, it is also important to underline the great interest that these works arouse in the main international festivals, as shown for example by the first prize won at the Rotterdam Film Festival 2023 by Cameroonian director Cyrielle Raingou’s documentary, The Specter of Boko Haram . Yet, compared to film production in many other parts of the world, African cinema remains underfunded and suffers unfairly from lower visibility. Continue Reading

The Heritage Management Organization (HERITΛGE) is launching a new call for concept notes for small grants ($5000-$50000) for organizations, groups, and individuals working with heritage in Africa.

They will fund projects that focus on the protection of and/or promotion of local heritage for socio-economic development in the continent.
DEADLINE: 31/March/2023.

APPLY HERE

The IDFA Bertha Fund is now accepting project submissions to the IBF Europe – Minority Co-production funding scheme.

With this call, the Fund seeks to encourage European producers to participate as a minority co-producer in high-quality feature-length documentary projects by filmmakers from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Oceania. IBF Europe – Minority Co-production caters to documentary projects in all stages of production, offering a maximum contribution of €40,000 per project.
DEADLINE: 01/April/2023.

The Zanzibar International Film Festival is currently accepting applications. This for all African films (including African Diaspora) and films from the Dhow Countries’ region. This includes South East Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, The Persian Gulf, Iran, Pakistan, India and the Indian Ocean Islands. Films must be have been produced after 2021. ZIFF reserves the right to accept any films with a specific interest to the festival.

Continue Reading

Streaming service provider Netflix has cut subscription prices for its Kenyan subscribers by 37 percent on average. This is in the wake of increasing competition as it moves to incentivize new and maintain current subscribers.

Subscribers on Netflix’s basic plan will see the sharpest drop in prices on their next billing cycle as charges fall to Sh300 from Sh700.

Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) has announced its return for a sixth edition from October 13 – 20, 2023 after a one-year hiatus.

The future of the festival, unfolding in the Egyptian Red Sea Resort of El Gouna. It had looked uncertain over the summer following the cancellation of its 2022 edition. This was in the wake of a difficult fifth edition, marked by a political backlash over the selection and resignations.

The Goethe-Institut and the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration warmly invite filmmakers, producers, broadcasters and organizations worldwide to send in films to the festival for consideration. Call for entries is open until March 20, 2023

APPLY NOW

Submissions to the Cannes Short Film Festival are open to filmmakers from around the world. The running time should be less than 40 minutes and a completion date within the preceding 12 months. Deadline: March 03, 2023.

APPLY NOW

Joint Venture

A joint venture in the film business refers to a collaboration between two or more companies or individuals to produce, finance, and distribute a film.

In a joint venture, the partners pool their resources and expertise to bring a project to market, sharing the risks and rewards of the venture.

Joint ventures can take many forms, ranging from simple co-financing agreements to complex partnerships that involve multiple partners in multiple countries. They are a common way for studios and independent producers to get access to additional funding and distribution channels, and can also help to reduce the risk associated with film production by spreading it across multiple partners.

Women Deliver Conference 2023 Arts & Film Festival will be taking place from the 17th- 20th of July 2023 in Kigali, Rwanda and submissions currently ongoing. Women Deliver Conferences are one of the world’s largest multi-sectoral convenings to advance gender equality.

One of the most creative program elements of Women Deliver 2023 (WD2023) is the Arts & Film Festival designed to share stories and spark conversations related to the lives and wellbeing of girls and women around the world. (Film Free Way)

The Red Sea Film Festival Foundation has unveiled the 36 recipients of the Red Sea Fund’s 2022 production and post-production funding cycles.

All titles are from Arab and African filmmakers, who will receive grants to help them complete films that shine a light on narratives and new talents emerging from the region.

Mary Waireri’s series “Exiles” has been selected for development via EbonyLife Media and Sony Pictures Television’s Alo, an initiative offering a platform for writers of African heritage.

Nairobi-born, London-bred screenwriter Waireri’s script follows a Kenyan-born British doctor returns to the country she fled as a young girl to find her twin brother who goes missing while investigating a government cover-up. Soon, she finds herself drawn into a dark conspiracy. {Variety}

The Kenya Film Commission has  established Reel County Film Festival under the “My County My Story” programme aimed at growing the local film industry across the 47 counties of Kenya. The content created by the different counties will tell stories, feature prominent people (historical or current), and/or feature locations of the counties. More details HERE

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 3rd February 2023

Kenya Film Commission has announced a call for submissions for Bursaries & Scholarship in Cinematic Arts. This program seeks to address the skills gap for needy and talented students from low socio-economic households who wish to pursue formal education in the film industry. More details HERE

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 10th February 2023 

HOLD BACK

A Holdback is a period during which a film is not allowed to be exploited on a different or „competitive” media/business models for a certain time.

Holdbacks periods are mutually negotiated depending on the overall conditions of the distribution deal. Specially in digital distribution there is a tendency to not negotiate them anymore and skip in favor of broad marketing across several forms of exploitation in order to not miss out on the various potential revenue streams.

For example, a film can be on Netflix but not on YouTube or on a streaming service and not in Cinema.

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