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From 24-26 August 2022, FAME Week Africa brought together co-related events focusing on the major creative economies, namely film, television, animation, music, and entertainment technology.
The annual event was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) and offered a unique opportunity for African content creators to meet big entertainment streaming platforms representatives such as Netflix, Showmax, and Paramount.
Film and TV financing session at FAME Week Africa. Source: @nfvfsa
The three-day conference, which ended Friday, was billed as the continent’s premier business conference for the creative and cultural sectors.
Big-name entertainment providers seem to have understood that African creatives have what to offer for them to grow their subscribers and revenues.
“There is a shift in audience appetite and a shift, a recognition by the studios and the screeners, that everyone isn’t your typical white, blond-hair viewer. If streamers want those global subscribers, if they want our money they must provide content that this changing world wants”, Mo Abudu CEO EbonyLife Group.
Countries like the United States, Canada, and Kenya had government representation there, while businesses in film, TV, animation, music, and entertainment technology had cubicles set up in the Cape Town International Convention Center.
Film Cape Town emerging filmmaker’s showcase at FAME Week Africa. Source: City of Cape Town
Bonolo Madisakwane, the content distribution executive for Paramount Africa, was sitting in one of them and was quoted by Voice of America saying that this week is going to be a very busy week for her and her programming team.
“We have received a lot of screeners. I’m very, very hopeful.”
Fame Week Africa was the biggest event of its kind in Africa since the COVID-19 lockdown and people have taken full advantage of it.
Most participants had pre-meetings already planned with Bonolo to pitch their content to Paramount Africa’s content distribution executive.
She told VOA that quite a several African creatives sat with her to pitch whatever it is that they wanted to pitch and asked all the questions they had.
One of the benefits FAME Week Africa provided to African creatives is the kind of connection that links them to the streaming platforms market.
South African social media influencer Ernest St. Clair
One man who was hoping to catch up with the likes of Bonolo was South African actor and social media influencer Ernest St. Clair, who has over 67,000 followers on Instagram. He stars in a new film, “2 Thirds of a Man.
“We shot this film in lockdown and it’s finally released and been picked up,” he said. “We are hoping for it to be picked up by other channels like Showmax.”
