The first-ever Africa Cinema Summit which is being held in Ghana opened on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, at the Silverbird Cinema in Accra.
The Summit is a means for stakeholders in the industry value chain worldwide, particularly in Africa, to discuss challenges and explore potential and opportunities in the African cinema space.
The first day held at the SilverBird Cinema in Accra saw a number of industry persons lead a panel discussion on relevant key areas such as “Fostering collaborations among African countries, “ Role of the Youth in Cinema Development in Africa” and “Youth–Centric Film Marketing: Strategies for the Digital Age”.
Among the key speakers for day one were Moses Babatope, Co-Founder/Group Deputy Managing Director for FilmHouse Group; Carl Ampah, National Program Officer for Culture (UNESCO); filmmaker, Nana Asihene, Tony Asankomah, Founder of GHMoviefreak.com; Ama Ablorde, Filmmaker; Nowe Segun-Ojo, Communications Manager, FilmHouse Group; and filmmaker Majeed Suhuyini.
The others are Nana Kwame Obiri-Tete, Sales and Marketing Lead, Silverbird Cinemas, Ghana; and Adesola Hane Ade-Unigbe, Entertainment Content Partnership lead, Sub-Saharan Africa, Tiktok.
The summit is being organised by the National Film Authority (NFA) in partnership with Filmhouse Group and Silverbird Cinemas, Ghana.
In an earlier address by Juliet Asante, Chief Executive Officer of the National Film Authority (NFA), she noted that Africa boasts of the largest youth population. Yet, the continent has failed to as storytellers and story lovers to get them into the cinemas.
“This is part of a cinema agenda strategy by the National Film Authority of Ghana to work to impact the cinema space with a pan-African approach,” she stated.
In their respective addresses, the CountrManagerer for Silverbird Cinemas, Ghana, Funmi Onuma; Product Manager, Filmmakers Mart; and Moses Babatope, Co-founder of FilmHouse group pledged their commitment to the growth of African cinema.
The second and third days of the summit will be held at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra on Wednesday, November 15 and Thursday, November 16, 2023.
