Under the patronage of H.E. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MoTAC), the National Film Authority of Ghana, in partnership with Silverbird Cinemas, today announced the second edition of the Africa Cinema Summit.

The event, themed “The Relevance of Cinema in African Communities,” will take place from October 7-10, 2024, at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra.

Last year, the inaugural Africa Cinema Summit convened representatives from 20 African countries. This landmark event facilitated critical discussions on the cinema landscape in Africa, focusing on exploring and tailoring opportunities to suit the unique characteristics of each geographic location across the continent.

The 2023 edition yielded significant accomplishments, notably highlighted by the President of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo’s assurance to approve the Film Tax Incentive for the Ghanaian film industry.

Furthermore, collaborative ventures were successfully established among African countries, with the Filmhouse Group committing to distribute Ghanaian films across Nigeria and other partner nations.

In the same vein, Silverbird Ghana pledged to incorporate local snacks into their cinema foods and Ster-Kinekor, the leading cinema chain in Southern Africa, committed to exploring e-sports in their cinemas.

This year’s edition aims to further consolidate the progress made in the African cinema industry, fostering collaboration, innovation, and sustainable growth.

The 2024 summit will focus on the ‘Growth in quality of local content production and consumption, driving the case for increased cinema investment' the summit will further delve into 'Reimagining and rethinking cinema for Africa's mass market segment'.

The Africa Cinema Summit 2024 will bring together Cinema exhibitors, builders and investors, industry leaders, filmmakers, producers, distributors, studios, policymakers and stakeholders from across the continent and the globe.

In addition to the theme and date announcement, the NFA also named their executive steering committee consisting of executives from the global cinema, content and creative communities who will spearhead the summit alongside Ms Juliet Yaa Asantewa Asante, CEO of the National Film Authority of Ghana, and her team.

● Moses Babatope, Co-founder and former Group Managing Director, Filmhouse Group

● Rob Arthur, Founder and partner, Entertainment Solutions

● Tim Yaw Struthers, Senior Advisor, Global Engagement, National Film Authority of Ghana

● Ojoma Ochai, Managing Director, Co-creation Hub (CcHUB) Africa

● Funmi Onuma, Country Manager, Silverbird Cinemas

In line with H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's assertion that "both the cinema world and Africa need each other," Africa represents an underserved market. Currently, with less than 2000 cinema screens catering to over 1.4 billion people, and with less than 20% of the population having experienced a cinema visit, there exists significant potential for growth. Moreover, considering the rapid population growth across Africa, the demand for cinematic experiences is poised to increase substantially.

Hon. Andrew Egyapa Mercer, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Ghana commented, "Funding the film industry is a wise investment. Opportunities for investment in the sector are wide and we call on all those interested in investments in Africa and especially Ghana, to consider investing in the infrastructure that supports the ecosystem, especially in studios and cinemas. This can only yield great returns on investments considering that the future of cinema is this continent. Ghana as well is committed to working on the policy changes needed to help propel a thriving film ecosystem"

Ms. Juliet Yaa Asantewa Asante, CEO of the National Film Authority of Ghana and convener of the summit, commented, "Africa's cinematic prowess is undeniable, yet remains largely untapped. Through the biggest cinema event in Africa, the Africa Cinema Summit, we envision a transformative journey that can create over twenty million jobs and contribute an impressive $20 billion to the continent's combined GDP, as projected by the 2021 UNESCO Report. I am also delighted to welcome back key executives from the global cinema, content, and creative communities to collaborate with me on this new edition and beyond. This year’s focus on the growth in quality local content and reimagining ways of introducing the cinema culture to Africa’s largely youth population who have never been to a cinema, is exciting in that we are diving into the deep end of some really core issues.

"Over 80% of Africans on the continent have never been to a cinema, as the lack of cinema infrastructure has meant the eroding of the cinema culture in African communities. This is a big opportunity, and we have the mindset that it is possible to drive Africa’s 1 billion youth population to think about Cinema as a viable entertainment option. The entire cinema world must join us on this journey that holds the future sustainability of not only African cinema, but world cinema”.

The Africa Cinema Summit will take place from October 7-10, 2024, at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra, Ghana.