Paramount Africa made a statement introduction as a key stakeholder and partner of the African film industry at the recently concluded Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF). The Festival brought together top-notch global and local filmmakers, directors, actors, executives and aspiring young people from across various genres of the film
industry in Lagos. The 11 th edition of the week-long festival with the theme “Indigenous to Global” featured different movie and content premieres and screenings, workshops, pitch sessions, networking events as well as an award ceremony.
Paramount Africa formally introduced itself to the African film community through an excellently curated panel session tagged “Meet Paramount”. It was moderated by Paramount Africa’s Culture Squad member, Folu Storms, and featured the Country Manager, Paramount Africa, Bada Akintunde-Johnson; the Vice President of Paramount
Africa’s Comedy Central, Nickelodeon & Creative Services, Dillon Khan; as well as the CEO and COO of Clive Morris Productions (CMP), South Africa, Clive Morris and Khayelihle Dom Gumede respectively.
Paramount Africa also hosted a pitch session where over 300 filmmakers were given the opportunity to present their ideas across four genres: feature film, TV series, documentary, and reality. Of the total submissions received, the creators of the 15 top content ideas were invited for a physical pitch to a select jury of international content
producers for a chance to collaborate with Paramount and be a part of future co-production and co-funding opportunities.
“Providing co-production and co-funding opportunities for indigenous storytellers aligns with our philosophy of leveraging the power of content to reimagine the global Africa narrative and celebrate the continent’s people, culture, and heritage. In addition to the co-production and co-funding opportunities, we would consider some of the selected content from the pitches to feature on the Paramount+ platform when it is launched in Africa, thereby ensuring that we have local content that will be accessed and enjoyed by a truly global audience,” said Bada Akintunde-Johnson.
Over the years, Paramount Africa has positioned itself as a brand that is heavily invested in capturing and amplifying authentic African stories through its diverse channel brands including BET, MTV Base, MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. It has also established itself as a key stakeholder in demonstrating the impact and potential of African storytelling, raising awareness in the film industry, and attracting potential collaborators.
The 11th edition of AFRIFF served as a deliberate intervention to foster invaluable exchanges of ideas, production connections, and business relationships that deliver value, build capacity, and ultimately create wealth and opportunities for stakeholders in the industry. The Festival has leveraged its networks to attain strategic relevance in the African screen sector which has catalysed responses from local and international film stakeholders to bridge sector-specific deficiencies across the continent.
