African filmmakers to discuss taxes, laws in Nairobi

African filmmakers will this week make a case for funding and favourable tax and legal regimes at a gathering in Nairobi, aimed at accelerating the growth of the continent’s creative and audio visual industry.

The Africa Film Finance Summit brings together 600 delegates including filmmakers, media executives, regulators, bankers and insurance companies.

It hopes to mobilise $200 million in two years and accelerate commercial funding for Africa’s film industry. The funds will be used to establish centres of excellence in the five regions of the continent in order to improve the quality and quantity of films made.

“People still see film as entertainment — and it is, but it’s also a business,” said Jane Murago-Munene, executive director of Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI).

“Look at Hollywood, Bollywood and even Nollywood. They are big industries that contribute to their countries’ GDP. This is what we will be discussing at the summit.”
Africa’s film industry has the potential to generate $20 billion in the next five years, data shows.

The film summit takes place alongside this year’s Ambika Afrika Safari Film Festival, which celebrates the film industry in Africa.

African sports and culture ministers are expected to take resolutions from the meeting to the African Union’s Cinema and Audio Visual Commission, where appropriate tax and legal regimes will be developed to support the growth of the industry.

According to a FEPACI report, there is a need to collect data about the film industry across Africa to aid the development of policy. Information from Mali, for example, shows that a mere 400 people annually are employed by the film industry, but there is no data on the value of the industry or its contribution to the country’s GDP. This is the same for other countries such as Liberia, Togo, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe.

Most films in Africa are funded by grants, NGOs or government, according to Ms Murago-Munene.

“If we are going to make this industry into a business, we need to know, how you can take a script to the bank and get finance,” she said. “As filmmakers, we should know that financiers want to make money, and financiers will realise there’s a lot of business in this area.”