Brussels, 30 March 2017/ ACP: The first ever joint prize for film by the European Union and the ACP Group of States was awarded to three African works at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso (Festival panafricain du cinéma et de la télévision de Ouagadougou or FESPACO).

The prize, valued at 15,000 € (nearly 9,850,000 FCFA) is intended for the promotion and distribution of the awarded films as well as promoting their directors. The award will cover the costs of subtitling and/or dubbing of the films in several European and African languages, and the invitation of the directors to a European festival.

The winning films are:

Félicité, Golden Stallion, Alain Formose GOMIS (Senegal)

Kemtiyu, Séex Anta, Ousmane-William MBAYE (Senegal)

The bicycle man, Twiggy MATIWANA (South Africa)

The ACP-EU prize was presented at the FESPACO festival on 4 March by the Director-General for International Cooperation and Development of the European Commission Mr. Stefano Manservisi, and Assistant Secretary-General of the ACP Group of States in charge of Political Affairs and Human Development, Amb. Léonard Emile Ognimba, both of whom organised several meetings with artists, professionals and cultural operators while in Burkina Faso.

“It is important for the European Union and the ACP Secretariat to understand the needs and expectations of the cultural professionals with a view to launching of a new support programme to ACP cultural industries in 2018”, stressed Mr Manservisi.

ACPCultures+ activities

In addition to the prize, the ACPCultures+ program presence at FESPACO, touted as the African equivalent of the international Cannes Film Festival. The ACP-EU program supports sustainable cultural industries in ACP countries by reinforcing their contribution to social and economic development, as well as the preservation of cultural diversity.

ACPCultures+ organised the opening conference of the Cinema and Audiovisual Market (MICA) on the 26th of February. More than 400 professionals participated at the conference on the theme “Audiovisual and innovation: entrepreneurship, financing, and interactivity, keys to market access”. The round table was organised after the presentation of the results of the ACPCultures+ supported project “Digital Capital”, implemented by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). (Download full report)

On the 3rd of March, ACPCultures+ also organised a round table on “Audiovisual and training: adapting curricula to the market”. Several speakers highlighted good practices in terms of adapting structures to the market, either by relying on public authorities or by enriching their curriculum with multimedia courses. (More information)

Finally, three films supported by the ACPCultures+ programme were screened at the festival, including the feature film Wùlu, directed by Malian Mr. Daouda Coulibaly, which won two main awards.

About the ACPCultures+ Program

The ACPCultures+ Program is implemented by the Secretariat of the ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) Group of States and funded under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) by the European Union for an amount of € 30 million. This 3rd Intra-ACP Support Programme for the ACP Cultural Sector (2012-2017) merges the ACPCultures and ACPFilms Programmes, previously implemented under the 9th EDF, into one single support programme.

ACPCultures+ aims to contribute to the fight against poverty through the development and consolidation of viable and sustainable cultural industries in ACP countries by reinforcing their contribution to social and economic development, as well as the preservation of cultural diversity.

About the FESPACO Festival

From a timid start in 1969, the Pan-African film and television festival has today grown into the leading cultural event in Africa. The event is modelled on the Cannes Film festival. Like Cannes, it:

· offers an opportunity for film enthusiasts to binge-watch cinematic productions;

· brings professionals together to promote their work and discuss industry-related challenges;

· celebrates excellence by handing trophies to top industry talents.

FESPACO received almost 1,000 submissions for 2017, far more than previous years, out of which 150 were retained by the organisers.

For more information, visit the ACPCultures+ website

Watch a short video on the ACP Cultures+ program

(Photos from top: DEVCO Director General Stefano Manservisi with ACP Assistant SG Leonard Ognimba at FESPACO; ASG Ognimba with participants at an ACPCultures+ roundtable; Award-winning director Daouda Coulibaly, whose film was supported by the ACPCultures+ program/ Photos by ACPCultures+ Program)

– ACPCultures+/ Press ACP