A modernized audiovisual co-production treaty between Telefilm Canada and the Government of the Republic of South Africa entered into force on January 1, 2026. The treaty replaces the previous Canada–South Africa audiovisual co-production agreement signed on November 5, 1997, updating the legal and administrative structure governing joint film, television, and audiovisual productions between the two […]
Author: Tambay A. Obenson
Who Dominates the “Prestige” Conversation in African Cinema and Why: What 3 Years of Data Show
Moving beyond the macro picture captured in the November 24, 2025, Premium newsletter “Inside Akoroko’s 4,000-Document Dataset: A Three-Year Review of African Screen Activity,” I’ve been keyed in on asymmetric insights, as in less obvious relationships and extrapolations that describe more specific mechanics of African screen activity over the same time period. This report uses the same […]
10 Questions Shaping African Screen Culture in 2026 and Beyond
This article examines African screen culture 2026 using a comprehensive audit of more than 4,000 Akoroko newsletters, social media dispatches, and internal records tracking activity from late 2022 through December 2025. A continuation of my year-end deep dives, while also looking ahead to 2026 and beyond. These insights continue to be based on a comprehensive […]
The Veterans Still Directing: Africa’s Post-Independence Filmmakers in the 2020s
I document African filmmakers still working whose careers began in the post-independence years and who have continued directing completed, released work in the 2020s. Mozambican cinema is admittedly a blind spot, in part because its history is relatively short and its output has been limited since the “Kuxa Kanema” period under President Samora Machel following […]
10 Conversations African Cinema Is Having With Itself: Year-end Analysis
Continuing Akoroko’s year-end 2025 African cinema analysis series, what follows is a report that Premium subscribers received a week ago. It draws from a comprehensive audit of over 4,000 Akoroko documents, capturing African screen activity from late 2022 through December 2025. Much global industry trade coverage has looked at African cinema via the lens of […]
Mauritius Film Development Corp Announces 2026 Plans Ahead of 40th Anniversary
MFDC 2026 plans set out the Mauritius Film Development Corporation’s priorities ahead of its 40th anniversary in 2026, covering public support programs, training initiatives, and efforts to attract international productions to the island nation. Established in August 1986, the MFDC operates under the Ministry of Arts and Culture. The 40th anniversary plans were announced by […]
African Film Markets: 20 Least-Visible Countries (2022-2025)
This report examines the 20 African countries mentioned least frequently across three years of comprehensive Akoroko coverage (end 2022 to end 2025). What follows is a condensed version of the report — based on more than 4,000 individual documents — sent to subscribers as part of Akoroko’s year-end 2025 series. Methodology: I analyzed over 4,000 […]
Morocco Film Funding 2025 — Third Session (Disbursements, Dec. 11–21)
Morocco’s film funding has awarded 24.66 million MAD (approximately $2.71 million USD) in the third session of 2025 of the Centre Cinématographique Marocain’s Production Support Commission. The session reviewed more than 100 submissions across categories and approved 31 projects in total, covering fiction features, short films, documentaries, and writing or rewriting support. The Commission has […]
Trailer: “O Ancoradouro do Tempo (The Anchorage of Time)” — New Work From Mozambican Cinema Pioneer Sol de Carvalho
The magical realist story is narrated by a carpenter who died on the eve of Mozambican independence while restoring a former Portuguese colonial fortress that now houses a retirement home. As a xipoco (ghost), he inhabits the body of a police inspector sent to investigate the murder of the home’s director. An adaptation of Mia […]
Carthage 2025: Awards Results From the 36th Edition of Africa’s Oldest Film Festival
On December 20, 2025, the 36th Journées Cinématographiques de Carthage (JCC), or just Carthage — Africa’s oldest film festival — concluded with its awards ceremony in Tunis. The winners reflect the range of films and filmmakers the festival selected and recognized across its main competitions and special prizes. Across the awards, 11 countries were recognized, led by Tunisia (9 awards and mentions), […]