Iyke Bede
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako, Nigerian filmmaker and media entrepreneur Femi Odugbemi, film curator Keith Shiri and international producer Virginie Besson-Silla are among leading industry figures converging at Kunle Afolayan Productions (KAP) Film Village and Resort in Oyo State as the KAP-SOPA Pan-African Filmmaking Bootcamp concludes this week.
The three-day programme, holding from September 17 to 19, will mark the graduation of 20 young Beninese filmmakers after a 12-week filmmaking programme jointly organised by Kunle Afolayan’s KAP Film and Television Academy and the Government of Benin through its audio-visual agency, SOPA.
The programme began with four weeks of theoretical training in Cotonou before the participants moved to Nigeria for an eight-week practical production residency at KAP Film Village. They are expected to premiere original short films produced during the residency as part of the graduation programme.
The gathering is expected to bring together filmmakers, government representatives, diplomats and cultural leaders from Nigeria, Benin and other parts of Africa, creating a platform for professional exchange and conversations around the development of the continent’s film industry.
According to KAP Group founder, Kunle Afolayan, the partnership was designed to foster a more integrated African filmmaking community.
“This program was conceptualized to transcend borders,” Afolayan said. “By merging Beninese artistic heritage with the robust production ecosystem of Nigeria, we are fostering a generation of filmmakers who view the continent not as fragmented markets, but as a unified canvas.”
The bootcamp comes against the backdrop of concerns over skills and infrastructure gaps within Africa’s rapidly expanding creative sector. Its structure combines classroom training with practical production, exposing the participants to both filmmaking techniques and the professional realities of production.
The gathering will also provide the platform for KAP Group to unveil ITAN, The Screen Gathering and Awards, an annual Pan-African film conference scheduled to launch in 2027.
The proposed platform is expected to bring together filmmakers, producers, distributors, exhibitors, investors, policymakers, academics and cultural institutions to discuss issues including film financing, distribution, policy harmonisation and technological advancement.
Their graduation of the 20 participants consequently marks both the end of the first KAP-SOPA bootcamp and the beginning of a wider conversation about how cross-border partnerships can strengthen skills, professional networks and collaboration within African cinema.