African Cinema Summit inaugural event announced

The inaugural Africa Cinema Summit (ACS) has been announced.

The event will take place at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel and Silverbird Cinema in the Ghanaian capital of Accra from November 14 - 16.

The National Film Authority of Ghana (NFA) described it as a strategic partnership with FilmOne Group (Nigeria) and Silverbird Cinema (Ghana) says it is the first continent-wide gatherings dedicated to cinema.

The summit will feature a showcase of contemporary African films, industry-focused sessions including tailored business matchmaking events, panel discussions, keynote speeches by African industry leaders, and dedicated networking sessions for visitors.

According to Juliet Yaa Asantewa Asante, CEO National Film Authority of Ghana, the summit will focus on "the continent’s cinema ecosystem and highlight its huge growth opportunity to a global audience" as well as current trends, unique challenges, and opportunities inherent to African cinema and other distribution networks.

"Cinema energises communities socially, culturally, and economically, and at a time when over 40% of the global youth population is projected to be in Africa in just a few years, the Africa Cinema Summit is extremely timely," she said (via Deadline).

Moses Babatope, co-Founder and Group Deputy Managing Director of the Lagos-based FilmOne Group has touted the summit's plan to bring together industry leaders to shape the future of cinema business on the continent. He added: "The collective vision is to foster a dynamic platform for industry players to converge, interact, and forge robust partnerships that will galvanise the cinema ecosystem in Africa."