Wednesday 28th February 2001
Film fans gather for the Pan African film and television festival
Thousands of people have gathered in the city of Ouagadoudou in Burkina Faso to spend a week watching and talking about films at the Pan African Film and Television festival.
This year more than 100 films and videos are on show.
It is the biggest festival of African cinema in the world and is the key market place for the industry.
One of the principle considerations for anyone thinking of investing in an African film must be the size and location of the audience. The BBC's Jim Corrigall, in Ouagadoudou says he believes there are films at the festival that would attract an international audience:
"There is a very big range. Some are very much art house type films - an elite audience. Other films are much more popular, but a few of them have been big box office successes in Africa."
Jim Corrigall feels it is very hard though for African cinema to break into the really big Hollywood-type markets. Few have achieved this, although a few African films and directors have been very successful around the world.
He adds that it is very difficult for film-makers in Africa to get funding to make films:
"They all seem to struggle. Certainly film-makers in Francophone - French speaking Africa have had it easier. There has been support for a number of years from the French government for African films. Film-makers in English speaking countries find it more difficult."
One of the interesting focuses this year is on new technology.
Many film-makers have turned to making video films which are much cheaper to produce and much easier to distribute.
There is one very big risk though - the piracy of video tapes and that is the big downside for the new African directors who are moving into the video and digital market.
| "The piracy of video tapes is the big downside for the new African directors who are moving into the video and digital market." |
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