Wesgro celebrates the announcement that globally-celebrated creative industry brand MIP (Marché International des Programmes) has selected Cape Town for their first in Africa showcase MIP Africa – and is now one of the pillars of FAME Week Africa (brought to you by the City of Cape Town).
Creating a space for the ecosystem to connect, share knowledge and screen upcoming work, FAME Week Africa brings together popular co-events including: MIP Africa (the leading event for business development for the creative industries); Muziki Africa (for the musicians); Cape Town International Animation Festival (CTIAF – for the animators), and Media Entertainment Solutions Africa (MESA – the business networking and innovative showcase platform).
With the event already underway, members of the Wesgro team will be headlined in the programme. Monica Rorvik, Head of Film and Media Promotion, featured today alongside other industry specialists to discuss financing film and tv projects. Jean Scheltema, Wesgro’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer will present a case study on the recently launched “Climb Table Mountain” game in the Metaverse through the popular gaming platform – Roblox – on Friday.
Maximising the opportunity to showcase the world of film opportunities in the Cape, Wesgro hosted 50 decision makers including: producers; writers; and studio heads, on a studio Familiarisation (FAM) Tour earlier in the week. Showcasing seven local studios, the tour concluded with a networking lunch at the Taj Hotel, with entertainment provided from local talent at the Rainbow Academy. Driving business to business connections, Wesgro is also hosting networking breakfasts over the course of the event.
“The Western Cape has a burgeoning creative industries sector and is a hub of talent on the continent. FAME Week Africa has afforded the destination massive exposure from key film source markets,” says Wesgro CEO, Wrenelle Stander.
“The City of Cape Town’s partnership with FAME Week Africa is key in making Cape Town an unrivalled cornerstone of business development for the film, arts, media and entertainment industries. The City has long identified the creative industries as one of the sectors with potential to be catalysts for economic growth. FAME Week Africa forms part of our broader strategy to support more events providing opportunities for the development of talented creatives to showcase their talent and learn from some the world’s top experts,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security Alderman JP Smith.
Joining the FAM Tour earlier this week were colleagues from neighboring provinces, national government officials, and delegates from Africa, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Peru, and the USA (MIP Africa’s country of honour).
“Cape Town and the Western Cape is the gateway to the rest of Africa and MIP selecting to host their inaugural African showcase in the Mother City further affirms our place as a preferred meeting destination on the continent. Driving meaningful business connections, the event has huge potential to be a catalyst for substantial growth in the creative industries sector,” adds Stander.
Emerging out of this week’s line-up was the announcement by the German-funded Employment for Skills and Development in Africa (E4D) Programme. With their partnership with local animation studio, Triggerfish Academy, on the brink of celebrating their one-year anniversary - offering a free online course on editing as part of the partnership – E4D made an announcement that they intend to expand their Cape Town training with storyboarding, along with new exchanges between the Cape Town International Animation Festival and Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS), FMX and Animation Productions Days.
Triggerfish CEO, Stuart Forrest, comments: “We’re grateful for the support received by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the GIZ/E4D program, which is helping us to open up the industry through free online animation training on our Triggerfish Academy site and through the skills transfer happening between the Cape Town International Animation Festival and Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS), FMX and Animation Productions Days. There are huge opportunities in the animation sector in South Africa, and Africa more widely, and we’re pleased to be able to be a part of catalysing this industry, through the support of our partners.”
With the positive knock-on effect predicted for the entire creative industries value chain, Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, said: “It is most promising to see world-leading entertainment content markets, such as the MIP brand, selecting Cape Town for big events such as FAME Week Africa. Beyond the economic boost and job creation an event of this magnitude supports, the knowledge and skill sharing is immeasurable. Cape Town is already celebrated as a creative capital on the African continent and the visitors attending these kinds of events also typically travel into other parts of our beautiful province, spreading positive economic spinoffs. We look forward to seeing the sector flourish further through the connections that will be forged during this exciting three-day line-up.”
The Western Cape is a film-maker’s hub on the continent, see why here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTpQ-6KQxB