Participants during the announcement of the fourth edition of iKON Film and Television Awards. [Brian Ngugi, Standard]
Kenyan filmmakers are positioning themselves for a bigger slice of Africa's $5 billion (Sh650 billion) film industry as a Ugandan awards ceremony expands across the continent, offering access to financing, co-production deals and new markets.
The fourth annual iKON Film and Television Awards, set for December 12 in Kampala, has expanded to include a new activation in Johannesburg from October 22-26, part of a broader push to connect African film markets and unlock capital for a continent where funding remains the industry's biggest hurdle.
"This is about turning conversations into actual projects that generate revenue and create jobs," said Humphrey Nabimanya, founder and CEO of the iKON Awards, in a statement.
"We have already seen a Uganda-Nigeria collaboration that produced the feature film Dambe, and now we have a Uganda-Kenya co-production under the O3plus project. These are real business deals, not just networking events."
Kenya's film industry contributes an estimated $130 million (Sh20 billion) annually to GDP, with the broader creative economy growing 60 per cent faster than other segments of the economy and contributing over 5 per cent of national GDP.
Policymakers aim to double the sector's share by 2025.
The Johannesburg activation, hosted with South African actor and producer Thapelo Mokoena, opens doors to the continent's most developed film infrastructure.