TIFF: The Market Yafungua Milango kwa Filamu za Kiafrika — 'Ni Wakati Wetu'

Toronto Intl. Film Festival (TIFF) imezindua kitu kipya kabisa mwaka huu — TIFF: The Market, na kwa mara ya kwanza, Afrika inapata nafasi kubwa kupitia Global Africa Hub, pavilion maalum kwa ajili ya creatives wa Kiafrika.

Hub hii inafadhiliwa na Canex Creations, initiative ya pan-African iliyoanzishwa na African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), kwa ushirikiano na MBO Capital, Gambit Films, Narratives Entertainment na FilmOne. Charles Tremblay, mkuu wa market hii, anasema lengo ni kuendeleza legacy ya TIFF ya kutoa access na fursa kwa content ya kimataifa.

Swahiba, safari hii Toronto itakuwa na foleni ya titles kali kutoka Afrika. Miongoni mwazo ni:

• The Smell of Apples — filamu mpya ya South Africa's John Trengove.
• Future Tense — kazi nyingine ya Kusini mwa Afrika, iliyoongozwa na Jenna Cato Bass.
• The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives — kutoka EbonyLife Films ya Mo Abudu, adaptation ya novel ya Lola Shoneyin ya 2010, ambayo tayari imekuwa ikitoa sold-out screenings.
• Clarissa — North American premiere ya wakurugenzi ndugu Arie na Chuko Esiri, Lagos-set adaptation ya 'Mrs. Dalloway' ya Virginia Woolf, iliyonunuliwa na Neon baada ya premiere yake Cannes.
• The Black Book 2: Old Scores — sequel ya Editi Effiong kwa blockbuster yake ya Netflix.
• I'm Coming for You — fiction debut ya Cyrielle Raingou, mshindi wa Rotterdam.
• Muganga — The One Who Treats — drama iliyoongozwa na Marie-Hélène Roux, co-produced na Angelina Jolie, inayosimulia hadithi ya Dr. Denis Mukwege, mshindi wa Nobel Peace Prize.

Osahon Akpata, CEO wa Canex Creations, anasema partnership hii na TIFF inalenga ku-'create bridge' kati ya filmmakers wa Kiafrika na industry ya kimataifa. Anakiri kwamba access kwenye markets bado ni changamoto kubwa, na kupitia market screenings maalum kwa acquisition executives wa North America, wanataka kuwaunganisha filmmakers na commercial opportunities halisi.

Kutakuwa pia na panel muhimu kuhusu financing na distribution models mpya kwa African film, ikihusisha Akpata, Tamara Dawit wa Gobez Media, Adekunle Adebiyi wa MBO Capital, na Janet Brown wa Tribeca Enterprises. Mo Abudu naye atakuwa kwenye session nyingine akizungumzia global success ya Nollywood pamoja na Moses Babatope wa Nile Media Entertainment.

Abudu, ambaye ni fixture ya muda mrefu TIFF, anasema appetite ya audience kwa African stories inaongezeka kwa kasi. Kama alivyosema: 'The world is beginning to appreciate us for who we are. It's our time. It's our moment.'

Chanzo: Variety