6 World V I D E O A G E October 2022 U.S. And now BET wants two more movies with the same cast as a continuation of the story. Billy and I saw different production companies [at MIP Africa], as well as talked with the major channels in South Africa to buy some of their content for our U.S. platforms. We were very busy with very good meetings.” A buyer from South African broadcaster SABC told VideoAge informant that the market was “interesting.” She also noted that there were more sellers than buyers, and that the market was small enough that one could visit all the exhibitors in just one hour. Despite all of these positive experiences, MIP Africa started off with a great potential, but seemed to fizzle out somewhere along the way, ultimately registering a smaller number of exhibitors and buyers than expected. Regardless, the market will most likely survive due to very committed organizers, who will have to figure out how to attract distributors from the U.S. and Europe. As DISCOP Johannesburg has already proved, African buyers prefer looking at hard-toreach American and European content, figuring that African programs are already easily accessible. Indeed, of the 40 exhibitors at MIP Africa, three content sales companies were from the U.S., and five were from Europe. In addition, this inaugural event was very reliant on the participation of streaming platforms, which don’t traditionally sell their shows, and usually only exhibit for promotional purposes. Another factor to consider is the big number of parallel and sideline events crammed into FAME Week, which caused the market to lose some of its focus. And finally, the late August dates fall in what is considered a low season for the southern hemisphere, a period not all that appealing for foreign visitors, especially when many potential participants would rather be taking their summer vacations. MIP Africa 2023 has been set for September 6-8. There were some good reports from the first edition of MIP Africa, which concluded on August 26, 2022 following three days of meetings. “I was booked solid for three days with all the TV and VoD buyers in many territories in the whole of Africa, but mainly South Africa”, said Lise Romanoff, managing director/ CEO, Worldwide Distribution for the Marina Del Rey, California-based Vision Films. “I am hoping they do this market again each and every year moving forward, attracting even more buyers and producers. I will surely attend again. She continued: “This was such a wonderfully managed sales market, and Cape Town is such a great location. There were only three American indie distribution companies: ACI, Vision Films, and GRB.” Chevonne O’Shaughnessy (pictured at right), president of the Van Nuys, Californiabased American Cinema International (ACI), also had a positive experience: “The market was great for both Billy Dundee of African Entertainment and ACI. Billy and I produced A Royal Surprise, our first movie in South Africa last year. We did not [pre-sell it]. We just financed it and we got lucky that the movie sold to the BET network in the MIP Africa Offered A Good Experience For Most (Continued on Page 8) C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Convention Flyer4-Junior Page.pdf 1 26-09-2022 14:43:37
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