San Francisco Frontiers - Abidjan dreams of becoming Africa's next cinema hub

Under a large tree, village elders gathered to discuss the death of a wealthy local cocoa planter. In the film, his children return to their native village and bicker over his inheritance.

Ivory Coast is hosting an increasing number of local, pan-African and international productions, and is striving to establish itself as a go-to film destination in Africa in the face of longtime dominance by Nigeria's thriving Nollywood.

According to the Ivorian culture ministry, about 30 films and television series were shot in the country last year. This year, 39 other projects have been approved.

Between takes of "Le Testament", production manager Shaidate Coulibaly, 31, said there was a growing number of enthusiastic technicians and filmmakers.

"The sector's really developing locally," she told AFP. "The new generation wants to tell stories about their daily life, stories that represent them."

"We have people who are able to oversee an entire production without needing to look elsewhere," added Adama Rouamba, the film's Burkinabe director, who has witnessed first-hand how the sector has professionalised.

- 'Soft power' -

Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa grower and a regional economic powerhouse, is banking on its youth -- 75 percent of the population is under 35 -- to take its fledgling film sector to new heights.

Coulibaly, however, said private investors were still "cautious" and even though she received public funding, she had to fight to secure financing.

"The credibility of Ivorian cinema is building up bit by bit, but it's a struggle," she added.

The commercial capital Abidjan has been the backdrop of Franco-Ivorian director Philippe Lacote's productions since he began his career in 2022.

Lacote just finished filming "Clash" -- about rivalry between stars of the popular coupé-décalé dance music -- in Abidjan and the Congolese capital Kinshasa, using a predominantly Ivorian team.

"It wouldn't have been possible a few years ago," he said.

Ivory Coast's Minister of Communication, Amadou Coulibaly, said the government was considering setting up specialised programmes in schools and wants to "train all players in the film sector locally".

At a major international convention in Abidjan last month, he said he wanted to make Ivory Coast "the hub of audiovisual content on the continent".

The stakes are both economic and cultural, particularly with representations of Africa long dominated by Western countries.

Earlier this year, Franco-Ivorian director Jean-Pascal Zadi shot part of his movie "Le Grand Deplacement" here, while "Eldorado", a series by Franco-American film producer Alex Berger, was filmed in the lush tropical Banco forest near Abidjan.

"It's important for me to contribute to the development of Africa's cultural industry. We need to produce our own stories, quality content," said Zadi, calling local cinema a form of "soft power".

His next film, an action movie, will also be shot in Ivory Coast.

- Vision needed -

At the National Cinema Office, Adama Konkobo described 2024 as an "exceptional year" and estimated about 20 Ivorian films were screened.

In 2024, Ivorian films made up for about 10 percent of screenings in the country and six percent of the box office.

Meanwhile, films produced or co-produced in the United States accounted for 80 percent of the market share, according to the National Cinema Office.

"What's missing in the development of local cinema is a clear vision from the authorities," said Lacote, lamenting that the government is focusing on attracting foreign films without adequately financing Ivorian ones.

"It creates jobs," he said. "But it doesn't develop national cinema."

Coulibaly insisted the political will was there, and highlighted a forthcoming "subsidy mechanism" aimed at young Ivorian talent.

Another obstacle to the development of a local film industry has been the country's lack of cinemas, with only 15 movie theatres, nearly all of them in Abidjan.

A project to open a new cinema in Bouaké in central Ivory Coast and the arrival last year of Pathé cinemas -- a chain owned by a French film production and distribution company -- in Abidjan could change the dynamic.

J.Peterson--SFF