PROGRAM 2026
Village International, Pantiero #201
Press Contact:
Eléonore Heuze, eleonore@agencefrenchlights.com (English)
Jamila Ouzahir, jamilaouzahir@gmail.com (French)
DAY 1
12 MAY
TUESDAY
3:30 PM
Opening Ceremony
🎬 Screening – 3X Freedom
(Deadria Farmer-Paellmann)
Cocktail reception featuring singer Kayna Samet
DAY 2
13 MAY
WEDNESDAY
6:00 PM
🎬 Screening: The Ebony Canal by Emmai Alaquiva followed by a private cocktail reception.
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Smart Solutions Day
DAY 3
14 MAY
THURSDAY
Presentation: ACE Fund (Grégory Monfort)
2:30 - 3:00 PM
Presentation:
Inevitable
(Jean Mach)
3:00 - 3:30 PM
The New Model Shaping How Film & TV Projects Get Made – A fireside chat with Ayoka Chenzira & Haj Chenzira-Pinnock
4:00 - 5:00 PM
🎬Screening: About Amazing Grace: YorubaWorlds by Leconte Raynald followed by a private cocktail reception.
6:30 - 8:00 PM
DAY 4
15 MAY
FRIDAY
Panel: Cinetourism Session - Storytelling as Infrastructure
Cinetourism as a Driver of Economic Growth, Jobs & Cultural Influence
Panelists:
▪ Joy Roberts, Executive Director, Jamvac, Jamaica
▪ Natalie O. Hodge, Film Commissioner, British Virgin Islands Marysela Zamora Villalobos, Film Commissioner, Costa Rica
▪ Daniel Novaes Sampaio Celli, Coordinator, Rio Film Commission (TBC)
Moderator: Tambay Obenson
2:30 - 3:30 PM
Sessions: Franco-Guinean Cultural Center (2 sessions), in partnership with the French Embassy in Senegal
• West Africa: From Potential to Transformation
Panelists:
▪ Kessen Tall, producer and screenwriter – Mauritania
▪ Bilia Bah, Director of Cultural & Creative Industries at the Ministry of Culture – Guinea
▪ Yanis Gueye, producer and incubator manager – Senegal
Moderator: Séraphine Angoula, Regional Audiovisual Attaché
• Guinean Cinema: Renewal, Momentum and Emergence
Panelists:
▪ Abdoulaye Traoré, Director of the FIF Awards
▪ Gahité Fofana, producer
▪ Oumar Khourouma, Director of the Guinean Cinema Expo
▪ Diogo Barry, Director of the Sabou Ciné Talents incubation program
Moderator: Djariou Bah, Co-Director of the Centre Culturel Franco-Guinéen
3:30 - 5:30 PM
Talk: Voices of Afronova – A conversation with Aïssa Maïga, moderated by Maklor Babutulua
6:00 - 6:45 PM
🎬 Screening Escape Room by Kinnik Sky followed by a Showcase with Kayna Samet
7:00 PM
Caribbean Day
In partnership with the British Virgin Islands
DAY 5
16 MAY
SATURDAY
11:30 -12:30 PM
Panel: Festivals as Gateways to Global Opportunity
Festival programmers from the Caribbean and leading international festivals examine how festivals help filmmakers bring their work to wider audiences and industry attention.
12:30 - 2:00 PM
Networking Reception on the Terrace
2:00 - 3:00 PM
Panel: Getting Caribbean Content to Global Distribution
Distribution and acquisition executives share insight into what buyers are looking for and how filmmakers can position their projects for international deals.
4:00 - 5:00 PM
Panel: Building a Competitive Caribbean Screen Industry
Government leaders, industry stakeholders, and creators discuss how stronger alignment can accelerate the growth of the region’s screen industry.
6:00 PM
🎬Screening: The Rhythm of Jamaican Art (John Campbell) followed by singer Desmond Foster’s Showcase
Curated by
Mark Walton
Animation Day
DAY 6
17 MAY
SUNDAY
10:30 - 12:30 PM
🎓 Masterclass: Ebele Okoye - Structured AI for Creative Workflows
2:30 -
3:30 PM
Testimony of a success story
3:30 -
5:30 PM
🎓 Masterclass: Dom Fred – AI & the Future of Moving Image: VFX, 3D and Real Time Revolution
Where technology reinvents storytelling on a grand scale.
5:00 -
6:00 PM
🎬 Screening: Ride the Rhythm (Robert Mason)
6:30 -
8:00 PM
🎬 Screening: Discovering Bessie Coleman (Beth Powell) followed by a book signing and a showcase with Freddie Hall
Co-Production Day
In partnership with Canal+
DAY 7
18 MAY
MONDAY
10:30 - 11:30 AM
Panel: Producing together – The new co-production architectures - Coproduction, multi-territorial financing, dynamics of production aid, and integration of eco-friendly practices.
Panelists:
▪ The Atlas Workshops
▪ Hedi Zardi, La Fabrique Cinéma de l'Institut Français
▪ Émilie Mao Essadi, Film Fund Luxembourg
▪ Sami Tlili Canal+ : Houda El Amri / Laurent Sicouri
Moderator: Maklor Babutulua
11:30 - 12:00 AM
Presentation: Canal+ in Africa -– Vision & engagement by Grace Loubassou
12:00 - 12:45 PM
Launch: Sala 54 Platform with Nicho 54 -- An online platform for international distribution of Brazilian black films
4:30 - 6:00 PM
Panel: More Than Content - Building Audiences for African Stories
The role of broadcasters, exhibitors and distributors in driving visibility
Panelists:
▪ Isabelle Degeorges, President, Gaumont Télévision (TBC)
▪ Marianne, France TV Distribution
▪ Aka Nancy, General Manager, Majestic
▪ Christelle Galou-Théophile, Managing Director, Cinestar
▪ David Obadia, General Delegate, AFCAE
Moderator: Alain Modot, CEO Diffa
6:30 - 8:00 PM
🎬 Screening: Diya, le prix du sang (Achille Ronaimou)
DAY 8
19 MAY
TUESDAY
10:30 - 11:15 AM
Talk: Institut français – Rediscovering African Heritage Cinema in the Age of Streaming
11:30 - 12:30 PM
Vaporosa Cultural – Cinemateca Negra: Discovering Brazil’s Black Film Archive
2:30 - 3:30 PM
CISAC Panel: Fair Pay, Fair Voices -- Women Shaping the Future of African Audiovisual Creation
Panelists:
▪ Yvonne Chaka Chaka
▪ Bolanle Austen-Peters
▪ Eliane Umuhire
Moderator: Luisa Luna
4:30 - 6:30 PM
Panel: The Politics of Black Women in Film by African American Women in Cinema (AAWIC)
Host: Terra Renee
Panelists:
▪ Dr. A'Cire Newby
▪ Lamonia Brown
Moderator: Princess Hairston
6:30 - 8:00 PM
Private Cocktail (AAWIC)
DAY 9
20 MAY
WEDNESDAY
2:30 - 4:30 PM
Workshop: Workshop – Music in Film, with composer Olivier Lliboutry
DAY 10
21 MAY
THURSDAY
2:30 - 3:15 PM
🎬 Screening: Je veux Boza (Dominique Minyono)
3:30 - 4:30 PM
🎬 Screening: Les cicatrices (Sandra Nelly Kom) (TBC)
4:30 - 6:00 PM
Networking Sessions