Emerging Cinema Markets Conference to Focus on Nigeria, West Africa

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Mon, 11/04/2019 - 10:29 -- Nick Dager

DCS Events, organizers of the Emerging Cinema Markets Conference at the Grand Tarabya Hotel in Istanbul November 19-21, have announced further details of the dedicated session Spotlight on Nigeria and West Africa. There is currently only one cinema screen per one million Africans.

The event will focus on twenty of the fifty-four African countries with significant prospects for growth and a current population of 961million people: 421 million of these are English speaking; 193 million French; 188 million are Arabic and 60 million speak Portuguese. By 2050 as much as 40 per cent of the population in the world could be African, and the continent already has the second largest population on earth.

Rob Arthur, founder and director of DCS Events and senior consultant at The Big Picture says, “Cinema in Africa is the new frontier. It is critically important that the industry stakeholders work as a team to best manage the growth opportunities cross the continent. Transparency, Integrity, Trust and Compliance are key areas which will enable the development of cinemas in Emerging Markets and with all of the key industry stakeholders participating and attending ECM2019 it will enable a far greater understanding of the need for support and development.”

“Nigeria has a large youthful population with a burgeoning cinema culture,” says Olayemi Anyanechi, managing partner, Sefton Fross “In July and August 2019 alone, the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria reports a spend of approximately $3.33 millions in cinemas. This is despite the fact that there are a little above 200 screens to serve this large population. Clearly, there are significant opportunities for both local and foreign investment in cinemas in Nigeria.

Furthermore, there has been concerted campaign against piracy and other infringements of intellectual property rights by relevant stakeholders across the industry, and Nigeria continues to work assiduously to enhance the ease of doing business in the country, thereby creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. This is the time to take advantage of the opportunity to invest, and enjoy considerable returns”

“Nigeria and West Africa as a whole are at a crucial inflection point, where we are ready to showcase ourselves on the world stage with growing Box Office success and rising admissions,” says Jared Murray-Bruce, chief executive officer of Silverbird Film Distribution. “With amazing local content and greater access to Hollywood hits we are proud to be on the forefront of the growing African Cinema market.”

Opeyemi Ajayi, executive vice president, Genesis Pictures says, “The cinema Industry is evolving everyday with new innovation across the globe; Nigeria and West Africa are key players contributing to growth in the global market. We are continuously expanding and enhancing the cinema going experience with a range of great local and international content, leveraging latest technology and working with global partners. We believe there are massive untapped markets across West &Central Africa despite the rise of alternative platforms. This is in addition to improving current movie-going experience in major cities. Our aim is to continue to uncover such markets, delivering exceptional movie experiences for our audience. We look forward to showing our market to the world and are thrilled to be one of the major players in the Emerging African Cinema market.”

Moses Babatope, co-founder, group executive director/managing director FilmOne FilmHouse Cinemas and FilmOne Distribution and Production, Nigeria added, "As a key player in one of the most dynamic emerging cinema markets, we always look forward to sharing our insights. The Nigerian (West African) market is growing rapidly from a very small base, so we believe that there is still huge potential for expansion and opportunities for filmmakers, exhibitors and other players across the industry. The Emerging Cinema Market conference gives us a great platform to articulate this potential to interested parties."