The National Film Authority of Ghana in collaboration with FilmOne team (Nigeria) and Silverbird Cinema (Ghana), hosted the opening Africa Film Summit (ACS) from November 14 to 16 in the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel and Silverbird Cinema in Accra, Ghana.
We covered three days of the summit and came up with these five interesting takeaways from the event:
1. Africa needs better local cinema experiences
Local movie theaters tend to promote more Western-based movies, including Marvel movies and others. At the Summit, panelists said local cinemas can do more to promote local content. They also noted that they can create local “experiences” similar to those created during the first Black Panther film.
By incorporating more local cinema experiences, local cinemas can attract more audiences with this unique style of promotion.
2. Box Office data is still an issue
Unlike our American counterparts, Box Office data can be a critical data point in understanding the trend or performance of movies in theaters. In Nigeria and South Africa, there are metrics on how movies perform financially. But in other countries, including Ghana, data is not widely available.
There needs to be more data tracking in local theaters to track movie revenue as well as audience numbers.
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![](https://techlabari.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_7469-1024x768.jpg)
3. Streaming platforms can be complementary
Netflix is currently based on the continent and the streaming platform has invested in the local industry, including South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. During the event, participants noted that streaming platforms such as Netflix can be complementary to the local cinema.
A local movie can go from the big stream to the streaming platform and vice versa and this can lead to more viewership.
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![](https://techlabari.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_7506-1024x768.jpg)
4. Government Policy
Local government officials and local industries need to work together to create more policies and platforms for local industries. During the event, speakers may note that Uganda and Zimbabwe noted that they are trying to provide incentives to filmmakers who shoot on location.
A grander policy should be adopted for movie studios and filmmakers who want to shoot on location in different countries, and certain incentives should be emphasized to benefit the local film economy.
![](https://techlabari.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_7569-1024x768.jpg)
![](https://techlabari.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_7569-1024x768.jpg)
5. The cinematic experience can transcend movies
Although movie theaters tend to focus more on showing movies, most panelists noted that the movie theater experience can go beyond movies.
Some participants noted that cinemas can incorporate other experiences such as eSports, Kids Cinemas and others to attract a different variety of audiences.
![](https://techlabari.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_7560-1024x768.jpg)
![](https://techlabari.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_7560-1024x768.jpg)
By The Numbers
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