The Africa Film Finance Forum (AFFF) is making its return with a bold vision: to unlock the continent’s cinematic economy and chart a course toward a $20 billion Pan-African film industry.
The forum, scheduled for September 16–18, 2025, in Lagos, is expected to bring together filmmakers, investors, policymakers, distributors, and tech innovators under the theme “Pan-African Film Economy: Building a $20B Industry for 1.4 Billion People.”
“Storytelling began in Africa. Our myths, oral histories, and traditions have always been foundational,” said Mary Ephraim-Egbas, Convener of AFFF. “But to compete globally, Africa must move beyond telling stories to monetizing them by industrializing the film sector and positioning African content as both heritage and high-value export.”
AFFF 2025 will feature a slate of strategic initiatives, including an Investor’s Room & Deal Table for filmmakers to pitch directly to financiers, certified finance training for banks and investors, policy roundtables with government leaders, a FilmTech track showcasing new innovations, and CINETOUR, a campaign spotlighting Africa’s film locations as engines for tourism and investment.
Bolaji Abimbola, Co-Chair of AFFF’s Strategic Communications Committee, emphasized the forum’s broader scope: “Unlocking a $20B industry starts with recognizing film as infrastructure—creative, economic, and strategic.”
Clarina De Freitas, fellow Co-Chair, added, “This is Africa’s creative century. Our stories are our leverage, but only when matched with financing, distribution, and institutional credibility.”
By linking creativity to finance, policy, and technology, AFFF is pushing to transform African cinema from an informal, undercapitalized market into a global cultural and economic powerhouse.
