The OIF, in partnership with CANAL+ University and ESAV, the prestigious film school in
Marrakech, has launched the Pan-African Production Course (PPP), a special program that
will welcome 50 young producers per year in 2025 and 2026.
The aim of the program is to help 50 female and 50 male producers from Africa,
who are already active and perhaps even running their own companies, to take a step forward over a two-year period: to move from
a local career to an international career by better structuring
their practice, acquiring solid tools, filling in their gaps, and cultivating their network.
Following the online call for applications opened in January 2025, which attracted 146 applications, six
women and six men were interviewed by a jury comprising three producers and representatives
from the OIF, ESAV, and CANAL+.
Four candidates were selected for the PPP immersion program, and 50 other
producers from 16 African countries will be integrated into the same program, in
a lighter version consisting of 10 monthly four-hour webinars.
Each participant will receive a certificate at the end, but this "Club des auditeurs libres" (Club for Auditors) is also intended
to be a place for networking, conducive to the exchange of information, synergies
and even co-productions.
The four candidates selected for the immersion program are:
Florencia AMOUSSOU – Togo – 33 years old
A sociology graduate from the University of Lomé, she started out in cinema as
an assistant and costume designer. She spent four years learning the ropes at Sunlight and
Daayek, working with Steven Af, the master of popular Togolese cinema, for whom she produced
the thriller LE COUP DE GRACE, broadcast on TV5MONDE and named Best Togolese
Film in 2023.
She set up her own company, SHAMA PRODUCTION, in January 2023. Having already produced one feature film and six
short films, she is now developing a feature-length documentary in international
co-production: JE NE MANGE PAS L'ARGENT (I DON'T EAT MONEY) by Matthias Noussougnon, on the
tradition of bartering that is still alive and well in Togoville.
Verdiane Tabitha DOUNGOUPOU – Central African Republic – 25 years
old In 2021, she attended the Ciné-Bangui pop-up school (supported by CinéFabrique in Lyon) and spent a year
training in various film-related professions. It is in this context that she produced
two short fiction films, including PAS AVANT LE BAC by Eammanuella Lalanga, which won awards at
festivals. She then joined Pascale Appora-Gnekigny's production company, where she
assisted in the production of a feature-length documentary.
She created EYES PRODUCTION in 2023 with filmmaker Vicky Nelson WACKORO with
the ambition of producing mainly "stories of women and emancipation." They have three
documentaries (one feature-length, two short) in preparation.
Darnièlys Armel MBOUBA MADINGOU NKATA – Congo – 33 years
old With a master's degree in accounting and management, she is above all passionate about photography.
At a very young age, she joined the Génération Elili collective and directed two short films: MR SAM and
KUTOO. In 2019, she created her production company LA FORGE and began producing.
other filmmakers: the science fiction project KUNDU, the feature film KOZELA, both
acclaimed at festivals, and two documentaries in development by Ralff Therance LHYLIANN
(winning photographer at the 2023 Francophonie Games), NKITA and LE RAP DE LA FORET.
With these two projects, Armel was selected for regional workshops—IMPALA (
DocMonde/Varan) in 2023 and ALAKA FILM LAB in 2024—which earned her recognition on the circuit and
admission to two international training programs: the DURBAN DFM Business Lab and the EURODOC program
.
Flory MAMBA AKAZ- DRC – 39 years
old A graduate in mathematics and computer engineering, he trained in cinema with Balufu
Bakupa Kinyanda and Laurent Védrine. With extensive field experience in all roles
(assistant, stage manager, editor, etc.) on institutional films and commercials, he is
above all passionate about fiction cinema. He has directed a feature film (LE PRIX DE
L'ABRI), produced a TV series (ENSEMBLE PLUS FORT), and, most notably, co-produced MAKI'LA, the breakthrough
film by Machérie Ekwa (Berlinale 2016).
At the head of his company 10DIX ENTERTAINMENT, he is currently working on an ambitious project:
"ELISABETH FINANT," a biopic about the great singer Abeti.