Can you tell us about your activities and your production
company?
I am a film and television producer. I also like to say that I am something of
an entrepreneur, because I manage a group of four companies
under the SO MEDIAS INVEST holding company, whose main companies are currently
SPECIAL TOUCH STUDIOS based in Marseille and CREATIVE TOUCH STUDIOS
based in Valenciennes. Thanks to this multi-location ecosystem, we have
optimized our ability to find financing for our various productions.
My daily work, with my Content Director, Marion Boffelli, is to
develop projects for our team and find financial partners to bring them
to fruition. And ultimately, to turn them into works that will be shared with audiences in movie theaters,
on their televisions, or on their tablets.
What projects do you support?
We produce films of all genres and formats. Fiction, animation,
documentaries, a mix of all these techniques. Nothing scares us. We try to
find the best way to tell stories. And because we produce authors
with unique, highly creative visions, we will continue to support them
with media and storytelling methods that allow them to continue to develop their
worlds. The three comic book adaptations we are producing in collaboration with
Dupuis on various works currently in production confirm this strategy and appetite
. From an editorial standpoint, we focus on projects and talent related
to Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, and the Middle East, and I love urban cultures.
This positioning is both strategic, allowing us to stand out
in our sector, and a reflection of my personality and personal
journey.
You recently organized the preview screening of African Empires. Can you give
us a pitch for this new documentary series?
It was an idea I had after working on a film, Bois d'Ébène by Moussa Touré.
I felt that there was still a lot to be said about the history of
the African continent. I then suggested to Laurent Mizrahi that we create a series on the great African
empires before colonization and their impact on history. It wasn't easy
to produce this series, but we felt it was essential to do so in order to offer curious viewers
the opportunity to discover the history of this continent, which cannot be reduced to colonization and
decolonization. Far from it.
Is there a formula for winning over African audiences?
If you have it, I want it! I think that African audiences' expectations are no
different from those of the rest of the world. They want good stories, with narratives that relate to
them, entertain them, and stir their emotions. They want stories that celebrate their
cultures and realities. At our humble level, we try to be part of this
dynamic and, through our expertise, enable this content to travel.
Where can we see African Empires?
Currently, TV5 Monde, Canal+ Afrique, and Al Jazeera are broadcasting
this series, which already ensures wide visibility. And we will continue to sell it around
the world so that these stories do not remain so little known. In this sense, the
partnership we have signed with UNESCO should enable us to
reach audiences around the world.
Training for production jobs is often referred to as the poor
relation of the sector. Do you share this view, and how can you contribute to its
professionalization?
Training on the continent is generally neglected. In the film
and audiovisual sector, there is obviously a need to train producers, but
also technicians to make the films and screenwriters to write the stories. And
all of this must be done in conjunction with operators who invest in content, because
if we train people but there are no job opportunities at the end of the day, it will be pointless in my view.
So we need to find a collective dynamic and rhythm to get the industry in Africa
off the ground. I am optimistic; things are moving forward.