Alexandre Rideau is the CEO of Senegalese production company Keewu. Founded in Senegal in 2012, Keewu joined French group Lagardère Studio in October 2015.
What is your background?
I have been in Africa since 2005 and am a founding member and director of the NGO RAES (African Network for Education, Health, and Citizenship), with which we have developed an international network of partners by implementing media projects. The ambition of such an NGO was to reflect on how the Internet could provide information and, above all, raise awareness among the general public and professionals on the themes of health, education, and development. We therefore created the first health information websites, and we were also the first to provide distance training for midwives, nurses, and others. We also built Wi-Fi bridges between villages.
It was only in 2011-2012 that we decided to turn to television and the production of audiovisual content on health and education topics. Before that, television penetration was still low in West and Central Africa. From 2012 onwards, the arrival of cheaper flat-screen TVs led to an explosion in television viewing in this part of the world. At that point, we decided to shift our radio, digital, and mobile activities towards television.
That is why we created Keewu Production and the series "C'est La Vie." This series then evolved into other projects that we are currently developing and producing.
Can you tell us about the series "C'est la vie"? What is its impact?
It is difficult to measure the impact of "C'est la vie" because the series goes beyond the traditional framework of broadcasting on pan-African channels such as TV5Monde and A+. Today, the series is broadcast by both public and private channels in a dozen African countries. The series is available in several languages: it will be dubbed into English as well as local languages such as Wolof and Bambara. "C'est la vie" is also available on the internet and in the field as part of awareness campaigns. It has also been adapted for radio in French and various other languages. The impact is not quantifiable but remains significant. We estimate that tens of millions of viewers have seen episodes of this series. In terms of awareness, we are pleased because several public channels in different French-speaking countries have broadcast the series several times. For example, we are now in the third broadcast of season 1 on public television in Chad.
What about the Area Daddy
web series project?
We are currently developing the project, which will consist of ten episodes. It's a great project, a kind of African version of "The Simpsons" set in urban Africa, where intergenerational conflicts between parents and children, but also between modern and traditional Africa, are intertwined. This web series deals with various social issues in a humorous tone. Area Daddy
is the brainchild of Ayodele Elegba, one of the winners of the first edition of Digital Lab Africa and founder of SPOOF Media, based in Lagos. He has been working on developing this project for a year. Unfortunately, Area Daddy is positioned in a somewhat complex segment because it is a cartoon that is not really intended for children due to its irreverence. As a result, it does not really interest children's cartoon channels, and generalist channels are not yet ready to buy African animation. We therefore had to find our own funding to be able to launch the project on the web and demonstrate that there is an audience for this type of content. We will then see if we can steer the project towards television once we have found an audience on the web.
In your opinion, how can digital technology contribute to the distribution and promotion of audiovisual content?
With Area Daddy
, we are starting with digital with the aim of returning to audiovisual media. For a series like C'est la Vie
, in addition to television broadcasting, we have developed an entire digital universe deployed on a website and social media, using additional content and scenes that are published on the web, and creating and animating an ever-growing online community. This digital offering complements the viewer's experience. C'est la Vie
is truly a transmedia project. In this context, digital and television are complementary in terms of broadcasting and contribute to the creation of a universe. What's more, one of the strengths of the web is that you can quickly see what works and what doesn't, and then adapt your work for television. With C'est la vie, we have created an ecosystem combining television, radio, and digital media to produce a set of content that is consistent across all platforms.
How do you see the future of audiovisual production on the continent? What needs to be done to develop local production?
A few years ago, there was a certain euphoria. Africa was presented as the new El Dorado in terms of audiovisual production. There were high expectations for production on the continent, but this was perhaps slightly premature. In the audiovisual sphere of the French-speaking world, most of the content was produced by very talented producers, even though they were less experienced. We couldn't expect a real African audiovisual industry to be created in two years and compete with the rest of the world. There is still room for improvement in the production of local content. On the other hand, in terms of the quality of productions, scripts, ideas, and financing plans, even if the budgets are not yet very large, there is an upward trend. The market is really taking shape.
What are the challenges of training for careers in the audiovisual sector?
More and more young people are graduating from the few schools that exist. They arrive with a different mindset, with a cultural background and audiovisual experience that is completely different from what we saw in Africa five years ago. Today, we have young people who have grown up with TV series, who feed off them on a daily basis and who are increasingly creative.
However, there are still limitations. Basic training is one of them. No matter how talented and proactive you are, training is essential, especially when it comes to technical skills. Training is a challenge, but several players are beginning to tackle the problem: training centers exist and others are being created.
And what about funding?
For an African producer, funding is a second limitation. As long as local channels are unable to play the game, i.e., buy/pre-purchase local productions at a fair price, financing will remain a limitation to the industry's development. If the only customers are pan-African television channels, whether French, French-speaking, Chinese, or other, this will not be enough to bring about real local production!
Other sources of funding are possible. These come mainly from private advertisers or investors. Their numbers will grow if the quality of production continues to improve. The latest content produced by Keewu is of such high quality that it is attracting the attention of private partners who want to associate their image with ours. Finally, there needs to be greater awareness at the state level: cultural and creative industries cannot be developed without state support. States need to understand the strategic importance of local production. Initiatives are being taken and are commendable, but they are not enough to compete with the rest of the world. We need to develop advocacy and educate the ministries of major countries to help them understand what cultural and creative industries, including the audiovisual industry, can bring. This includes foreign exchange, job creation, skills development, and the country's image.
What are your plans? Any new developments to announce?
We were recently in the middle of producing Area Daddy
. As for the series C'est la vie
, we are currently working on the development of 30 additional episodes, which we will shoot during the first half of 2019 and which will be broadcast first on TV5MONDE. We have just delivered the series Sakho et Mangane
to Canal+, a police series (12×52') that will soon be broadcast on Canal+ Afrique.
Also with Canal+, we are developing a series called Miss Jella, l’envoûtée
(8×52’) to support the training of young African female screenwriters in writing 52-minute episodes.