During the fourth edition of the Pavillon Afrique, which takes place during the Cannes Film Festival, we met Bintou Faye, producer and founder of Lady Blue Production, who, a few months ago, along with other young African filmmakers, launched a unique association called AFRIC'ART PROGRESS, which works to promote culture and the collective of young African producers.
This association, based in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, awards grants to finance Master's degrees in production. The program is open to all African students, whether they are French-speaking, English-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, etc.
The observation that led to the creation of the association is that, every year, many African cultural projects are rejected due to a lack of credibility: presentation files that are too weak or incomplete budgets, etc. This is due to the fact that most African filmmakers have not undergone comprehensive training; most learn through short courses or directly in the field. A small minority attend prestigious schools or film schools that provide them with professional training.
In 2023, AFRIC'ART PROGRESS will award four scholarships to enable African students to pursue a master's degree in production. The association has just launched a call for applications for the 2023 session of AFRIC'ART ÉDUC, a monitoring and support program that aims to support young African filmmakers wishing to pursue higher education in the fields of production, screenwriting, and the making of fiction, documentary, and animated films.