You launched the CFA festival in Paris and several other cities in France. How did the idea of creating an African comedy festival in Paris come about, and what were your ambitions?
Since founding Gondwana-City Productions in Abidjan, my goal has remained the same: to professionalize the African comedy sector and create an economy that allows comedians and technicians to make a decent living from their art. After setting up the Abidjan Capitale du Rire festival, the Le Parlement du Rire TV show, and other continent-wide productions, it seemed natural to us to set out to conquer the world, starting with France. Hence the idea for the CFA Festival. We needed the ideal partner, and that turned out to be Jérémy Ferrari, the famous French comedian, who immediately embraced our philosophy of building a bridge between Africa and Europe. The goal was to reach audiences far from Africa, the African and Afro-descendant diaspora, an audience starved of shows that speak to them and reflect their lives, and the general French public who are curious and interested in culture.
Did the audience show up? What is your assessment?
We played to full houses everywhere, in Paris and on tour, in Brussels, Nantes, Lille, Bordeaux, Lyon, and Marseille. The audience turned out, and this is only the beginning. We sensed a demand for Africa, a need for authenticity, and that is what we offer people: African comedians, living in Africa, who come to share their vision of the world. We're already setting the date for the second edition in 2020 with a new cast, as there is such a huge pool of artists in Africa.
You also recently opened the Gondwana Club in Abidjan. What motivated this project?
The Gondwana Club is the first comedy club to open in French-speaking West Africa. It's a venue that we wanted to dedicate to the Ivorian and African comedy scene so that the Ivorian public, or visitors, can come and laugh with comedians they had previously only seen on television or YouTube. This is the first time it has been possible to attend comedy shows every week, all year round. It's a great opportunity for comedians to perform and refine their sketches because, by definition, live shows need to breathe and evolve continuously.
How do you choose the talent that performs on this new stage?
We have our social networks through which we regularly launch calls for applications and hold auditions at our premises in Abidjan. It's very easy to audition: just send an email to (gondwanaclub@gondwanacity.com) and an appointment will be made. We program established artists as well as young talent via an open stage where slam poets, rappers, storytellers, mimes, etc. are invited to perform.
Between stand-up comedy, festivals, radio, and television, what are your plans?
Our goals at Gondwana-City Productions are to continue the Abidjan Capitale du Rire festival, which will be in its fifth edition from December 4 to 8, 2019, and to make the Gond
wana Club a permanent fixture in the social life of Abidjan residents. We are currently developing a spin-off series from my feature film Bienvenue au Gondwana, as well as two TV programs. The spectrum is broad
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but the ambition remains the same: to create a comedy economy in Africa that allows all those involved in the sector to make a decent living.
You are working on a project to set up a comedy school in Niger. Can you tell us more about it? What are the ambitions of such a project? What are the challenges of training for the comedy sector on the continent?
This school project is consistent with everything we do at Gondwana-City Productions, which is to consolidate the African comedy industry from start to finish. To have talented comedians and technicians, you need training. That's what this school will do, thanks to teachers from all over Africa and the rest of the world. The challenges are simple: Africans need to tell their stories, their history, and their dreams through comedy, visual arts, theater, and cinema. There will also be training for African storytellers, griots, and everything else that belongs to the African oral tradition, such as joking kinship, etc.