Séraphine Angoula, Executive Director of Dakar Series, presents her pan-African festival dedicated entirely to series, which will take place in Dakar from May 3 to 6, 2023. You are launching Dakar Series in a few weeks. What will be its main features?
Dakar Series offers preview screenings, an African competition, and the best of international series, all on the big screen. It offers the public four days of exchanges, meetings, and festivities at the heart of the world of African series with the personalities who embody, produce, finance, and broadcast them.
At the same time, the event welcomes industry professionals during LabPro, where workshops, debates, masterclasses, and a writing residency will offer perspectives on structuring the sector and bring together pan-African and international professionals.
It's still too early to announce the speakers, but I can tell you that Aïssa Maïga, an actress from Dakar, is the patron of this first edition.
We are expecting producers, directors, and actors from TV series, as well as all industry professionals, to come to Dakar. The challenges related to writing and the international distribution of African productions will be at the heart of the debates.
Why did you choose to create this kind of festival? What are your ambitions?
There are many events dedicated to cinema on the African continent, but none are 100% dedicated to TV series.
Series are part of an increasingly prolific industry. This density of series production is enabling the training of new generations of professionals who alternate between series, films, and other audiovisual content.
Furthermore, this very popular art form is more accessible than cinema because no specific infrastructure is needed to watch exclusive series.
The profitability issues are therefore very concrete. The African continent is bursting with audiovisual creativity. New modes of storytelling and new creative projections are emerging… Dakar Series is an opportunity to highlight all of Africa's creative and cultural diversity.
Dakar Séries also aims to be a place where emerging talent can be supported. Sharing experiences through case studies, masterclasses, workshops, and writing residencies will be essential tools for meeting the challenges of structuring.
Dakar Series aims to establish itself as a permanent fixture, to become the meeting place for series creators from across the African continent, and to develop networking between pan-African and international professionals, thereby promoting the circulation of works and collaboration between different countries
. Why was Senegal chosen as the host country for the event?
Senegal was the obvious choice as host country due to its creativity and the dynamism of its series industry. Along with Abidjan, it is a real incubator of talent.
In addition, training programs are also emerging there, such as Up Court by producer Oumar Sall, the Yennenga Center by director Alain Gomis, and the Kourtrajmé Dakar School led by director Toumani Sangaré.
These are all partners we will be relying on throughout the rollout of this initiative.
Series projects, successful series, training schools… Can we say that an ecosystem conducive to the development of audiovisual production is being created?
Indeed, as mentioned earlier, the ecosystem is becoming denser…
In recent years, production volumes have been increasing and the production budgets for series in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa have become increasingly ambitious, giving African series clear international prospects.
After a long period of decline in film and series production in the region, West Africa is seeing a revival in its audiovisual production. What is your point of view? How does Senegal stand out? Are there any specific features of Senegalese series?
Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire are now the driving forces behind series production in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa. What is interesting is that this dynamism is contagious…
Senegal has seen the emergence of new methods of production and financing for series with the Marodi TV model. In addition, production companies such as Keewu are raising the bar in terms of storytelling and production ambition.
What levers remain to be activated to support the development of projects and their international export?
We need a place for advocacy, networking, pan-African and international synergy, support for emerging talent, and a showcase that highlights the creativity and quality of our African series.
This is why Dakar Series will be a necessary structuring tool for the acceleration currently underway.