2012 Broadcast, Film and Music Africa Conference Announced
This year’s Broadcast, Film and Music Africa (BFMA), an conference international event will take place from the 10th to the 11th of July 2012 at the Oshwal Centre Westlands, Nairobi, in Kenya.
Through a press release by Balancing Act Africa, it was announced that an estimated 400 delegates are expected this year including some top audiovisual experts and speakers. The filmmakers’ pavilion provides selected African artists with the opportunity to pitch film projects to leading broadcasters and financiers. The event also facilitates networking opportunities in order for African and international players to form alliances and co-productions.
BFMA is the continent’s only business and technology event to serve the creative content and electronic media industry through an integrated platform. It is the fourth conference in the series and will provide a stock-taking opportunity for stakeholders in all three industries, and empower them with the knowledge and business contacts they need to build Africa’s electronic media future.
This year’s theme is Innovation, investment and partnerships for local content and service excellence. Among the key objectives, one is about better distributing African content to new channels and supporting co-production on the continent. We also want to provide a unique opportunity for the media and entertainment industries to connect with telecom service providers in order to work on hybrid solutions and triple-play.
This year the event will showcase audiovisual content from Africa’s independent filmmakers as there are plans to have a dedicated area for them to welcome potential buyers: The African Film-makers Pavilion.
A corner for African animation, the Animators Pavilion will also be offered. Other special features at the BFMA 2012 include the Digital Media Innovators Pavilion, the Radio Broadcasters Networking Hub and the African Electonic Media Business Exchange (in partnership with FilmBiz Africa)
Music will be a key conference focus this year as it is one of Africa’s most prolific and successful industries. Its content potential for broadcast and film is enormous. Together they form the three pillars for the future growth of Africa’s electronic media industry and none can be discussed and developed in isolation from the others.
Nairobi was selected among other African cities because the city is developing as a leading electronic media centre for the region, plus it is a convenient hub for travel from across the continent. Cape Town, they said, would have been a great venue but that would have greatly increased travel costs. They wanted the event to be accessible from all over Africa. In addition, the event has also been planned to coincide with the Zanzibar International Film Festival so that participants from across the continent and internationally can attend two key events during the same week.
The list of confirmed speakers includes a host of experts from across the continent including Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa.
The main sessions will review African audiovisual content production, distribution and broadcast technology issues and opportunities. Some of the topics will include:
• Building an African film industry – creating synergies, collaboration and partnerships across the continent
• Local content development – Success stories and hurdles
• Pay TV – How to extend services to the bottom of the pyramid
• The Digital Transition – Assessing progress and challenges across the continent
• Innovative radio broadcasting
• Changing African TV and Radio audiences
• Animation: A new frontier for African electronic media innovation
• Sports broadcasting – carving out Africa’s stake in the run-up to London 2012
• Technological innovation – improving services, driving down costs and extending coverage
• The impact of social media – developing multi-media platforms
• The impact of convergence: IP-TV and mobile broadcasting
• Advertising models to support free-to-air content
• Copyrights – what are the best practices to control piracy?
To propose a presentation or participate in a panel discussion, email Sean at seanm (@) aitecafria.com ideally by the end of this month, May 2012.
Delegates and speakers’ space is limited so do not delay in booking your attendance.
