The Africa Channel Press

TAC Studios, the production arm of US-based The Africa Channel, announced new series at DISCOP Johannesburg. These included scripted series The Yard (from Kenya), and unscripted series My Design Rules (from South Africa) and May’s Kitchen (from Egypt). These series will be available as exclusive first-run African premieres and will be additive to its’ existing catalogue of 300+ hours of African-influenced content. In addition, the company presented a series of original development projects for pre-sale that seek to develop a content bridge between Africa and the rest of the world. These included the scripted series Move On and Asylum as well as the unscripted series The Bank.

Brendan Gabriel, Johannesburg-based Head of Creative and Production for TAC Studios explains, “The appetite for African content continues to increase in large part due to the advent of global streaming/OTT platforms. Our productions seek to meet that demand by creating content that is local and authentic yet produced to an aesthetic and quality that meets global standards. This slate of finished productions demonstrates our continued commitment to nurture talent and build capabilities across the continent. Our development efforts also seek to connect African stories and storytellers with experienced creators who have global television experience as we begin taking African content to the world.”

THE YARD (a co-production with Currency MEDIA in Kenya) a gritty drama set in the world of the hip-hop scene in Nairobi.

MAY’S KITCHEN (a partnership with Filmedia in Egypt) an original cooking series featuring celebrity Egyptian chef May Yacoubi.

MY DESIGN RULES (a co-production with Cardova Productions in South Africa) a home design competition reality series from the producers of Expresso.

ASYLUM (created by Conor Galvin producer: FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) is a single camera workplace comedy series that follows the lives of the support staff in a foreign embassy in South Africa. 

MOVE ON (created by Matt and Jordan Toronto – creator: Netflix’s Face 2 Face) is a comedy series about a frantic romantic on a desperate quest to silence her late husband’s ghost who barges in on every date with a consoling message for her potential suitors.

THE BANK (created by Matt Luetwyler, Rebecca & Doug Henning – creators: Bravo’s Below Deck) is a social impact reality series where philanthropically motivated bankers search the furthest reaches of the world to grant micro loans to small businesses with large community impact.

In addition, The Africa Channel sponsored sessions at DISCOPRO, an educational conference running parallel to the DISCOP market, which brings together African and international players to address the expanded opportunities now available to African content creators to reach new markets. The noted sessions included a panel discussion “Exporting African Content to the World” featuring executives from African and Global media companies, as well as a masterclass on “The critical importance of The Development Phase”.

A newly revamped and focused DISCOP Johannesburg programme will see a scope that goes beyond content buying and selling. In line with DISCOP Market’s vision to promote the commerce and co-production of multi-screen entertainment content across Africa, the upcoming edition, to be held from 20 to 22 November, will put a strong emphasis on African television projects in development, partnerships with South Africa, the booming animation sector, and the export of content produced on the continent.

As co-production in international television expands, Africa can play an increasingly influential role in getting projects off the ground. Competitive incentive programmes are already available in countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Senegal, and this year’s edition of DISCOP JOHANNESBURG will focus extensively on African content producers, with solid works in progress, to reach out to key players in Africa and beyond who could bring added value to projects in development.

“Not since the invention of television has Africa exercised such an influence on the creation of original multi-screen content.” Says Patrick Zuchowicki, President of DISCOP, who adds, “This year’s DISCOP JOHANNESBURG will see three times more projects with cross-border potential brought to the market by African producers than in 2018.”

The renewed focus on works in progress and fostering co-productions will be brought to life via the side-bar DISCOPRO programme that will see more than 50 speakers, including many intrepid disrupters, on stage for panel discussions around the eight key pillars of the industry’s current transformation: What buyers actually want; Exporting African content; The content monetization challenge; Stop fake news; Empowering women in media; The united world of animation; The nascent and super fast-growing video gaming competition sector; Why dubbed content is so important.

In an important addition to the programme, sixteen works in progress of international standard and with a set delivery date will be pitched by their producers in front of key regional and international industry players that can help these projects take off. They will be regrouped into four categories: TV series, Formats, Documentary, and Animation.

Sponsored by The Africa Channel, a series of masterclasses and a panel discussion led by experts from around the world will address how independent producers can export their content and best adapt to the fast-paced world of multicultural television. Four sessions will provide a rapid course of study on what makes a project aimed at multicultural audiences actually sell in today’s challenging environment.

“Broadcasters, premium cable channels and streaming platforms from around the world are starting to recognize the value of African content,” says Narendra Reddy, General Manager, The Africa Channel, who adds, “however, producers on the continent need to be proactive and actively participate in creating opportunities for distribution. Furthermore whilst production should continuously evolve to a global standards in terms of technical quality, producers should endeavor to develop stories that are authentic, local and culturally specific”

With many high-profile international TV series being shot in South Africa, a tutorial track will put under the spotlight the country’s rebates system and examine the benefits available through co-production treaties that exist between South Africa and The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Australia.

Intertwined in the general agenda, presentations by the likes of SES, ITV, Pomegranate Media, Agence France Presse, Al Jazeera, Ubongo, Shoot Cameroon and Vubiquity will explore future opportunities and deliver further insights on the state of the industry.

TAC Studios, the production arm of The Africa Channel announces the appointment of Mokopi Shale to the position of Senior Development Producer, as part of the Studio’s growing Africa-based team in Johannesburg.

Brendan Gabriel, Vice President of Production & Creative Director, said, “We are extremely pleased to have Mokopi Shale join our creative team. Mokopi’s expertise in book adaptation, scripted development and production in Africa is a valuable asset in support of our mission to raise awareness and export African-influenced content to the world. Mokopi will be involved in all aspects of development, financing, production and global distribution. In addition, she will play a key role in acquiring multicultural content for Demand Africa, The Africa Channel’s global OTT platform.”

Shale said, “I am excited to join The Africa Channel as Senior Development Producer. This is particularly exciting as it would allow me to work with writers and producers from across the world, to develop authentic and reflective representations of Africa for global audiences. I believe that with the rise of global streaming platforms and new methods of distribution there is a growing appetite for content that speaks to and represents Africans across the diaspora. I am always eager to learn, share ideas, and work with others to see what magic we can produce, and I believe this job will provide me with that opportunity.”

Gabriel added, “Mokopi’s appointment reflects The Africa Channel’s continued commitment to investing in talent in Africa, and her invaluable experience will escalate our ability to develop original content, identify books for adaptation, evaluate concept submissions and implement co-development initiatives.

Shale is an all-around talent with on-screen, production, scriptwriting and development skills in her portfolio. She started her career in media as a radio drama actress in 1998 and worked for several years on-screen as a TV presenter. She made the shift to production after joining Ochre Moving Pictures, where she created and sold television and corporate projects for the company.

Shale was then appointed as a Commissioning Editor at SABC, where she managed dramas including, Generations and miniseries such as Entabeni and Ubizo. During her tenure as Head of Story, SABC Dramas enjoyed both critical and popular acclaim, amassing an audience share in excess of 60 percent resulting in significant advertising revenue for SABC. Shale subsequently started Fuze Films which was awarded a contract for a slate of Films by the NFVF. She was instrumental in writing Box Office Hit, Mrs Right Guy ­which was the fourth highest grossing film at the South African box office in 2016.  She wrote and produced, Love Lives Here which was released in April 2019.

TAC Studios, the  production arm of US-based the Africa Channel, announced four new series being produced in Africa for the global marketplace. Building on its commitment to invest in talent and foster quality and excellence in media production on the continent, the company is excited to announce new partnerships and productions from across Africa to add to its already extensive and diverse slate of Africa-influenced content.

A combination of scripted and unscripted projects, these programs reflect the breadth and depth of talent and storytelling available across Africa. They include MAY’S KITCHEN, a cooking show featuring the talented celebrity chef, May Yocoubi (a partnership with Filmedia in Egypt), SECOND HUSBAND, a scripted series based on the popular Nigerian film of the same name (a co-production with Biola Alabi Media in Nigeria), THE YARD, a drama series set in the world of the hip-hop scene in Nairobi (a co-production with Currency MEDIA in Kenya) and MY DESIGN RULES, a competition reality series in the world of real estate design (a partnership with Cardova Productions, in South Africa).

Brendan Gabriel, Johannesburg-based head of Creative and Production for TAC Studios explains further: “We are really excited to continue to evolve our network of relationships across the continent cementing our Studio as a key hub for Pan African content creation.  The producers and talent both established and new  who we are working with bring an authentic voice to their storytelling and we want to ensure that their stories are now distributed globally and reach vast new audiences. With the recent announcement of streamers such as Netflix and Amazon who are investing in content from Africa for their global viewership, TAC Studios is well-positioned to be a key supplier to these entities”

“After partnering with Ominek Venture Group (OVG) to produce the feature film, A Second Husband we were very keen on finding a co-creator and co-producer with African roots to partner on the series. We are very excited to join forces with TAC Studios on this fun and fierce project”, said Biola Alabi of Biola Alabi Media.

Patience Stevens, executive producer at Cardova Productions has this to say of the partnership, “We are pleased to work with TAC Studios on our series, My Design Rules as a first of many future collaborations, building on our prior relationship with its sister company, The Africa Channel who have successfully introduced our  highly-rated daily show Expresso Morning Show to audiences in North America and the Caribbean”.

These shows are being created with a global aesthetic for audiences both across Africa as well as for North American and UK Pay TV and streaming platforms including The Africa Channel and Demand Africa. They come on the heel of other recent productions from TAC Studios including, Africa on a Plate, Minjiba Entertains and World Wide Nate, which have successfully been distributed to platforms in Africa as well as globally.

The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) and DISCOP Zanzibar have announced The Africa Channel, the largest broadcaster of Africa-themed content in North America, as the official sponsor of the inaugural TV Series Festival 2018.

ZIFF festival director Fabrizio Colombo said: “As the lines between TV, film and digital content blur, it is becoming more and more essential to recognise and promote the amazing work being done by TV producers and directors across Africa. Broadcast TV in Africa is still a rapidly expanding environment, and with the rest of the world eagerly looking to Africa for fresh and original content, platforms like The Africa Channel are ideally poised to share this content globally.”

With some of Africa and the world’s best known content producers and distributors on hand for ZIFF, taking place from the 7 to 15 July, and DISCOP Zanzibar, from 11 to 13 July, The Zanzibar TV Series Festival presented by The Africa Channel will be the official showcase for TV shows selected in competition for ZIFF.

Two days of competition screenings selected by ZIFF will screen from 12 to 13 July, and will be followed by a showcase day of screenings on 14 July where platforms such as The Africa Channel will highlight some of the their newest and most exciting content.

Open to the public as well as industry guests, The Zanzibar TV Series Festival will strive to create a stage on which the foremost creators in the world of TV series come together, where tomorrow’s talents are showcased and a prestigious international competition for a wide range of genres and for series of all shapes and forms is presented.

ZIFF’s Colombo has spearheaded this vision of celebrating the TV content genre within the traditional film festival format. “Across the world TV content is now acknowledged for its quality production and importance for the industry,” he said. “Here in Africa especially, many producers and directors get their start in TV production and it is a critical growth driver for the next generation of filmmakers. ZIFF is always innovating and looking to find ways to support the growth of the industry in Africa, and we are excited to partner with DISCOP and The Africa Channel in the important TV space.”

Narendra Reddy, executive vice president and general manager of The Africa Channel, said, “We are so proud to be the official sponsor of the inaugural Zanzibar TV Series Festival at this year’s ZIFF event. The Africa Channel has been privileged to present content from and about Africa to North American audiences for over 10 years. Through our production arm TAC Studios, we have worked with amazing producers and talent from across Africa to help them create globally accessible content. This festival calls the world’s attention to the incredible film and TV content coming out of Africa and is a fabulous opportunity for content creators from the continent to showcase their fine work and be recognised for their efforts.”

During this year’s ZIFF, the category for Best African TV Series will be open to any African produced or co-produced and broadcast within the last two years. Three episodes would need to be submitted for consideration via the on-line application process as below.

Deadline for submission has been EXTENDED to 18 April  2018.

Submission procedures:

• All submission must be done through the ZIFF platform on www.festhome.com
• A signed and fully completed application must be submitted by e-mail at filmdept@ziff.or.tz
• Freight costs of any film will be borne by the producer.
• Selection results will be available from 15 May on the ZIFF website.
• No DVDs will be returned. They will be kept at ZIFF for archival purposes.