News

The third edition of the International Salon for Audiovisual Content (Sica) wrapped last week, bringing together creators, government officials, and industry stakeholders from across the continent and beyond for a content market that blended cultural pride with candid debate.

Amid packed panels, pitching sessions and networking events, a clear message rang out: Africa’s audiovisual sector is no longer asking for permission, it’s building its own future.

Here are five takeaways from a pivotal week in Abidjan:

Local Storytelling Is Driving Demand

From scripted dramas to reality TV, local storytelling isn’t just a creative priority, it’s a market necessity. Whether in the form of Ivorian telenovelas, ancestral epics or unscripted reality shows, African audiences are making their preferences clear — they want to see themselves. “Generations of Africans have grown up with stories, characters, and themes that they don’t recognize themselves in,” said Kimberley Azria, producer and managing director at the L.

Abidjan, Ivory Coast – At the International Salon for Audiovisual Content (Sica), a panel on co-production models became more than just a roundtable: it became a launchpad. The event culminated in the signing of a landmark co-production treaty between Ivory Coast and the French-speaking Walloon Region of Belgium, described by stakeholders as a long-awaited step in building stronger bridges between African cinema and global markets.

“This signature is far more than a diplomatic act,” declared Françoise Remarck, Ivory Coast’s Minister of Culture and La Francophonie. “It’s a major step in structuring the Ivorian film industry and developing solid partnerships with the great cultural nations of the world.”

The treaty, initiated during the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, sees French-speaking Belgium join Morocco, Senegal, and France as key Ivorian co-production partners. The agreement has already led to financing for four projects and opens up the Ivory Coast to Belgium’s tax shelter system,...

Abidjan, Ivory Coast — Producer Alex Berger of “The Bureau” and “La Maison” fame, delivered a rousing keynote speech on the Thursday opening day of the International Salon for Audiovisual Content (Sica) in Abidjan, drilling down on “Eldorado,”one of the most ambitious series at France’s Arte and why it had been “vital” to shoot the series in the Ivory Coast.

The keynote proved a highlight in first day proceedings at Sica. It also provided a roadmap for how Ivory Coast can move forward as a shoot local and international co-producer.

Berger said the six-episode series owed its Ivory Coast backdrop to relationships built during his first trip to Africa at last year’s November edition of Sica.

“I’d never been to sub-Saharan Africa before,” Berger told Variety. “I came to Sica knowing very little, and left knowing that this was where the story had to come to life.