France Named 2026 Destination Focus at Fame Week Africa, Spotlighting Co‑production, Création Africa and African Premiere of The Phantom of the Opera

This October, France takes centre stage at Fame Week Africa as the 2026 Destination Focus, bringing French and African creatives, producers, buyers, distributors, entrepreneurs and cultural organisations together to create new opportunities for collaboration and business.

Taking place from 28 to 30 October 2026 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre and then heading to the Rockefeller Hotel from 30 October to 1 November, the France Destination Focus will run throughout Fame Week Africa, with activity spanning film, television, music, fashion, design, gaming, publishing, digital creativity and cultural entrepreneurship.

At its heart, the Destination Focus is about creating stronger connections between France and Africa’s creative industries – putting people in the same room, opening doors to new markets and creating opportunities for African and French creatives to work together.

From bringing French producers to Cape Town interested in exploring co-production opportunities with African producers, to French buyers and distributors looking to discover African content, dedicated speed networking, industry conversations, the Création Africa programme and the African premiere screening of The Phantom of the Opera, France will have a presence across the Fame Week Africa experience.

Creating real business and co-production opportunities

For Africa’s film and television industry, one of the key elements of the Destination Focus will be the opportunity to meet French producers, buyers and distributors at Fame Week Africa and MIP Africa.

A delegation of French producers interested in co-production will participate in dedicated speed networking sessions, putting African and French producers directly across the table from one another. These focused meetings will provide an opportunity to introduce projects, identify areas of mutual interest and start conversations around potential partnerships.

French buyers and distributors will also attend, creating further opportunities for African producers and content owners to present their work, understand what the French market is looking for and explore potential acquisition, sales and distribution opportunities.

A dedicated co-production panel will take the conversation further, bringing together producers and industry experts working across film, television and animation to share their experiences and unpack the realities of international co-production.

From finding the right partner and developing a project together to financing, production and international distribution, the conversation will look at where the opportunities lie for French and African producers to work together.

“What excites me about having France as our Destination Focus is that this is about creating real opportunities. We’re bringing French producers, buyers and distributors to Cape Town to meet African creatives, we’re creating dedicated spaces for co-production conversations, and through initiatives such as Création Africa, we’re showcasing some brilliant creative businesses coming out of the continent. Then there’s the cultural side – from fashion and design to the African premiere screening of The Phantom of the Opera. It’s a great mix of business, creativity and culture, and hopefully the start of some exciting new partnerships between France and Africa,” says Martin Hiller, portfolio director of Fame Week Africa.

Création Africa: Supporting the business behind the creativity

Another important part of France’s presence at Fame Week Africa will be Création Africa. This is an initiative of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of France and the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS), created to support entrepreneurs working within the cultural and creative industries.

The second edition attracted 340 applications, from which a Top 50 participated in an intensive seven-week mentorship phase before pitching to a jury. Fifteen businesses from South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi were ultimately selected to move into the programme’s final incubation phase, receiving tailored business guidance, sector expertise, investor introductions and support to become funding-ready.

At Fame Week Africa, delegates will have the opportunity to meet these entrepreneurs and discover their work through the Fame Week Africa pop-up store, panel discussions and activities taking place throughout the event.

“Création Africa reflects France’s commitment to supporting the growth and international development of cultural and creative entrepreneurs across Southern Africa. This second edition demonstrates the quality, diversity and ambition of creative businesses emerging from the region. Fame Week Africa provides an important platform for these entrepreneurs to connect with industry leaders, investors and potential partners, while showcasing their work to wider audiences,” says Jean Spiri, head of cooperation at the French Embassy in South Africa, Lesotho & Malawi and director of the French Institute of South Africa.

Meet the Création Africa Top 15

The businesses represents an exciting cross-section of Southern Africa’s creative economy:

Music

• Music Business Lab – Ninel Musson

Digital media

• iQHAWE Media – Renaé Mangena and Anastatia Nkhuna

Gaming and interactive media

• Vetkoek Studios – Mamello Raboroko and Eric Gardiner

Film, television and animation

• Better Yet – Hallie Haller
  
• Lincoln Green Media – Kudakwashe 'Kudi' Maradzika

Publishing

• Bridge Books – Griffin Shea

Design and craft

• Pinda Furniture and Interior Design – Siyanda Mbele
  
• Neimil – Keneilwe Mothoa and Lubabalo Mxalisa
  
• Emotives Africa – Xolela Madlanga
  
• Akhada Baskets – Tisungane Thomson

Fashion

• SWANK JOZI – Lindelani Nedoboni
  
• Thethana – Nkotseng Moleko
  
• GUGUBYGUGU – Gugu Peteni
  
• LEO SZN – Kirsten Leo
  
• House of Xandria – Xandria Kawanga

Their presence at Fame Week Africa gives delegates an opportunity to discover not only the products and creative work emerging from the programme, but also to meet the entrepreneurs and businesses behind them and explore opportunities to work together.

French cinema comes to Fame Week Africa

Film will naturally form part of the France Destination Focus, with the African premiere screening of the highly anticipated The Phantom of the Opera (Le Fantôme de l’Opéra). Directed by Alexandre Castagnetti and starring Deva Cassel, Julien de Saint-Jean, Romain Duris, and Laïka Blanc-Franquart the film brings Gaston Leroux’s iconic story into present-day Paris.

The story follows Anastasia, an 18-year-old dancer who arrives in Paris with dreams of joining the prestigious Opéra Garnier. While rehearsing Orpheus, a supposedly cursed opera said to have been composed by the Phantom, she becomes drawn to a mysterious pianist. As opening night approaches, strange accidents and unsettling revelations pull her into an impossible love story somewhere between reality and the supernatural.

Its inclusion at Fame Week Africa gives Cape Town audiences an opportunity to experience a major new piece of French cinema as part of the wider Destination Focus.

Opening doors to France

Beyond film and co-production, the Destination Focus will also look practically at how African creatives can connect and collaborate with France.

A dedicated cultural collaboration panel will bring together practitioners and organisations to explore opportunities available through French cultural institutions and programmes – from professional exchanges and training to project development, funding, partnerships and access to international markets.

The aim is to give African creatives greater insight into what opportunities exist and, importantly, how to access them.

One destination focus. Many ways to connect

Création Africa, French producers, buyers and distributors, co-production speed networking, industry conversations and the African premiere screening of The Phantom of the Opera are just some of what France will bring to Fame Week Africa this year.

The France Destination Focus is about getting people together and creating opportunities to do business. Whether that is an African producer meeting a French co-production partner, a buyer or distributor discovering their next African title, a creative entrepreneur making a new business connection, or audiences discovering new French cinema, we want people to leave Fame Week Africa with new contacts and conversations they can take forward.

Be part of it

Fame Week Africa takes place from 28 to 30 October 2026 at the CTICC in Cape Town, bringing together African and international creatives, producers, buyers, distributors, entrepreneurs and industry decision-makers.

Join us in Cape Town this October to meet the people, discover the opportunities and be part of the growing creative relationship between France and Africa.

Register for Fame Week Africa 2026.

Explore the sessions, speakers and conversations already confirmed: View the Fame Week Africa 2026 Conference Programme.