As the Joburg Film Festival (JFF) prepares for its eighth edition, its JBX industry programme will host a focused conversation on the evolving relationship between Africa and France in film and television.
Taking place on 5 March from 10am to 10.50am, The French Connection: Creativity and Collaboration Between Africa and France will examine how co-productions, commissioning partnerships and cross-border development models are shaping the next phase of storytelling across the two regions.
Set against the backdrop of MultiChoice Group’s integration into the global media and entertainment giant, Groupe Canal+, this discussion arrives at an important moment for the continent’s film and television industry. With African storytelling reaching ever-wider international audiences, expanding partnerships and distribution networks are creating fresh opportunities for collaboration across markets.
Set against the backdrop of MultiChoice Group’s integration into the global media and entertainment giant, Groupe Canal+, this discussion arrives at an important moment for the continent’s film and television industry. With African storytelling reaching ever-wider international audiences, expanding partnerships and distribution networks are creating fresh opportunities for collaboration across markets.
Africa and France have long maintained strong ties in cinema through co-production agreements, festival exchange and broadcast partnerships. What is evolving now is the scale at which these collaborations operate. The conversation increasingly includes mainstream television, streaming platforms and multi-territory commissioning, highlighting how aligned partnerships can support broader audience reach, shared expertise and sustainable industry growth across film, series and unscripted formats.
The session will be moderated by filmmaker and producer Neil Brandt, whose body of work spans both documentary and fiction. Brandt has worked on internationally recognised projects, including The Forgotten Kingdom, Lesotho’s first Academy Awards submission, as well as large-scale documentary productions that have travelled beyond the continent. His experience in developing, packaging and positioning projects for international audiences will help provide context for a conversation that moves beyond theory and into the practical realities of collaboration, financing and cross-border production.
The panel brings together three industry leaders whose work reflects different dimensions of Africa-France collaboration.
South African filmmaker Jaco Bouwer brings substantial international and cross-platform experience. His debut feature Gaia, which premiered at SXSW in 2021, won the ZEISS Cinematography Award, and secured distribution in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He directed all eight episodes of Spinners for Showmax, a co-production between Showmax and Canal+ that was developed with Empreinte Digitale and local co-production company Natives at Large, making it the first African series to showcase at Canneseries, where it later won Best Series at the inaugural Dakar Series event.
His recent true-crime limited series Niggies (Cousins) for kykNET aired in early 2025, breaking viewership records for the broadcaster. Bouwer’s work across feature film, television and international sales offers insight into how African stories can reach global audiences while retaining a strong local identity.
From the commissioning and strategic side, Nathalie Folloroux, director of unscripted and entertainment content initiatives for the Global Pay TV Group Canal+, brings extensive experience in programming, audience development and multi-territory content strategy. Having held senior roles at TF1, Canal+ International, and within Francophone African markets, she contributes perspective on how content travels across regions and how collaborative models can strengthen industry ecosystems.
Cecilia Zoppelletto adds an institutional and educational dimension. In addition to her work as a filmmaker, she launched a film studies programme at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Kinshasa and has played an active role in developing cinema infrastructure in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As head of international relations at APRO7 and vice-chair of African Film Festival Inc. in New York, her work spans talent development, preservation and international exhibition networks, highlighting the importance of long-term frameworks that support filmmakers beyond individual productions.
Together, the panel reflects the breadth of the Africa-France collaboration, from creative development and international sales to commissioning strategy and industry capacity building.
For the Joburg Film Festival, placing this conversation on the programme signals an awareness of how quickly the landscape is shifting, how partnerships are structured and how cross-border collaboration can continue to support growth in both markets.
For filmmakers, producers and commissioners attending the session, the discussion offers an opportunity to engage directly with the mechanisms shaping contemporary African storytelling.
At JFF 2026, The French Connection is less about nostalgia and more about what comes next.
For more information on JBX Talks and Joburg Film Festival accreditation and passes, visit www.joburgfilmfestival.co.za
