The 4 films selected, which are co-distributed worldwide by Orange Studio, are:
- APATRIDES by NERJISD NAJAR (Morocco, Selection at the Berlin International Film Festival, 2018)
- FRONTIÈRES by APOLLINE TRAORÉ (Burkina Faso)
- MAKI’LA by MACHERIE EKWA (DRC, Selection at the Berlin International Film Festival, 2018)
- RAFIKI by WANURI KAHIU (Kenya, Un Certain Regard selection, Cannes Film Festival, 2018)
The Institut français has committed to mobilizing the French cultural network, coordinating screenings, managing theatres, and promoting its partnership with Orange in all communications.
For its part, Orange has committed to providing technical support and making the media available to each of the theatres screening the film, as well as promoting its partnership with the Institut français’ cinema library.
Bruno Mettling, CEO of Orange Middle East & Africa, says, “Orange MEA is fully responsible for distributing African culture on the continent thanks to the quality of our networks, which enable very large-scale distribution of digital content.”
For Pierre Buhler, Chairman of the Institut français, “Africa is a priority, and it is essential to take cinema to where it should be seen - on Africa’s screens, which are unfortunately too few. This partnership with Orange is particularly emblematic because France will host a Season of African Cultures in 2020.”
Orange, which operates in close to 20 African and Middle Eastern countries, has supported African cinema, with 13 films produced by Orange Studio (particularly multiple award-winning film TIMBUKTU), for the past 4 years. It is also committed to fostering creativity by promoting African films during festivals, restoring films, and supporting young African film-makers.