French Embassy Partners NIFS, Sponsors Nigeria Delegation to MIPCOM

Sunday Ehigiator

The French Embassy, as part of its commitment to support industry development, has partnered with  the Nigerian International Film and TV Summit (NIFS) to sponsor a Nigerian delegation, comprising about 20 companies with dedicated stands, at the Nigerian Pavilion at Cannes.

MIPCOM, otherwise known as the International Market of Communications Programmes, is the world’s largest international content rights market, which is held every October.

It boasts over 11,000 delegates, 100 participating countries, and 3,500 buyers brought together in Cannes, France, in four days of networking, sales, partnerships and collaborations, sharing best industry ideas and charting the course for the global Audio Visual Industry in the coming year.

 This support was facilitated by the French Embassy’s partnership with the Nigerian Film and TV Summit (NiFS). The French Embassy would provide part-sponsorship for the 20 selected Nigerian firms through these partnerships.

According to the Audio Visual Attaché of the French Embassy in Nigeria, Mr. Christophe Pecot, the absence of Nigerian content in last year’s MIPCOM highlights a huge opportunity gap for the Nigerian audio-visual industry.

According to him, Nigeria’s presence at MIPCOM would open up the country’s audio-visual industry to international business opportunities, and wider market penetration and solidify Nigeria’s place as the second-largest content producer in the world on a global stage.

He said: “I was at MIPCOM last year and I was a bit upset to see that there was no promotion of Nigerian content whereas Nigeria is the second country with the largest production in terms of volume.

“To fill the gap, I asked the founder of NiFS, Ijeoma, if she would agree to work with us to bring a delegation of audio-visual professionals to MIPCOM this year and she accepted and that’s why we are here to launch the Nigerian pavilion of MIPCOM in Cannes next month.”

The Founder, of NiFS, Mrs. Ijeoma Onah, who confirmed the statement, shared that the French Embassy has pledged to take care of the accreditation cost of delegates which would normally amount to around €1,400 as well as subsidise the accommodation cost of delegates by up to 75 per cent.

Speaking on the importance of this exposure to Nigerian audio-visual professionals, Onah said that by participating at MIPCOM 2024, Nigerian professionals would have an opportunity to showcase their work, build relationships with global license buyers and deepen the acceptance and penetration of Nigerian content on a global stage.

She said: “MIPCOM is beyond film. It is a market where film is treated as a genre and then you have all other genres with over 3,000 buyers coming to acquire or buy the rights of content. All the streamers, Netflix, BBC, and everybody will be there, and essentially, you have two sets of people, the buyers and sellers.

“Through this partnership, our resolve to continue to drive international business for local Nigerian companies has been reinforced. The huge international revenue opportunities through licensing of local programs will elevate and transform the dynamics of international distribution for local companies in Nigeria.”

On his part, the Consul-General of France in Lagos, Mr. Laurent Favier, stated that the commitment of the French Embassy highlights two key thrusts: its belief in the potential of the Nigerian Audio Visual Industry and its commitment to see it grow.

He said: “Nigeria has the chance to have many talents in the creative industry, and France, as you know, traditionally supports the creative industry. We find it interesting to partner many of the talents, many of the companies specialised in the Nigerian Audio Visual industry to help them grow on a scale much larger than local which is the international scale.

“Our vision is to partner such companies to help them grow the best way and to meet international producers and distributors.”