Six African Film Producers Selected for 2026 Accelerator Program
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The African Producers Accelerator (APA) has chosen six participants for its 2026 edition from 267 applicants across 31 countries. The program provides business development support and access to investors, culminating in pitch events in Cape Town and Lagos. The initiative is backed by the Bertha Foundation and has gained new institutional partners, including the National Film and Video Foundation and CANEX.
Facts First
- Six producers selected from 267 applications across 31 countries for the 2026 African Producers Accelerator (APA).
- Participants will receive three months of preparation before pitching to investors at labs in Cape Town and Lagos.
- The program is backed by the Bertha Foundation and has added the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) and CANEX as partners.
- The selected producers are from South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, and Sudan, with credits including films that premiered at major festivals.
- Alumni from the inaugural 2025 edition will join the new cohort for the investor program.
What Happened
The African Producers Accelerator (APA) announced its six selected participants for the 2026 edition at the Cannes Film Festival. The participants, chosen from 267 applications across 31 countries, are South Africa's Babalwa Baartman and David Franciscus, Nigeria's Mimi Bartels and Abba Makama, Ghana's Kofi Owusu-Afriyie, and Sudan's Khalid Awad. The APA provides business development support and access to investors for African producers. The program has added the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) as a partner for its Cape Town lab and CANEX (Creative Africa Nexus) as a pan-African institutional partner for its Lagos event.
Why this Matters to You
If you are interested in African cinema, you may see a wider variety of high-quality films from the continent reach international audiences and streaming platforms in the coming years. The program's focus on business development and investor access could help bring more diverse African stories to global screens. For aspiring filmmakers in Africa, this initiative represents a tangible pathway for professional growth and project funding.
What's Next
The selected participants will undergo three months of intensive preparation, then pitch their projects to film investors at a lab in Cape Town in July and at the CANEX WKND event in Lagos in November. At CANEX WKND, they will deliver formal pitches and participate in one-on-one investment meetings. Alumni from the program's first edition will also join the 2026 cohort for the investor engagement program, which is co-delivered with partners HEVA Fund and Oxbelly.