Features
About
Launched in 2022, AfroCannes is an event organized by Yanibes Foundation during the Cannes Film Festival in May in Cannes, France.
AfroCannes is a four-day event featuring panel discussions, country highlights, presentations, screenings, cocktails and tributes.
AfroCannes aims at promoting diversity, inclusion in film across the industry.
AfroCannes connects creatives, businesses and stakeholders from the entire film ecosystem at the world premiere film gathering; The Cannes Film Festival.
Themes in 2026: Narrative and Cultural Sovereignty
Access: Free and by registration only.
You will need to show your registration confirmation at the entrance. No need for Market or Festival Badges
Date: May 15 - 19, 2026
Timing: from 9.00 AM to 6.00 PM
Networking activities: 5 cocktail reception, 1 afterparty
Location: Villa Pompadour, Cannes
What's New
Masterclasses
2026 - Moderators
TV Host, Germany + Oromio / Ethiopia
Founder, Crawford Talents, USA + Germany
Producer, Founder, Camera X, Sweden + Somalia
Technologist, Producer, Filmmaker, USA
Head of Distribution & Special Projects, We Are Parable, UK
, Actress, Writer, Journalist, Founder, Chiseri Studios, South Africa + Zimbabwe
Founder, Nollywood Week, Okada Media Distribution, France + Benin
CEO, Wes Studios, USA + Jamaica
2026 Speakers
Actors
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Jimmy Jean-Louis, Actor, Author, Haiti
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Tella Kpomahou, Filmmaker, Actress, Director, Guinea Conakry
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Welket Bungué, Actor, Director, Guinea-Bissau + Portugal + Germany
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Maria Gal, Actress, Producer, TV Host, Brazil
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Tarina Patel, Producer, Actor, South Africa
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Fatlume Bunjaku, Actress, Talent of 2026, Kosovo+Albania
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Rayan Hamda, Actor, France + Algeria
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Vanessa Montserrat Wittenbeck, Actress, Germany
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Juliet Ibrahim, Actress, Producer, Ghana
Directors
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Yoshimi Joya, Film Director, Japan
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Shun Seki, Film Director, Japan
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Soji Arai, Film Producer, Japan
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Sachiko Miyase, Film Director, Japan
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Anouar Moatassim, Filmmaker, Director, Founder, Cabablanca Pictures, Morocco
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Mandlakiyase Dube, Award Winning Director, Producer, Screenwriter, South Africa
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Jane Spencer, Director, Playwright, Producer, USA
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Sara Suliman, Filmmaker, Scholar, Producer, Director, UK + Sudan
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Ibrahim “Snoppy” Ahmad, Director, Producer, Founder, Deep Visions, Sudan + Kenya
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Ogo Okpué, Director, Writer, Graphic Designer, UK + Nigeria
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Jean-Marie Teno, Filmmaker, Director, Cameroon
Casting Directors
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Cassandra Han, Casting Director, Founder, Cassandra Han Casting, President, Casting Society, USA + China + Germany
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Luci Lenox, Academy Member, Casting Director, Co-Founder, The Actors’ Home, Ireland + Spain
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Rhavynn Drummer, Casting Director, Owner of RAD Media Studios, USA
Marketing & Branding
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Octavia Warren, Founder & CEO, Chroma Creators, USA
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Alechia Reese, Vice-President, Chroma Creators, USA
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Darwin Garcia, Founder, Winners Circle Group, USA + Honduras
Training & Education
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Ene Katrine Rasmussen, Head of Industry & Continuing Education, National Film School of Denmark; Project Manager, MAIEFP, Former Head, Creative Europe MEDIA Desk Denmark, EAVE Graduate, Denmark
Producers
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Patricia Bebia Mawa, Multi-Award Winning Media Personality, President, Diamond Plus Media; Film Director & Producer; EVP, Afroglobal, Canada + Nigeria
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Shaka Henry, Founder, Rep Dat TV, UK
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Tera Carissa Hodges, Entrepreneur, Producer, Storyteller, USA
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Giresse Kassongo, Producer, Founder, Kongo Konnect, DR Congo
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Uche Okocha, Managing Director, Trino Pictures, Nigeria
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Neerja Narayanan, Filmmaker, Studio Executive, USA + India
Writers
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Kalungi Ssebandeke, Writer, Actor, Rapper, UK + Uganda
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Captain Beth Powell, Pilot, American Airlines, Producer, Screenwriter, USA + Jamaica
Financing
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Nathan Abadadzie, Investment Director, Media Finance Capital, Ghana + UK
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Steven Adams, Co-Founder, Alta Global Media, USA
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Erik Gordon, VP Corporate Partners, FilmHedge, USA
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Fela Oke, CEO, Hyphen8, UK + Nigeria
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Mimo Kabbara, Founder, Major Events Media, Proplamar, France + Canada + Lebanon
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Karl Hillbrick, Film Marketing Specialist, Financier, Founder, InFilmPact, Germany + EU
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Maurice Fadida, Film Producer & Financier, Founder, Kodak Pictures, USA
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Taylor Willams, Venture Capitalist, Cleveland Avenue, USA
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Sydney Masina, Partner, Head of Business Affairs, PambiliMedia, South Africa
Music
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Juan Atkins, Renown Record Producer & DJ, Originator of Techno Music Genre, USA
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Clémentine Koumenda, Music Supervisor, France
Industry Guilds
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Oma Areh, Founder, Digital Creator Africa, Vice-President, WIFT Africa, Nigeria
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Cecilia W’Emedi, Senior Project Manager, International Programs, WIF (Women in Film, LA), USA + Kenya
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Marjorie Galas, Senior Director, Members & Education, AFCI (Association of Film Commissioners), USA
Producers
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Tomomi Furuyama, Producer, Japan
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Petri Kemppinen, Executive producer and Audiovisual Strategist, CEO, Good Hand Production, former CEO of Nordisk Film & TV Fund, and of Aurora Studios, Finland
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Sten-Kristian Saluveer, Academy Award Nominated Producer & Strategist at the Intersection of Storytelling, Technology, and Innovation Ecosystems; Strategic Advisor, Cannes Next, Director, MAIEFP, Estonia
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Paul Russell, Producer, Director, Founder, Millstreams Films & Media, UK + Italy
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Andrea Vogt, Journalist, Co-Founder, Head of Productions, Millstream Films & Media, UK + Italy
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Arthur Cohen, Documentary Film Producer, USA
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Luke Wilms, Award-Winning Writer, Director and Producer, Founder, Mbuntu Media, Canada
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Jo Southwell, TV & Film Director, UK
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Francis Nébot, Producer, Founder, iFind Pictures, France
Visual Artists
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Natasha Ayoo, Visual Director, Kenya
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Violeta Sofia, Award Winning Photographer, Visual Artist, UK + Cameroon + Equatorial Guinea
Festival Programmers
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Heidi Zwicker, Programmer, Sundance Film Festival, USA
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Azize Tan, Film Festival Director & Programmer, Istanbul Foundation for Culture & Arts, Istanbul Film Festival, Turkiye
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Salym Fayad, Director, MUICA African Film Festival, Colombia
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Faridah Gbadamosi, Senior Film Programmer & Curator, Tribeca Film Festival, USA
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Mimi Plauché, Director, Chicago International Film Festival, USA
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Robyn Citizen, Programmer, TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), Canada
Government & NGO
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Kangwa Chileshe, Permanent Secretary – Youth & Sport, Ministry of Youth, Sport & Arts, Zambia
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Enrico Chiasi, Head of the Cinema Department, OIF (La Francophonie), France
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Kagisho Bapela, Head of Strategic Business Unit, IDC (Industrial Development Corporation), South Africa
Distribution
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Moses Babatope, Group CEO, The Nile Media Entertainment Group, Nigeria | TBC
Producers
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Darryll C. Scott, Film & TV Producer, Founder, Evergreen Valley Productions, a subsidiary of Cedar Park Entertainment, USA
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Jihan Al Tejani, Filmmaker, Visual Artist, Documentarian, Egypt + France
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Myriam Saghy, Emerging Producer, Morocco
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Effie T. Brown, Film & TV Producer, Digital Creator, CEO, GameChanger, USA
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Pape Boye, CEO, Black MicMac, France + Senegal
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Mark Engels, Producer, Director, Founder, IMPI Films, South Africa
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Albert Mensah, Founder, Fortune Favours Productions, UK + Ghana
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Simone Pennant (MBE), Founder, Director, The TV Collective, UK + Jamaica
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Toby Kyeremantang, Award Winning Producer, UK + Ghana
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Christopher Simon, Actor, Producer, Australia
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Daniela Scalia, CEO, Blullow, Journalist, Producer, Italy
Media Partners
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Film Destination Partners
Industry Partners
Collaborative Partners
Venue
Villa Pompadour
95, avenue du Petit Jouas
06400, Cannes
France
AfroCannes 2026
The Cultural Sovereignty Edition
AfroCannes 2026 centers the right of creators to tell their own stories — on their own terms, with their own tools, and for global audiences.
In an era of AI, geopolitical shifts, and creative renaissance, cultural sovereignty asserts the right to define and disseminate images, voices, and values that resonate across borders.
This edition offers a nuanced perspective on film, funding, and frames, while building sustainable ecosystems that put creativity from African, African diaspora and various communities at the helm of the global narrative economy.
AfroCannes 2026 will feature:
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Panel Discussions
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Masterclasses
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Screenings
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Networking Activities
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Business Meet-up
Participate
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If you're interested in:
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Becoming a sponsor,
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Partnering with AfroCannes,
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Speaking or moderating a panel,
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Screening your movie,
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Leading a masterclass, or
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Hosting networking activities,
Please reach out to us at assistant@yanibes.com
We look forward to collaborating with you and creating memorable together.
Address
Yanibes Foundation
66, Avenue des Champs Elysées
75008, Paris - France
SIREN: 929 670 156
