Ghana’s African Cinema Summit Sets Speaker Lineup Including Imax Exec & Local Exhibition Heads

EXCLUSIVE: The National Film Authority of Ghana has set the lineup for it’s inaugural Africa Cinema Summit in Accra, hosted in partnership with Filmhouse Group (Nigeria) and Silverbird Cinema (Ghana). 

The summit is set to take place at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel and Silverbird Cinema in the Ghanaian capital November 14-16. Official partners of the summit include Warner Bros, the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria, Century Cinemax, Ster-Kinekor, Icon Mann, Unesco, Entertainment Solution Services, Delta Airlines, Locations Africa and Qube Wir. 

Speakers heading to Accra include John Michael Schreiner, senior vice president of theatre development, Imax Corp, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. He will be joined by Juliet Yaa Asantewaa Asante, CEO of the National Film Authority of Ghana, and convener of the summit. Asante was previously board chair of the National Film and Television Institute of Ghana and the founding president of the Black Star International Film Institute, organizers of the Black Star International Film Festival. Moses Babatope, co-founder and deputy managing director of the Filmhouse Group, and Funmi Onuma, country manager of Silverbird Cinema, Ghana, will also be in attendance. 

Other notable speakers include Ope Ajayi, distributor at Cinemax and president of the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria; Rob Arthur, co-founder and director of Entertainment Solution Services Ltd and Paguro Ideas Ltd (formerly Digital Cinema Solutions Ltd); Marie Lora-Mungai, investor, strategic advisor, and entrepreneur specializing in the African creative industries and sports business; and Chief Alhassan Andani, founder and executive chairman of LVSafrica Limited.

Scroll down for the full list of speakers and their bios.

Key highlights of the event will include a showcase of contemporary African films alongside industry-focused sessions such as tailored business matchmaking events, panel discussions, keynote speeches by African industry leaders, and dedicated networking sessions for visitors.

“There are critical issues in the African cinema landscape that need to be properly discussed,” Asante said. “We are excited to have such an outstanding lineup of speakers for the Africa Cinema Summit. The summit is result-oriented, and the crucial indicator for success is an increase in screen numbers as many Ghanaians and Africans, by extension, demand the cinema-going experience.”

Africa Cinema Summit speakers list:

· Juliet Yaa Asantewaa Asante –CEO of the National Film Authority of Ghana, and convener of the Africa Cinema Summit, previously Board Chair of the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) of Ghana and the Founding President of the Black Star International Film Institute, organizers of the Black Star International Film Festival (BSIFF). Yaa Asantewa is also an award-winning Writer, Producer, Director and Actress, winning Best Actress in Ghana in 2001. She was the first to introduce short Films made for mobile phones in Ghana, working with MTN Ghana to launch her brand Mobilefliks in 2013. She produced some very successful television shows and served on the World Economic Forum’s Entertainment Council.

· Moses Babatope – co-founder and Deputy Managing Director of the Filmhouse Group (Owners of Filmhouse Cinemas and FilmOne Entertainment). He has over 20 years of experience in film exhibition, production, distribution, marketing, and Cinema operations management gained from several markets including the United Kingdom and Nigeria.

· Funmi Onuma – country manager of Silverbird Cinema, Ghana (SBCG). Under her leadership, SBCG set the record of being the highest-grossing cinema in the whole of West Africa for “Black Panther” in 2018 and the second highest-grossing cinema in Africa. This was topped by record numbers for “Avengers: Infinity War”, “Avengers: Endgame” and “Hobbs and Shaw”. Funmi has been recognized as one of the top 50 women in global cinema by Celluloid Junkie for three consecutive years.

· John Michael Schreiner – Senior Vice President, Théâtre Development, IMAX Corporation, Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

· Marie Lora-Mungai –investor, strategic advisor, and entrepreneur specializing in the African Creative Industries and Sports Business, with 18 years of experience spanning 27 countries on the continent. Her advisory firm Restless Global provides solutions to international companies, institutions and investors seeking to expand to Africa, and has worked for clients such as Warner Bros., UNESCO, Twitter Films, TRACE, FilmOne Entertainment, Rainbow Sports Global, Olympia Le Tan, Galeries Lafayette, the governments of France and Nigeria, and development banks IFC, AFD, Proparco, AfDB and Afreximbank.

· Ope Ajayi – distributor at the CINEMAS and the President of the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria. A Senior Executive with over 20 years of experience Covering Finance, Hospitality, Cinemas & Entertainment.

· Rob Arthur – Co-founder and Director of Entertainment Solution Services Ltd “ESS” and Paguro Ideas Ltd (formerly Digital Cinema Solutions Ltd) which was established in 2012. Rob has worked in the UK and International Cinema sectors for over 30 years with companies such as Vue Entertainment, SBC International Cinemas; Warner Village Cinemas and UCI.

· Jotham Micah –Marketing Manager, East Africa, at Century Pictures Limited with several years of experience working in the Cinema ecosystem in Africa.

· Ojoma Ochai- co-founder and Managing Partner of the Creative Economy Practice at CcHUB, which focuses on creative economy growth in Africa through investments and support for creative entrepreneurs through investment readiness, ecosystem development and research programmes.

· Motheo Matsau – Ster-Kinekor in 2016 as Chief Marketing and Sales Officer after a sound career as a marketer in organisations such as Unilever, Standard Bank and MultiChoice amongst others. In September 2019 Motheo was promoted to the role of Deputy CEO. In his new role, Motheo retained oversight of Ster-Kinekor’s Marketing and Sales functions, while taking on additional leadership responsibilities including the growth of local and pan-African content and audiences.

· Irene Kaggwa Sewankambo – Ugandan Corporate Executive, who has served as the Acting Executive Director of the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) since 10 February 2020.

· Chief Alhassan Andani – Founder and Executive Chairman of LVSafrica Limited. He has over twenty (20) years of Executive Experience including fourteen (14) years as CEO of Stanbic Bank Ghana. He also served as Barclays Bank Ghana’s Deputy Managing Director and Executive Director.