Film partnerships across continents
AFRICA ENGAGE
WHAT IS AFRICA ENGAGE?
Africa Engage is an initiative, which enhances professional cooperation with Africa and better insight into the African continent through documentary film. After a successful pilot in 2024, the program is now being expanded for 2026 and linked more closely to the Danish Government’s new Africa Strategy.
The initiative includes:
The African Delegation at CPH:DOX
African directors and producers take part in professional meetings with Danish film professionals, strengthening relationships, networks, and opportunities for future co-productions.
Screenings & debates with Danish audiences at CPH:DOX
African filmmakers present their films at CPH:DOX and participate in panel talks and audience debates.
Africa Engage in schools
African filmmakers visit Danish schools, where students encounter films and stories about global development - told from an African perspective.
The Africa Engage Plan
The partner group develops a long-term plan for equal collaboration, based on new research and dialogue with key stakeholders in both Denmark and Africa – aligned with the Danish Africa Strategy.
Trailer from Africa Engage 2024. Delegates at CPH:DOX.
Filmed by Anna Haarder, Bullitt Film
AFRICA ON THE RISE - FILM AS A CATALYST FOR GROWTH
Africa is one of the world’s fastest-growing creative regions. According to UNESCO’s African Film Industry Report (2021), several African countries now produce more films annually than major European nations - with Nigeria ranking as the world’s second-largest film-producing country by volume. At the same time, film sectors in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Senegal, Egypt, and Ethiopia are expanding rapidly, driven by young filmmakers, new training initiatives, and increasing access to digital production tools.
Despite this strong momentum, the continent’s film and audiovisual industries remain structurally underfunded and underdeveloped. The sector generates only USD 5 billion a year out of an estimated USD 20 billion potential (FEPACI). Only 44% of African countries have a national film commission, and just 55% have a dedicated film policy. Africa also has the world’s least developed cinema network, with just 1,651 screens - equivalent to one screen per 787,402 people.
Yet the landscape is changing quickly. Affordable digital equipment and the rise of online distribution and monetization platforms - from YouTube and social media to Netflix and regionally driven mobile video services - are opening new pathways for African content creators and accelerating the growth of a modern, digitally connected film economy.
Still, many filmmakers across the continent face major barriers: limited access to funding, weak distribution infrastructures, and few professional connections to film communities and institutions beyond Africa. Stronger relationships with other film ecosystems - particularly in Europe - are crucial for building capacity, enabling co-productions, strengthening festival participation, and increasing international visibility.
About documentary films in South Africa
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
Read more
About documentary films in Tanzania
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
Read more
PARTNERS IN AFRICA ENGAGE
Bullitt Film and Film Lab Zanzibar are the initiators of Africa Engage, and they are realizing the initiative through support from OPEN and great partnerships with STEPS and CPH:DOX.
Bullitt Film is an award winning independent Documentary film production company with vast experience in co-producing international titles. The company is profiled through their creation of socially conscious film with a strong artistic vision.
Film Lab Zanzibar from Tanzania, is an organisation which focuses on training of filmmakers in Tanzania and East Africa - and building connections and collaboration opportunities between local and global film communities.
STEPS from South Africa, is probably the most experienced producing entity to collaborate with documentary filmmakers from across the entire African continent. STEPS is a nonprofit organization and media company, passionate about the power of documentaries to disrupt, shift and move the world. The company has won numerous awards, like at the Oscars and the Ouagadougou-, Berlinale- and Cannes film festivals. STEPS focuses on films dealing with development topics, made with artistic ambition, and with ability to make impact and create local change.
CPH:DOX is a very well established Danish and international platform - and the second largest world wide. The documentary film festival attracts a huge number of film professionals and public audiences with high quality festival content and curated films from all over the world including Africa.
