One year after launching with an ambitious aim to become the premier industry confab for dealmakers on the African continent, the JBX Content Market returns to Johannesburg with an expanded, three-day event that will touch on some of the key trends in the fast-growing African market.
Running parallel to the Joburg Film Festival, whose sixth edition takes place Feb. 27 – March 3, the JBX will bring together producers, financiers, broadcasters, streaming platforms and other industry professionals to take stock of what many believe to be a pivotal moment in the African screen industries.
“Everyone says Africa is the future. Are we ready for this content demand that the world is looking for?” says Joburg Film Festival executive director Timothy Mangwedi. “Being ready is not just about talent. It’s about talent, it’s about infrastructure, it’s about technology. And it’s also about funding.”
The pressing question of how to pay for content to keep ever-hungry audiences satisfied will be driving many of the key sessions at this week’s JBX market, which kicks off Feb. 28 with a panel focused on the continent’s dynamic streaming landscape, featuring executives from MultiChoice, Canal Plus and Paramount+.
The conservation will unfold at a time of tremendous flux for what remains the world’s largest untapped VOD market, with Amazon Prime Video announcing last month it was pausing commissions of new originals from the continent, even as Canal Plus’ failed buyout bid for MultiChoice — in which it owns a greater than 30% stake — raised the prospect of a joint venture between the two media conglomerates that could create an African streaming platform with truly global reach.
Meanwhile, more than 20 African broadcasters will be among the 80-plus buyers attending the market, highlighting the lingering muscle of terrestrial and satellite channels that — while struggling to compete with deep-pocketed streaming rivals for top-tier talent — nevertheless have a far greater reach among the continent’s population of more than 1.2 billion. “Most African broadcasters are looking for content, and also have enough airtime to give away with new shows,” says Mangwedi. “We hope this opens an opportunity not only for South African producers, but African producers as a whole.”
A new wrinkle at this year’s JBX market is a pitching forum that will present nine South African projects in development — with a minimum budget of 10 million rand (around $500,000) — to an audience of financiers, bankers and private equity investors. The showcase, Mangwedi insists, is an opportunity to “open up this industry to other ways of people funding their content.”
Other panels will spotlight documentary production on the continent, as well as Africa’s still largely untapped potential as a location for international film productions. Over at the Joburg Film Festival’s parallel industry sessions, meanwhile, a full-day program will highlight the role of African women in driving the continent’s screen industries, with Melanie Clark, head of film at Viola Davis’ JuVee Productions, offering a masterclass.
It’s been close to a decade since the fledgling DISCOP market left Johannesburg, leaving an opening for an event like the JBX market to take its place in what Mangwedi describes as the “beating heart of the South African film and television industry” — a city that’s touted by many investors as the gateway to the African continent.
Mangwedi stresses the importance of “hav[ing] a market that’s aligned to the film festival,” whose lineup includes buzzy African titles like Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s Cannes competition selection “Banel & Adama” and C.J. “Fiery” Obasi’s 2023 Sundance prize winner “Mami Wata.” “It’s not just a festival, but also a distribution platform to get independent film producers to be able to sell their content,” he says.
While the festival topper’s goal is to turn the JBX market into the African equivalent of an AFM, EFM or Cannes Marché du Film, Mangwedi readily admits that, for the time being, “We are not there yet.”
“We wanted to start first in Africa, to grab those distributors, buyers, producers,” he says. “This is the second year of the JBX, so I think we are in a position whereby we know exactly what we want to do, in terms of what we want to offer. Next year, we’ll have an increase in terms of international companies, distributors and buyers that will come to the market.”
The Joburg Film Festival takes place Feb. 27 – March 3.
