Cape Town is set to become a meeting point for creative ambition this October as France takes centre stage at FAME Week Africa 2026.
As the event’s 2026 Destination Focus, France will bring together French and African creatives, producers, buyers, distributors, entrepreneurs and cultural organisations. The goal is clear: create stronger connections, encourage collaboration and open new business opportunities between the two creative economies.
FAME Week Africa takes place from 28 to 30 October 2026 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). The France Destination Focus will then continue with activity at the Rockefeller Hotel from 30 October to 1 November.
Across film, television, music, fashion, design, gaming, publishing, digital creativity and cultural entrepreneurship, France’s presence will form a major part of the FAME Week Africa experience.
And this is about more than simply showcasing creativity.
It is about putting the right people in the same room.
Where creativity meets opportunity
One of the strongest elements of the France Destination Focus will be its focus on business and collaboration.
French producers will travel to Cape Town to explore co-production opportunities with African producers. French buyers and distributors will also be present, giving African content creators and owners an opportunity to introduce their work and discover what the French market is looking for.
Dedicated speed networking sessions will put French and African producers directly across the table from one another.
These meetings are designed to help participants introduce projects, identify shared interests and begin conversations that could develop into future partnerships.
A dedicated co-production panel will take the discussion further.
Producers and industry experts from film, television and animation will explore the realities of international co-production. The conversation will cover everything from finding the right creative partner and developing a project together to financing, production and international distribution.
For African producers looking towards international markets, the opportunity is particularly significant.
It creates a space to not only talk about collaboration, but to start the conversations that could make it possible.
“What excites me about having France as our Destination Focus is that this is about creating real opportunities.”
That is the view of Martin Hiller, Portfolio Director of FAME Week Africa, who highlights the importance of bringing French producers, buyers and distributors directly into the African creative ecosystem.
He also points to the wider programme, from Création Africa and co-production discussions to fashion, design and the African premiere of The Phantom of the Opera.
“It’s a great mix of business, creativity and culture,” Hiller says, “and hopefully the start of some exciting new partnerships between France and Africa.”
Création Africa puts entrepreneurs in the spotlight
The business of creativity will also take centre stage through Création Africa.
The initiative is backed by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of France and the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS).
Its purpose is to support entrepreneurs working across the cultural and creative industries.
The second edition attracted 340 applications. From those applicants, a Top 50 entered an intensive seven-week mentorship phase before pitching to a jury.
Fifteen businesses from South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi were ultimately selected for the programme’s final incubation phase.
They received tailored business guidance, sector expertise, investor introductions and support aimed at helping them become funding-ready.
Now, FAME Week Africa will provide a platform for delegates to discover these businesses and meet the entrepreneurs behind them.
Their work will be showcased through the FAME Week Africa pop-up store, panel discussions and activities taking place throughout the event.
Meet the Création Africa Top 15
The selected businesses represent a broad snapshot of the creative economy across Southern Africa.
Music
Music Business Lab — Ninel Musson
Digital Media
iQHAWE Media — Renaé Mangena and Anastatia Nkhuna
Gaming and Interactive Media
Vetkoek Studios — Mamello Raboroko and Eric Gardiner
Film, Television and Animation
Better Yet — Hallie Haller
Lincoln Green Media — Kudakwashe “Kudi” Maradzika
Publishing
Bridge Books — Griffin Shea
Design and Craft
Pinda Furniture and Interior Design — Siyanda Mbele
Neimil — Keneilwe Mothoa and Lubabalo Mxalisa
Emotives Africa — Xolela Madlanga
Akhada Baskets — Tisungane Thomson
Fashion
SWANK JOZI — Lindelani Nedoboni
Thethana — Nkotseng Moleko
GUGUBYGUGU — Gugu Peteni
LEO SZN — Kirsten Leo
House of Xandria — Xandria Kawanga
For delegates, the value goes beyond discovering products or creative work.
It is also about meeting the people building these businesses and exploring possibilities for collaboration.
French cinema arrives in Cape Town
The France Destination Focus will also bring French cinema into the FAME Week Africa programme with the African premiere of The Phantom of the Opera (Le Fantôme de l’Opéra).
Directed by Alexandre Castagnetti, the film stars Deva Cassel, Julien de Saint-Jean, Romain Duris and Laïka Blanc-Franquart.
The film brings Gaston Leroux’s iconic story into present-day Paris.
At its centre is Anastasia, an 18-year-old dancer who arrives in Paris with dreams of joining the prestigious Opéra Garnier.
While rehearsing Orpheus, a supposedly cursed opera said to have been composed by the Phantom, she becomes drawn to a mysterious pianist.
As opening night approaches, strange accidents and unsettling revelations begin to unfold.
Anastasia finds herself caught in an impossible love story that exists somewhere between reality and the supernatural.
For Cape Town audiences, its inclusion adds a cinematic dimension to a Destination Focus already spanning business, industry and cultural exchange.
Opening the door to France
The programme will also look at the practical side of connecting African creatives with France.
A dedicated cultural collaboration panel will bring practitioners and organisations together to discuss opportunities available through French cultural institutions and programmes.
Those opportunities include professional exchanges, training, project development, funding, partnerships and access to international markets.
Importantly, the conversation will not stop at identifying opportunities.
It will also explore how African creatives can access them.
That practical approach is central to the broader Destination Focus.
The objective is to make connections that can continue long after the event ends.
A creative bridge between France and Africa
France’s presence at FAME Week Africa brings together several different sides of the creative economy.
There are French producers looking at co-production.
There are buyers and distributors searching for content.
There are African entrepreneurs building businesses.
There are industry experts discussing international partnerships.
There is fashion and design.
There is cinema.
And there is Création Africa, putting Southern African creative entrepreneurs directly into the conversation.
Together, these elements create a Destination Focus built around one central idea: connection.
Whether it is an African producer meeting a French co-production partner, a buyer discovering an African title, an entrepreneur making a new business contact or an audience experiencing French cinema, the intention is for people to leave with relationships and conversations they can take forward.
As Jean Spiri, Head of Cooperation at the French Embassy in South Africa, Lesotho & Malawi and Director of the French Institute of South Africa, explains, Création Africa reflects France’s commitment to supporting the growth and international development of cultural and creative entrepreneurs across Southern Africa.
He says the programme demonstrates the quality, diversity and ambition of creative businesses emerging from the region.
FAME Week Africa, he adds, provides an important platform for these entrepreneurs to connect with industry leaders, investors and potential partners while showcasing their work to wider audiences.
Cape Town becomes the meeting point
From 28 to 30 October 2026, FAME Week Africa will bring African and international creatives, producers, buyers, distributors, entrepreneurs and industry decision-makers together at the CTICC in Cape Town.
For the France Destination Focus, the conversation then continues through activity at the Rockefeller Hotel from 30 October to 1 November.
The programme promises multiple ways to engage with France’s creative industries, from co-production and business networking to cultural collaboration, entrepreneurship and cinema.
This October, Cape Town will not simply host another creative industries gathering.
It will provide a space where ideas can meet opportunity, where businesses can find new partners and where French and African creatives can begin conversations that cross borders.
France is coming to FAME Week Africa. And the invitation is to meet the people, discover the opportunities and become part of a growing creative relationship between France and Africa.
