Boost for Kenya's film industry as Ruto announces deal with AU

Kenya will officially unveil the African Union (AU) Secretariat of the African AudioVisual Cinema Commission (AACC) on May 9, President William Ruto has announced.

This comes after Nairobi signed a Host Country Agreement with AU in February 2023 for the operationalization of the Secretariat established by a Statute approved by the 32nd African Union Assembly held in Ethiopia in February 2019.

The Secretariat will be tasked with promoting the research on African Audio-visual and Cinema industries, distributing African films, establishing the African Audio-visual and Cinema Fund as well as providing technical support to Member States for the formulation and implementation of audio-visual and cinema policies.

Speaking when he hosted winners of the just concluded national drama and film festival at the Sagana State Lodge on Thursday, President Ruto underscored that the establishment of the Secretariat in Kenya demonstrates the country's commitment to elevating Kenya's acting talents to the global stage.

“With this unprecedented progress in our creative industry, Kenya has won the race to host the AU Secretariat of the African AudioVisual Cinema Commission. The Ministry will officially unveil this Secretariat on 9th May 2024," said the President.

"To anchor these transformative milestones, I urge them to hasten to enactment of the Creative Economy Policy and Creative Industry Bill, providing the ultimate anchor for our transformation."

While lauding the progress of Kenya's creative industry, Ruto likewise announced plans to establish a digital platform that will allow local content creators to showcase their talents and maximally reap from their works.

"At last year’s State Concert, I made a pledge to lead our nation into a new era of innovation and plug into the power of technology to propel our cultural festivals into the digital age. Today, I am here to fulfil that promise by unveiling a groundbreaking digital platform, developed through collaboration by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) Amazon Web Services, and MPESA," he said.

"Through partnerships, we can, and will usher in a new era of transparency and accountability, where every shilling generated reaches the creative talent behind it. Within a few months, the platform will be opened up to independent artists and content creators, ensuring that they too have a marketplace to showcase their talents and receive fair and enhanced compensation for their creative works.”