The 2018 Kalasha International TV & Film market that was held at the KICC from the 27th to the 29th of March was declared a great success.
The declaration was made by the Kenya Film Commission chairman Mr. Chris Foot during the closing ceremony of the 3 day trade show.
“This was the biggest Film & TV event held in Kenya’s history and the biggest in the region. It has been a great success, everyone is blown away by what we have managed to achieve this year. We have had three times the number of booths we had last year, delegates from 20 countries, over 40 sponsors supported the event, the largest ever number of workshops and conferences which were well attended and several major deals were struck- worth millions of shillings.”
One amongst many of the big wins was a co-production agreement signed between renowned Argentinian film maker Pablo Ceaser from the global South and a Kenyan production company worth millions, details of which will be shared in due time.
“This shows us that the country is finally seeing the huge potential of the audio-visual sector. Our industry is contributing and will continue to increase its contribution to the economy through job creation, film related tourism and positive profiling our country.”
Speaking on the future of the event, Chris mentioned the commission’s intention of hosting the event next year on a larger scale.
“We will definitely do this next year on a bigger scale, look out for the next one and of course the Kalasha Awards slated for November.”
“I want to personally thank everyone who has worked to make this event a possibility, the French government, our sponsors, our numerous speakers and everyone who attended the Kalasha TV and Film Market.” He added.
The over 60 exhibitors expressed their delight in showcasing their trades at the event with most looking forward to the next edition.
Ted from Buni TV, who were one of the exhibitors congratulated the commission and urged to hold more of these events. “This was a very good idea by the Kenya Film Commission, to have a space where film makers can interact and build yourself as a film maker.”
“It was an amazing experience, I congratulate the Kenya Film Commission on hosting this event, film is business and for us actors it is a brilliant opportunity to showcase the importance of actors in film.” A representative from the Kenya Actors guild said.
The Kenya Film Commission Director of Marketing, Alex Mulwa echoed his chairman’s sentiments, “We have had close to 2,000 people here over the last three days, a lot of partners both local and international coming on board to support the film industry.”
“We will keep looking for new ways to keep supporting local film makers and showcasing the country as a film destination.” He added.
The Kalasha International TV & Film Market is an initiative of the Kenya Film Commission, in partnership with the French Embassy. The commission’s key mandate is to develop, promote and market the film industry locally and internationally and identify and facilitate growth of the film industry.
|
|