KAP, Benin Republic Gov’t graduate 20 young filmmakers as KAP unveils Pan-African vision for ITAN

By Benjamin Njoku

A landmark Nigeria-Benin collaboration aimed at strengthening the next generation of African filmmakers will culminate this week as 20 young Beninese creatives take centre stage at the iconic KAP Film Village and Resort, Oyo State, alongside some of the continent’s leading film and cultural voices.
The KAP-SOPA Pan-African Filmmaking Bootcamp, a partnership between KAP Film and Television Academy and the Government of the Republic of Benin, through its audio-visual agency SOPA, will conclude with a three-day programme from September 17-19, 2026, featuring the premiere of original short films produced by the participants, their graduation ceremony and an Awards Night celebrating their achievements.
But the gathering is set to be about much more than the end of a training programme.
With filmmakers, producers, government representatives, diplomats, cultural leaders and other industry stakeholders travelling from Nigeria, Benin, across Africa and beyond, the event will also provide the platform for the unveiling of ITAN, The Screen Gathering and Awards, a new Pan-African initiative scheduled to launch in October 2027.
The KAP-SOPA Bootcamp was conceived to address a fundamental challenge facing Africa’s rapidly expanding film industry: the need to build professional skills, capacity and networks to transform the continent’s extraordinary storytelling potential into a sustainable global creative industry.
The fully-sponsored 12-week programme equipped the 20 talented young Beninese creatives with filmmaking knowledge and practical industry experience, while strengthening cultural collaboration between the two neighbouring nations.
Following four weeks of theoretical training in Cotonou, the participants spent the final eight weeks in an intensive, hands-on filmmaking residency at KAP Film Village and Resort in Nigeria.
The result of that practical experience will be presented to the public as the participants premiere original short films created during the programme.
For KAP Film and Television Academy, however, the films are only part of the outcome. The larger objective is to produce filmmakers who understand not only the craft, but also the professional realities of the industry and the importance of collaboration, networking and cross-border knowledge exchange.
“The future of African cinema cannot depend only on the abundance of stories we have to tell, said Kunle Afolayan, Founder of the KAP Group.
“We must deliberately invest in the people with the skills to tell those stories professionally and create opportunities for them to connect with one another across borders. The KAP-SOPA partnership is a practical demonstration of that philosophy.”
The September programme promises to be a global gathering, bringing together an extraordinary line-up of African and international film personalities. Among the featured guests is internationally acclaimed Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako, who will engage with participants and conduct a special masterclass.
Other distinguished guests include renowned film curator and programmer Keith Shiri, acclaimed Nigerian filmmaker and producer Femi Odugbemi, and internationally recognised French producer Virginie Besson-Silla.
Their participation reflects one of the central tenets of the Bootcamp: African cinema will advance faster when its practitioners collaborate, share knowledge and build relationships across national and linguistic boundaries.
The gathering therefore provides a rare convergence of emerging talent and established industry leaders, creating opportunities for mentorship, dialogue, collaboration and professional networking.
It is within this context that KAP Group will formally unveil the vision for ITAN. Scheduled to launch in October 2027 at KAP Film Village and Resort, ITAN is being conceived as an annual gathering dedicated to the business, practice and progress of film and screen culture in Africa.
The platform will bring together filmmakers, producers, distributors, exhibitors, investors, policymakers, academics, cultural institutions and other practitioners from across the continent and the global film industry.
Its ambition is to create a space where the industry can move beyond conversations about individual films and confront the larger questions shaping African cinema.
The September gathering therefore aims to serve as an important first step toward building the community around ITAN, with leading African and international practitioners being introduced to the initiative and invited to contribute to its development and future advisory structure.
The choice of venue is itself part of the story. KAP Film Village & Resort is a purpose-built destination designed as a one-stop ecosystem for filmmaking, culture, tourism and hospitality. It combines accommodation, film-production infrastructure, functional film sets, recreational facilities and an immersive environment that allows filmmakers and visitors to learn, create, collaborate, stay and experience culture within one destination.