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CANEX Creations Inc., the pan-African investment platform behind films such as the buzzy Cannes premiere “Clarissa,” has unveiled a slate of works in progress that it will be screening for prospective buyers at the inaugural
TIFF: The Market. Among them are director Editi Effiong’s sequel to his breakout Netflix hit “Black Book” and the fiction debut of Rotterdam-winning filmmaker Cyrielle Raingou (“Le Spectre de Boko Haram”).
The market screenings, which will take place at 11 a.m. on Sept. 12 at TIFF Lightbox Cinema 7, are part of an ambitious program of events hosted by CANEX Creations Inc. across the week-long event, which runs Sept. 10–16. The subsidiary of the African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) equity-investment arm is an official partner of TIFF: The Market.
Speaking to Variety ahead of this year’s event, CANEX Creations Inc. CEO Osahon Akpata noted that the six titles were selected by an independent jury precisely for their market potential.
“We are particularly proud that these projects were selected by an independent international jury with deep experience across production, distribution, international sales, festivals and African and global film markets,” said Akpata.
“African cinema is gaining greater visibility on the world’s leading festival stages, with compelling work emerging from an increasingly broad range of countries,” he continued. “Our objective is to help translate that creative momentum into commercial opportunity by putting market-ready projects in front of the buyers, distributors and financiers who can take them to global audiences.”
The slate includes “The Black Book 2: Old Scores,” director Editi Effiong’s follow-up to the 2023 revenge thriller that hit No. 3 on Netflix’s global charts and cracked the top 10 in 69 countries, racking up more than 20 million views worldwide. The sequel sees Paul Edima returning to continue his fight against the corrupt system that destroyed his family
Also screening for key North American acquisition and distribution executives is “I’m Coming for You” (pictured), the first fiction feature by Cameroonian filmmaker Cyrielle Raingou, who won the top prize at the Rotterdam Film Festival in 2023 for her documentary “Le Spectre de Boko Haram.” The film is a story about motherhood, survival and resistance that follows a young woman who’s been banished from her community.
Other titles on the slate include “Last Weekend in October,” a documentary by Nigerian filmmaker Nosarieme Garrick set during Lagos Fashion Week; “Dear Ajayi,” a family drama by Damilola Orimogunje that marks the first Nigerian film to screen in the Venice Film Festival’s Venice Days strand; “Not God’s Plan,” a new drama from South African writer-director Reabetswe Moeti-Vogt; and “The Motorcycle Smuggler,” the latest from Cameroon’s Arice Siapi. More details about all six projects can be found below.
In addition to those films, CANEX Creations will host a buyers screening of “Muganga – The One Who Treats,” the advocacy-driven drama inspired by the true story of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege, which is directed by Marie-Hélène Roux and co-produced by Angelina Jolie. The screening, which takes place at 9:45 p.m. on Sept. 11 at the John Bassett Theater, will be followed by a conversation with Mukwege and actors David Oyelowo and Danai Gurira, moderated by British writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch.
Here’s a rundown of the six WIP:
Last Weekend in October
Director: Nosarieme Garrick
Producers: Chioma Onyenwe, Mary-Ann Eziekwe
Synopsis: Set against the competitive world of Lagos Fashion Week, “Last Weekend in October” follows three emerging designers fighting for the visibility that could transform their careers. Through their experiences, the documentary explores ambition, identity and the often unseen forces that determine who gets noticed, and who gets left behind, in Nigeria’s fashion industry.
I’m Coming for You (Pour toi je reviendrai)
Director: Cyrielle Raingou
Producers: Cyrielle Raingou, Jean-Marie Gigon
Synopsis: In the Sahel, Kaltoumi, a young mother, is banished from her community and separated from her baby after being accused of trading with terrorists. Determined to recover her child, she sets out on a journey that brings her into contact with a group of women living on the margins, in a story about motherhood, survival and resistance to both terrorism and patriarchal control.
Dear Ajayi
Director: Damilola Orimogunje
Producers: Damilola Orimogunje, Ajah Enene-Orimogunje, Bose Oshin
Synopsis: Set in southwestern Nigeria in the 1990s, “Dear Ajayi” follows estranged sisters Ade and Titi as they are brought back together to care for their ailing mother. As old tensions resurface, the sisters must confront their very different ideas about faith, ambition and responsibility, as well as the grief and complicated bonds that hold their family together.
Not God’s Plan
Director: Reabetswe Moeti-Vogt
Producers: Reabetswe Moeti-Vogt, Zoe Ramushu
Synopsis: After receiving what he believes is a terminal diagnosis, lifelong bachelor Gilbert leaves Johannesburg and returns to the rural village he once fled, determined to make amends with the women he hurt and put his affairs in order. But when he discovers that he misunderstood his diagnosis, the journey has already changed him, reconnecting him with family, love and the home he left behind.
The Motorcycle Smuggler
Director: Arice Siapi
Producers: Martinel Nemalieu, Eléonore Boissinot
Synopsis: Bana, a former motorcycle smuggler turned traditional musician, has left the dangerous trade behind. But after his father’s death leaves him responsible for his family, he agrees to make one final smuggling journey to finance a new album, returning to the perilous routes and former companions he had hoped to leave behind.
The Black Book 2: Old Scores
Director: Editi Effiong
Producers: Editi Effiong, Nicky Weinstock, Mimi Bartels
Synopsis: Paul Edima returns in the sequel to “The Black Book,” continuing his fight against the corrupt system that destroyed his family. As old enemies and unfinished business resurface, Paul is drawn deeper into a struggle for justice and redemption against a wider network of corruption and abuse of power in contemporary Nigeria.
