AFRIKAMERA

What AFRIKAMERA does

AFRIKAMERA is an annual film festival dedicated to contemporary cinema from Africa, held in Berlin and organized by the German non-profit association toucouleur e.V. Founded in 2007 and led by artistic director Alex Moussa Sawadogo, the festival operates a four-year thematic cycle — BELIEVE (2024), CHANGE (2025), REFLECT (2026), CREATE (2027) — and screens feature films, curated short-film programs, and discussion events across multiple Berlin cinema venues including City Kino Wedding, SINEMA TRANSTOPIA, FSK Kino, Brotfabrikkino, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, and MAAYA, plus free-admission programming at Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. The 16th edition (CHANGE, 11–16 November 2025) foregrounds films by female and female-presenting filmmakers addressing gender roles, power structures, and social change, drawing films from across the African continent and the diaspora.

Beyond screenings, AFRIKAMERA runs industry programming for African and European film professionals: panel discussions and networking events, workshops for women and queer filmmakers (in cooperation with ProQuote Film, Schwarze Filmschaffende e.V., and Deutsche Afrika Stiftung), the discursive AFRO FUTURE(S) FORUM, and the AFRIKAMERA RESIDENCY post-production and scriptwriting program in Berlin. A separately programmed 'Spotlight on Windhoek' initiative, in cooperation with Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH, marks the 25th anniversary of the Twin Cities Windhoek–Berlin partnership. There is no proprietary technology platform; the festival's 'product' is the live, time-bounded cultural event itself, delivered through institutional venue partnerships.

The organization's revenue is derived from a mix of ticket sales (a €20 plus fee Afrotronix concert-and-film program being a typical paid offering, alongside many free events), recurring public funding — most notably from the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) for the RESIDENCY program — and contributions from cultural foundations and institutional partners (Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Institut Français Deutschland, Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH, Deutsche Afrika Stiftung). AFRIKAMERA is not a venture-backed or equity-financed entity; it operates as a small founder-led cultural association with a core team of approximately six, expanded by project-based staff and volunteers for each edition, and generates no disclosed revenue.

Name

AFRIKAMERA

Legal name

toucouleur e. V.

Website

https://afrikamera.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AFRIKAMERA is a Berlin-based annual film festival organized by the non-profit toucouleur e.V., screening contemporary African cinema across multiple Berlin venues for European audiences, diaspora communities, and African filmmakers seeking industry exposure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film Festival

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Exhibition (51213), Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPADAKAD

Film Festivals & Festival Organizers

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Film & Video Production/Distribution/Exhibition (Cinemas, Film Festivals, Screenings)

SECONDARYMPADAKAH

Community & Cultural Screenings (Museums, Cultural Centers)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Film & Video Production/Distribution/Exhibition (Cinemas, Film Festivals, Screenings)

Keywords

• African film festival
• African cinema screenings
• Filmmaker networking events
• Cultural film programming
• Film industry workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: The festival sells tickets for film screenings at various Berlin cinemas. Ticket prices vary by venue, with some events at City Kino Wedding, SINEMA TRANSTOPIA, FSK Kino, Brotfabrikkino, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt.
2. Public Funding and Grants: As a non-profit cultural organization run by toucouleur e.V., the festival receives institutional funding. The AFRIKAMERA RESIDENCY program is funded by the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt).
3. Partnership and Sponsorship: The festival collaborates with cultural institutions, foundations, and corporate partners who contribute to specific programs and events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

AFRIKAMERA is an annual film festival held in Berlin dedicated to contemporary African cinema, screening current feature and short films from across Africa across multiple Berlin cinema venues. Beyond screenings, the festival runs industry talks, workshops for women and queer filmmakers, panel discussions, and the AFRIKAMERA RESIDENCY post-production program for African filmmakers, funded by the Federal Foreign Office. The 2025 edition runs November 11-16 under the theme CHANGE, focusing on gender roles and social transformation.

Product overview

AFRIKAMERA is an annual film festival focused on current African cinema, held in Berlin. The 2025 edition (CHANGE) runs November 11-16, 2025, featuring curated film screenings, short film programs, networking/discussion events, workshops for filmmakers, and special programs like Spotlight on Windhoek. The festival is organized by toucouleur e.V. and is not a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AFRIKAMERA Film Festival Annual Berlin-based film festival dedicated to contemporary African cinema, featuring curated feature film screenings, short film programs, industry talks, panel discussions, and workshops across seven Berlin cinema venues. The 2025 edition runs November 11-16 under the theme CHANGE.
• AFRIKAMERA Short Film Programs
• Spotlight on Windhoek Special program celebrating 25 years of the Twin Cities Windhoek-Berlin partnership, featuring Namibian short films, panel discussions, and works-in-progress addressing colonial past and image restitution, held at SINEMA TRANSTOPIA.
• AFRIKAMERA Festival Workshops Practical workshops on funding strategies and authentic storytelling for female and queer filmmakers, conducted in cooperation with ProQuote Film and Schwarze Filmschaffende e.V.
• AFRO FUTURE(S) FORUM Forum exploring cinematic future visions from African metropolises that imagine futures beyond Western patterns of imagination.
• AFRIKAMERA Residency Program Month-long residency program for African filmmakers in Berlin, providing post-production studio work and mentoring; previously also included scriptwriting residencies in cooperation with Ouaga Film Lab. Funded by the Federal Foreign Office.

Quantifiable outcome

• The festival has run for 16 consecutive editions since 2007, demonstrating sustained operational capacity and audience loyalty.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 November 2025Collaboration on the Spotlight on Windhoek program as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Twin Cities Windhoek-Berlin partnership. Kulturprojekte Berlin curates and organizes the broader anniversary program with AFRIKAMERA presenting the film and discussion component.
• Deutsche Afrika Stiftung (German Africa Foundation)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 16 November 2025Cooperation for the industry talk 'Breaking into the Industry: Training and Strategies for Women Filmmakers,' bringing together voices from Africa and Europe to discuss training, networking, and support for women in film.
• ProQuote FilmcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 November 2025Cooperation for workshop 'Repräsentation trifft Ressourcen: Die Kraft der Selbstbestimmung' on practical strategies for financing and authentic storytelling in film and art, targeting female and queer filmmakers.
• Schwarze Filmschaffende e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 November 2025Cooperation partner for workshop targeting female and queer filmmakers on self-determination and authentic storytelling in film.
• Institut Français DeutschlandminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 16 November 2025Cooperation for the screening and talk 'Une Si Longue Lettre' including discussion on literature adaptation in the context of Mariama Bâ's significance for the feminist movement in Senegal.
• Heinrich-Böll-StiftungcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 13 November 2025Venue partner and co-organizer for screening of 'All the Colours of the World are Between Black and White' with discussion on LGBTQI themes, providing free admission venue for the event.
• Ouaga Film LabminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Cooperation partner for scriptwriting residency program in cooperation with Ouaga Film Lab, supporting Togolese filmmaker Joël M'Maka Tchedre.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF): East Africa's largest cultural festival, featuring film alongside music and arts, based in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Comparable as an African-region film festival with cultural programming extending beyond screenings, but with broader scope than AFRIKAMERA's film-focused model.
• JCC - Journées Cinématographiques de Carthage: Long-running North African film festival held in Tunis, dedicated to African and Arab cinema. Comparable as a regional African cinema festival with industry programming; geographically distinct but functionally similar in curatorial mission to AFRIKAMERA.
• Durban International Film Festival: One of Africa's leading film festivals held in Durban, South Africa. Comparable as a major platform showcasing African and international cinema with industry programming, but anchored in southern Africa rather than Europe; serves both African filmmakers and diaspora audiences.

Direct peers

• FESPACO (Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou): The largest African film festival in Africa, held biennially in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Directly comparable as the leading pan-African cinema showcase; AFRIKAMERA explicitly cites FESPACO among its community ecosystem partners and serves as a European platform connecting African filmmakers.
• New York African Film Festival (AFF): A New York-based annual festival dedicated to African cinema. Directly comparable as a diaspora-anchored festival focused exclusively on African films, with parallel programming of features, shorts, and industry events serving the African diaspora in a major Western market.
• Film Africa (London): Royal African Society's annual African film festival in London. Directly comparable as a European-anchored African cinema festival with feature screenings, shorts, and industry events; competes for the same European audience and African filmmaker submissions.

Emerging players

• Ouagadougou Film Lab (Ouaga Film Lab): Pan-African script and project development lab based in Ouagadougou. Comparable as an AFRIKAMERA partner (scriptwriting residency cooperation); serves overlapping filmmaker audience but with a development focus rather than exhibition.
• Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA): Awards body and accompanying festival recognizing African filmmaking. Comparable because it serves the same African cinema ecosystem and filmmakers that AFRIKAMERA platforms; complementary rather than direct competition.

Broad incumbents

• Cannes Film Festival: One of the world's most prestigious global film festivals. Comparable as a European festival circuit reference point and aspirational platform that African filmmakers pursue before coming to festivals like AFRIKAMERA; far larger but relevant context for industry programming.
• Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival): Germany's premier and largest film festival, based in Berlin. Comparable because it shares the same city and screens African cinema (including a dedicated African programming strand), but operates at vastly larger scale and across all global cinema, not specialized on African films like AFRIKAMERA.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Afrikamera
• Instagraminstagram.com/afrikamera
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/afrikamera

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AFRIKAMERA