Yennenga Academy is a program dedicated to young talents in African cinema. It offers young people an opportunity to discover their future professional environment, interact with experts from the film industry participating in the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), and create a platform that fosters the emergence of new talents and collaborations for the future of African cinema.
Yennenga Academy consists of masterclasses covering various film professions (Production, Directing, Screenwriting, Distribution, Criticism, etc.), immersion periods, and exchanges with professionals.
This edition is organized around four (4) sessions:
- Filmmakers Session: dedicated to daily meetings with internationally renowned directors, producers, and other film industry figures for discussions on various themes related to cinema and its challenges.
- Industry Session: during this session, participants deepen their knowledge of the film industry and connect with distributors, acquisition managers, marketing specialists, sales agents, exhibitors, as well as producers and representatives of film funds and institutions. The acquisition of specific skills is therefore combined with the opportunity to build a solid network of contacts, an essential asset for anyone aspiring to work in cinema.
- Critics Sessions: this program, which includes round tables with festival guests and workshops with film journalists, editors, publicists, and other professionals present at FESPACO, is designed to introduce future film critics to their role as tastemakers.
- Curating Session: this session will involve programmers, festival artistic directors, and artistic advisers present at the festival in training sessions for future “festival curators” in Africa. Indeed, despite the number of film festivals on the continent, very few have artistic direction to guide the vision and artistic choices related to programming.
The purpose of these regulations is to define the conditions for the organization, operation, and participation of “aspiring filmmakers” in Yennenga Academy.
Yennenga Academy will be held from February 28 to March 5, 2027.
The eligibility requirements for Yennenga Academy are:
- to be a citizen of an African country or a member of its diaspora;
- to be able to express oneself fluently in French or English.
Composition of the application file.
The application file (in French or English) must include the following documents:
- a motivation letter specifying the applicant’s needs and expectations;
- a recommendation letter from an organization working in the field of cinema;
- a copy of a valid passport or national identity card;
- a recent portrait photo of the applicant (JPEG format, 300 dpi).
Applications must be submitted no later than September 20, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. on the platform by clicking here.
NB: Only complete applications will be submitted to the selection committee.
A selection committee, chaired by the Director General of ABCA, is responsible for selecting participants. The committee’s decision is final and irrevocable.
The selection results will be published on the ABCA and FESPACO websites.
Selected participants will receive a commitment form to be completed and returned.
Receipt by the General Directorate of the completed and signed form implies acceptance to be present and available for all program activities.
Yennenga Academy undertakes to:
- cover accommodation and meal expenses for selected participants during their stay in Ouagadougou;
- cover participation fees for selected candidates in the workshop activities;
- provide each participant with the best possible support through personalized guidance.
FESPACO does not cover national or international transportation costs. Selected participants are therefore invited to contact film-related organizations in their country of origin or any other institution to cover their travel expenses.
Participation in the Yennenga Academy Workshop implies full acceptance of these regulations.
The Director General of the Burkinabe Agency for Cinema and Audiovisual Media (ABCA) has jurisdiction over any dispute relating to the interpretation and application of the clauses of these regulations.
Amicable settlement remains the preferred means of resolving any dispute.
Only the French version of these regulations is legally authoritative.
All matters not provided for in these regulations fall under the authority of the Director General of ABCA.
The Director General
Alex Moussa SAWADOGO
Officer of the Order of the Stallion