Piracy a barrier to Africa’s film industry

Africa's film industry is thriving and could create many millions of extra jobs if its potential was fully exploited, the UN has noted. A report on the News24 site notes that Unesco said an estimated 5m people currently work in Africa's film industry, which contributes $5bn to the continent's GDP. Its report flagged piracy as a major concern because it ‘waylays 50% to over 75% of the film and audiovisual industries' revenue’. Only 19 African countries out of 54 offer any financial support to filmmakers, the report also found. If all these challenges were fully addressed, the sector could create more that 20m jobs, Unesco said.