Logical Pictures Launches Africa Venture, Creates Investment Fund

Logical Pictures is launching a new Africa venture that will see the production, financing and distribution outfit expand its global footprint into the fast-growing African market.

According to the group’s head, Frédéric Fiore, the move will help position Logical Pictures as the preferred financing partner on the continent for the international industry and the leading production company of African content with global ambitions.

“Logical Pictures has now established in Europe a uniquely positioned group that can finance, distribute and produce content internationally with outstanding talents,” said Fiore. “With Logical Pictures Africa, we want to emulate a similar ecosystem in one of the most creative places in the world, dovetailing our approach to the specificities of each part of the world.”

Launched in 2016, the Logical Pictures Group has become a leading player in film and TV equity, producing, financing and distributing a range of content in France and internationally through key investments in film banners such as Pulsar Content and the Jokers Films. Across its various holdings, the group has 11 films at this year’s Cannes Festival, including a trio of Palme d’Or contenders: Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez,” Kirill Serebrennikov’s “Limonov, the Ballad” and Paolo Sorrentino’s “Parthenope.”

The new venture will be run by Fiore, production and sales vet Pape Boye, veteran producer Sarah Aknine, Logical Content Ventures managing director Louis Ladreyt and head of development and acquisitions Nicola Ofoego.

Central to the group’s Africa strategy is the creation of a new financing vehicle, the Logical African Stories fund, which will focus on investment in content, production and distribution companies, and physical facilities, as well as packaging and fundraising for third-party projects. A production arm will develop original films and TV series while offering production services for both in-house and third-party productions. Lastly, the group will ramp up distribution efforts through the aggregation of TV and SVOD rights for African buyers.

Fiore cites the example of the booming South Korean film and TV industry as evidence that “the world is now ready to embrace exciting and commercial content from any part of the world, in any language.”

“The commercial success of the African creative industries is gaining global traction now, as we can see in music with Afrobeat,” he said. “We think that many domestic markets have grown and reached a mature state, and that international audiences will love universal and thrilling stories coming from the continent.”

The group has already laid the groundwork for its Africa expansion through a series of key moves in recent years, including the launch of Black Mic Mac, a production banner championing African and Middle Eastern talent that was founded by Boye and Logical, and a first-look deal with Kourtrajmé, a new film school in Senegal created by Ladj Ly (“Les Miserables”), Kim Chapiron and Romain Gavras (“Athena”). This year, the group also added the production savvy of Aknine, co-founder of the UGC-owned outfit Aura Productions.

Logical Pictures Africa will focus on six key territories on the continent. In French-speaking markets, they include Senegal, a country with a rich cinematic legacy and a fast-growing theatrical market that’s seen investment from the likes of French cinema giant Pathé; Ivory Coast, the economic and cultural powerhouse of Francophone West Africa which boasts a booming film and TV biz; and Benin, which Logical execs pinpoint as a major talent pool supported by a range of top-shelf training courses and institutions.

Investments in English-speaking territories will center on Nigeria, home of the prolific Nollywood film biz and a music industry that’s birthed a number of globally recognized pop stars; South Africa, the continent’s largest TV market and the recipient of massive investment from global streaming platforms; and Kenya, the first film producer in East Africa and a popular location for Hollywood films.

This year will see the group kickstart fundraising for the Logical African Stories fund, which is set to begin making its first investments. A slate of 18 films and TV series is already in different stages of development and production, including “Let the Earth Burn,” a crime drama set in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains from Sundance prize winner Sofia Alaoui and “The Bridge” creator Måns Mårlind. Logical is also working with long-standing partners to create an executive production unit in Senegal.

Those moves are just the beginning, said Fiore, who added that the launch of Logical Pictures Africa will offer “an economic upside for investors, as well as a strong uplifting impact on the African content ecosystem.”

“Many investors are looking to find meaning with their investments, alongside profit,” he said. “We think Africa can match both criteria.”