Ivory Coast wants to make its own cinema

In a sandy alleyway in Abidjan, an air of yesteryear floats. Between two blocks of flats, the actors of 220 logement play checkers, next to an old telephone booth and a small, reconstructed maquis, extolling the virtues of Bock, "the strong man's beer" . The new creation of A +, the Canal + channel dedicated to African series , promises a dive into the 1990s and the life of a working-class neighborhood – the famous "220 logement" – then famous in the economic capital of Côte d'Ivoire .

Co-produced by the Ivorian company Plan A, this 104-episode daily soap opera, scheduled for June, is a new gamble for Canal+. In French-speaking Africa, the group has for years relied on local production to attract viewers. But "it's unprecedented to offer a series set in the past," summarizes Michel Mutombo-Cartier, CEO of A+.

Should this be seen as proof of a certain maturity in the Ivorian audiovisual scene? Its vitality is, in any case, hardly in doubt among professionals in the sector. "It's filming everywhere, all the time," enthuses director Jean-Jules Porquet, on duty the same day in another part of the city to manage the team of the melodramatic sitcom Amours interdites , intended for La Nouvelle Chaîne ivoirienne (NCI).

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