The first phase of Cinetoile has been developed with 8 African partners, but may be expanded in 2010 to include others. The partners include Cinéma Numérique Ambulant Burkina (CNA Burkina), Cinéma Numérique Ambulant Mali (CNA Mali), Studio Malembe Maa, Lola Screen Kenya, Kampala Cultural Foundation (Amakula), the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF), Zimbabwe International Video Fair Trust (IVFT), and Red Flag.

There are three stages to the project:

• Preparation (2009): The partners are collaborating to implement a wide-ranging plan to screen African films. Together, they will develop a series of activities, seminars, and meetings in order to strengthen future strategies and better reach African audiences with African cinema. The partners intend to develop the common terms and procedures of the project upon which their respective actions will be based. The partners are also developing an evaluation committee – built around the expertise of renowned Mozambican producer Pedro Pimenta – to define the Cinetoile evaluation process.
• Screenings and other activities (2010): The partners will organise actions to promote African cinema, to increase cultural and social awareness, and investigate some of the challenges facing the distribution of African cinema on the continent. They will each screen the same five films which will be selected at Fespaco 2009 and the The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) 2009 festival in Tanzania. The plan is for the five films to be screened over 300 times in eight countries. These screenings are designed to increase the appreciation and content of African films made in various regions of the continent, and to gather the impressions and observations of the audiences. By analysing interactions with the audiences, the partners intend to devise future actions and strategies based on this feedback. The partners will also conduct trainings, workshops, and seminars, and they will continue to develop and expand the Cinetoile network.
• Reporting and building the future of Cinetoile (2011): The last Cinetoile meeting takes place during Fespaco 2011, when the first phase of the project draws to a close. At this occasion, the partners will share their observations gathered during their respective activities. They will present draft conclusions, reports, and proposals. The main goal is to continuously improve the systems of promoting and distributing African films on the continent, as well as to assess the future objectives of Cinetoile.

For the second phase, partners are planning a number of specific activities:

• Cinéma Numérique Ambulant Burkina (CNA Burkina) will organise 50 screenings within 10 villages in Burkina Faso. During Fespaco 2011, CNA Burkina will conduct a seminar presenting CNA Africa and the advantages of building efficient networks of distribution to better promote African cinema.
• Cinéma Numérique Ambulant Mali (CNA Mali) will organise 20 screenings within 4 villages in Mali in 2010.
• Studio Malembe Maa operates in the Sankuru region in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which was badly affected by civil war. It will have a programme to train young cultural entrepreneurs to run screenings and will carry out 50 screenings in the Sankuru region.
• Lola Kenya Screen will organise 50 screening shows in 5 neighbourhoods (through schools) of Nairobi in 2010. Lola Kenya Screen will also organise a critical writing workshop as well as a documentary filmmaking seminar designed for children from Nairobi.
• The Kampala Cultural Foundation organises the annual Amakula Kampala International Film Festival: The festival showcases films from around the world with a special focus on African cinema, offers workshops and seminars, and organises the annual Congress on East African Cinema. During 2010, Amakula will host a seminar in Kampala that looks at how to develop a film distribution system based on existing networks. The meetings will bring together the film industry (filmmakers, producers, distributors) with community and video hall owners/managers. Amakula will also put on 50 screenings during 10 two- day festivals around the country.
• During 2010, ZIFF will set up a seminar focusing on the specific problems of film distribution in Tanzania. The meeting will be attended by producers, distributors, and television broadcasters from Tanzania as well as European experts who will share their experience of European distribution schemes. ZIFF will also organise 50 screenings in 10 villages in Tanzania.
• Zimbabwe International Video Fair Trust (IVFT) will organise 50 screenings in 10 tertiary institutions. During Fespaco 2011, IVTF will also conduct a seminar on how to use African cinema as a tool to promote social change.
• South Africa’s Red Flag produces the annual Africa on Screen African film festival which is a national celebration of Africa Day through film. It will organise 25 screenings in 5 tertiary institutions.

Culture.

According to organisers, cinema distribution in most African countries operates on two tracks: firstly, a small number of recently built multiplexes in cities for the newly emerging African middle classes and secondly, the video halls (called by many names in different countries) that use pirated material to provide entertainment (along with drink) for the less well-off. Occasionally, there are mobile cinema showings supported by advertising, but these are not a weekly occurrence in one place.