DISCOP Johannesburg Opens with Bustling Market

JOHANNESBURG: Patrick Jucaud-Zuchowicki, the CEO of Basic Lead and founder of the DISCOP markets, welcomed guests this morning to the fifth edition of DISCOP Johannesburg, which he said is “stronger and bigger” than last year.

He told the audience to gear up for a “very busy three-day schedule.” The U.S. is the guest country this year, and there are several workshops and events taking place over the next three days to celebrate the occasion.

Jucaud-Zuchowicki extended a “thank you to South Africa, the National Film and Video Foundation and the Department of Arts and Culture, the Tourism Authority and the city of Johannesburg. This is the fifth time that we are organizing our event here in Johannesburg and we see more and more people coming every year. I believe this also has to do with the warmth of Johannesburg.”

He then turned the stage over to Lindi Ndebele Koka, the chief director of cultural industries at the South African National Department of Arts and Culture, who was enthusiastic about DISCOP’s contribution to the African creative community. “With over 2,000 delegates attending, a 9-percent increase from last year, DISCOP is, indeed, getting bigger and better every year. DISCOP Africa’s key objective is to create a platform for growth, continued development and the sustainability of filmed content within the continent,” and it has delivered on this mission.

She continued, “We now live in a new creative age, where ideas have become the new capital. Creativity is an inexhaustible human resource, which is transforming the economy and society at large. Globally, the creative industries are expanding, while globalization and the digital revolution are transforming our working parameters and our understanding of what is possible daily. Africa is increasingly taking a place in this new world, and DISCOP Africa is placing the continent firmly at the center.”