The Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival’s market platform will bring together film and screen industry professionals from Canada, the United States, Africa and beyond for a virtual conversation on the future of storytelling, industry development and international collaboration.
The Global Screen Industry Leaders Panel is scheduled for Monday, September 7, 2026, from 12:00 PM to 1:15 PM ET as part of the TINFF Market | Canada Black & Diversity Film Market Summit 2026.
The discussion, themed “The Future of Film: Storytelling, Industry & Global Collaboration,” will open the market programme with a conversation involving professionals working across animation, film production, financing, visual effects, distribution, marketing and other areas of the screen industry.
The speakers announced for the session include Rani Naamani, Head of Animation at Netflix and a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; Chazz Okparanta, President and CEO of Chazz Capital Assets and Chazz Financial Inc.; Ghanaian actress and filmmaker Juliet Ibrahim, founder of Jalent Africa; and Destiny D. Owens, founder and CEO of DDO Productions and a VFX coordinator with Warner Bros.
Also joining the panel are Jennifer Whitney, Public Relations Director and Film Festival Strategist at Motivate Pictures; filmmaker and Motivate Pictures founder Maurice “Mō” Moore; Nigerian film producer and media executive Zulumoke Oyibo, co-founder of KAVA; and Tahirah J. Brooks, Director of Marketing and co-founder of BP Legacy Productions LLC.
The session will be moderated by Nigerian filmmaker and comedian Owen Gee and Canadian-based Nigerian film producer and creative entrepreneur Amaka Samuel-Okon of DEBSAM Productions.
The range of backgrounds represented on the panel reflects the wider purpose of the market summit, which has been developed as an industry meeting point connecting filmmakers and screen professionals across Canada, Africa, the Caribbean and other international markets. The CBDF Market Summit is held annually within the wider TINFF ecosystem and brings filmmakers, producers, distributors, investors and creative professionals together for industry discussions, project development and cross-border collaboration.
This year’s edition is particularly significant as it takes place during the 10th anniversary of the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival. TINFF@10 runs from September 4 to 12, 2026, with film screenings, market activities, industry sessions, networking events and its closing gala forming part of the anniversary programme.
The market itself has grown beyond being simply a space for filmmakers to meet. The 2026 programme includes sessions on global screen industries, African content distribution, AI and filmmaking, women in film, producer and writer development, pitching, distribution, co-production, consultations and professional networking.
TINFF has also continued to position its market activities around practical industry access. Previous editions combined the festival with market and industry programmes, while the current CBDF platform describes its work as creating connections between filmmakers and professionals working in financing, distribution, production and international markets. The festival’s 2025 edition, for example, ran from September 6 to 13 in Toronto and Brampton and included screenings, panels, networking and market activities as part of its wider programme.
For African filmmakers and other participants working outside the traditional North American studio system, a panel involving professionals from Netflix, Warner Bros., film finance, African production and international distribution offers an opportunity to discuss how the industry is changing across borders.
The September 7 conversation will also be followed by other market activities during the week, including programmes focused on African storytelling and distribution, pitching, project development, professional consultations and connections between Canadian and international screen industries.
Registration for the Global Screen Industry Leaders Panel is free.
Register for the TINFF Market | Canada Black & Diversity Film Market Summit 2026
