African cinema has spent decades developing filmmakers, films, festivals, markets and production capacity. But one challenge continues to sit between African screen content and commercial sustainability: finding and growing audiences.
That is the gap Deepixels wants to tackle with WIC (Watch in Community), a new audience infrastructure initiative being introduced to the industry at Durban FilmMart 2026 from 9 to 12 October.
Rather than focusing only on producing and distributing more content, WiC is built around the idea that films also need sustainable routes to the people who want to watch them, and pay to do so.
Building the missing audience infrastructure
WIC is being developed to connect content discovery and ticket acquisition with physical exhibition, using a network of programmable venues and community-based cinema environments.
The model brings content discovery, programming, ticketing, exhibition and audience intelligence into one system, with the aim of allowing audience relationships to develop over time rather than ending with a single screening or release.
“Across African film, we have invested substantially in creative development, production capacity and market access,” says Toni Monty, co-founder of Deepixels. “The missing discipline has been sustained audience development.”
According to Monty, WIC is designed to create practical routes between content, audiences, transactions and exhibition, helping more African stories find viable markets over time.
More than a cinema or streaming platform
Deepixels says WIC is not intended to replace existing cinemas, festivals, broadcasters, streaming platforms or distributors. Instead, it aims to add new audience pathways and exhibition opportunities to the existing screen ecosystem.
“The idea is not simply a screening initiative or a streaming product,” says Ross Joughin, co-founder of Deepixels. “It is a connected technology system that brings content discovery, ticket acquisition, programming, venue operations, payments and audience intelligence into one operating environment.”
That integration, Joughin says, allows the model to be tested, measured and refined as it develops.
WIC takes the conversation to Durban FilmMart
WIC will make its public industry introduction during a Durban FilmMart session titled Build the audience: WIC takes aim at African cinema’s missing link: audiences on Friday, 9 October 2026, from 11:15am to 12pm at the Elangeni Hotel in Durban.
The session will examine the gap between content creation and sustained audience access, while introducing Deepixels’ approach to connecting content, communities, exhibition spaces, transactions and audience data.
Joughin will lead the presentation, joined by fellow Deepixels co-founders Toni Monty and Molise Ramaili, as well as content partners Helen Kuun of Indigenous Film Distribution and Paul Robinson of Nefti Films. The session will also include discussion and audience Q&A.
A pop-up cinema for African screen content
Delegates will also be able to experience the WIC model through a pop-up WIC Cinema at Durban FilmMart.
The dedicated screening venue will present a curated programme of African screen content, including films submitted directly to WIC and titles presented in collaboration with Indigenous Film Distribution and Nefti Films.
Nefti will contribute a curated short-film showcase, while Indigenous Film Distribution will bring selected titles from its catalogue into the programme alongside other African screen content. Screening times and the full programme will be announced separately.
From Durban to a South African pilot
Durban FilmMart represents the public launch of WIC and an important stage in its pilot development, but Deepixels says the longer-term goal extends beyond the festival.
The company plans to continue testing the model through a South African pilot rollout, working with content partners, audiences, venue operators and other industry stakeholders to refine its commercial, operational and technical model.
For co-founder Molise Ramaili, the initiative is also about developing new infrastructure and economic opportunities around exhibition.
“WIC is also an industrial-development proposition,” says Ramaili. “It creates a framework through which local venues, operators, content owners and partners can participate in a new entertainment economy.”
The ambition is to develop commercially viable community exhibition infrastructure that can attract investment and eventually expand across multiple markets.
The bigger question for African cinema
Deepixels is positioning WIC as more than a new entertainment platform. Its launch raises a broader question about what sustainable African cinema needs beyond filmmaking and production: an audience infrastructure that can help films consistently reach the people they were made for.
“Deepixels is therefore using the DFM launch not simply to introduce a product, but to invite the industry into a larger conversation,” says Ramaili.
“If we want sustainable African cinema, we have to build sustainable African audiences.”
WIC will be introduced at Durban FilmMart 2026, with the South African pilot to follow as Deepixels continues developing the model.
