50 is The Magic Number!!!!!

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Dec 19, 2013, 10:35 ET

NAIROBI, Kenya, December 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

A24 MEDIA would like to wish all of our friends, colleagues and partners a Happy Holiday season. As we look back on 2013 we proudly reflect on the 50^th anniversary of our parent company Camerapix, the 50^th year of Kenyan independence and our 50^th original African documentary. We also congratulate our Chairman, Salim Amin, on the various awards and recognitions he has received in the past year. From being named one of the 50 trailblazing Africans by New Africa magazine, to his most recent honour, the 2013 Walter Klein Award from IQ International.

A24 proudly recognizes our long-time professional relationships that have flourished, including producing the AFRICA JOURNAL news magazine program with the Reuters News Agency and the FACES OF AFRICA documentary series with CCTV NEWS. But we also have enjoyed a continued partnership with TV Continental from Lagos, GOTEL in Yola, Nigeria as well as new connections with Bloomberg Africa, Zuku TV, IHA and Canal France International.Our achievements this year include compelling films on the Nigerian Film industry, Camerapix founder Mohamed Amin, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the African Union initiative AMISOM and Congolese music great Franco, among many others.

Africa Journal has continued to keep Africa and the world informed about those inspiring stories that are moving our continent forward. Special editions on the AU's 50^th anniversary, the DRC, Film in Africa add to stories on Oscar Pistorius, the continuation of the Egyptian revolution, and Ethiopia's grand dam project, as Africa's most unique program. Stories from Swaziland, The Gambia, Djibouti, Gabon and Togo reflect our drive to visit all 55 African nations within a calendar year. We highlighted the long life and many accomplishments of the House of Mohamed Amin at a presentation before the international journalism conference News Xchange, which was held for the first time in Africa, specifically Morocco, this year. The film shown can be seen on this link:

http://www.a24media.com/camerapix-at-50-years

Yes, the legend lives on! Mohamed Amin's legacy of covering Idi Amin's rise and fall, the great Ethiopian famine, Muslims going on the Hajj, has fallen to the young Africans of A24 MEDIA. In 2013 they did extraordinary work covering the Kenyan elections, the Westgate massacre and the reign and fall of the M23 rebels in Eastern Congo.

While Mo Amin had to heed the call of the continent's biggest news stories, the growing team of young African journalists at A24 have time to profile those rising stars who are developing Africa. From pop icon Werrason to Djibouti's reggae Don, from Burundi's new football coach to the African qualifiers for the Rio world cup, from Swaziland's sugarcane barons to Amsa Yaro the TV star/handicrafts mogul of Nigeria, A24 has given the world a glimpse into Africa available nowhere else.

Mr. Salim has carved out a presence in Africa that would make his father proud. Asked to address the prestigious Yale university alumni in Ghana this year, Salim talked about his choice to return from school in the West to try and bring the world the story of Africa that they were missing out on. His commitment saw him placed on two prominent lists of Africa's elite. New Africa magazine said Salim "has helped shape Africa's perception among one fifth of humanity." And the Walter Klein award, presented to him by the IQ International Quorum of Motion Pictures Producers honoured him for "telling stories that make a difference in people's lives."

As we move forward from 2013 to the future of African storytelling A24 MEDIA has also glanced back, paying tribute to greats such as Chinua Achebe, Kofi Awoonor, Bi Kidude, Goldie, Tabu Ley and, of course, the great Nelson Mandela. Episodes from A24 MEDIA's four part series on the life of Africa's conscience were rebroadcast on CCTV NEWS after his death. And two special episodes of AFRICA JOURNAL also aired.

JOIN US IN TELLING THE AFRICAN STORY

A24 MEDIA would like to continue to invite African broadcasters, publishers and new media to join us in helping to tell a Pan African story of achievement and continuing development. We salute TV Continental as they look to celebrate their first anniversary of 24-hour Pan African news coverage. And we have enjoyed the first few episodes of Bloomberg Africa's new and dynamic programming line-up. But there are certainly more people to reach with unique, quality programs.

CEO of A24 MEDIA, Mr. Asif Sheikh, sees vast potential for broadcasters and new media on the continent, "With broadcasters in Africa going digital in the next year we anticipate a growing appetite for more programs on African culture. We also see more and more consumers wanting to learn about what their neighbours are watching, listening to and doing in their spare time, directly on their mobile phones."

ANOTHER MILESTONE ACHIEVED
Our history of documentary-making, including award winning "MO & ME" (17 best-documentary Festival awards to date); groundbreaking KIKULACHO, documenting the history of corruption in Kenya; and the four-part series, FINDING MANDELA, was crowned this year when we completed our 50^th documentary film, "AFRONAUT", looking back on one of Africa's great dreamers and our unlimited potential. Check out our entire library of films and programs by visiting http://www.a24media.com. We would like to send out our best to all of our talented content partners, from Tewodros in Ethiopia to Emmanuel in Ghana, Hossam in Egypt and Jean in South Africa, Abdelhaq in Morocco, Teddy Tinka in Uganda and Amadin in Nigeria, among many others.

A24 MEDIA is looking at 2014 as the first year in another half-century of greatness for Kenya, for Africa and for our journalists and filmmakers. Thank you for keeping us in your minds and hearts, and keep looking for great stories in the months and years to come.