CANNES, FRANCE
The Digital Creator Africa Academy for Microdrama (DCAA) today announced a formal partnership with Video Rebirth, the Singapore-headquartered AI video company behind the BACH engine, one of the world’s most advanced industrial-grade AI video generation platforms. The announcement was made on 15 May 2026 at the Global South Pavilion, Palais des Festivals, Cannes, in the presence of press, filmmakers, industry delegates, and international partners gathered at the Marché du Film.
Under the agreement, Video Rebirth will provide BACH platform credits to 100 students enrolled in DCAA’s AI Filmmaking stream, commencing May 2026. The partnership marks Video Rebirth’s first structured institutional commitment on the African continent and establishes DCAA as BACH’s inaugural African academy partner. BACH will be integrated into DCAA’s curriculum as the designated AI production engine for the AI Filmmaking stream, used for assessed production work including short films, trailers, and sequences created by enrolled students.
“Africa’s screen economy is not waiting for permission to lead in AI filmmaking. DCAA was built to ensure that when the world looks for where AI-native film culture took root, the answer is unambiguously African. This partnership with Video Rebirth and BACH places industrial-grade AI production tools directly in the hands of Africa’s most commercially ready creators, and that changes the shape of what African cinema can be.”
Elijah Affi, Co-Founder, DCAA
DCAA’s AI Filmmaking stream is designed for working professionals, not beginners. The inaugural cohort includes filmmakers with credits across Netflix, Prime Video, and major African platforms, all actively transitioning their practice into AI-native workflows. The three-week intensive, launching in May 2026, will now integrate BACH as a core production instrument, giving students hands-on experience with one of the most technically sophisticated AI video tools currently available anywhere in the world.
Video Rebirth’s BACH engine is built on proprietary Physics Native Attention (PNA) architecture, delivering frame-to-frame coherence and physical realism at commercial-production quality. The company closed an $80 million funding round in March 2026, backed by AMD Ventures, Hyundai Motor Group, and is in active global market expansion ahead of full commercial launch.
“We built DCAA to train the creators who will define Africa’s AI film industry, not observe it. Bringing BACH into the curriculum at this stage is not about access to a tool. It is about ensuring that the first generation of professionally certified African AI filmmakers builds their craft on infrastructure that is genuinely world-class. This is what a real partnership looks like: one where both parties are invested in the same outcome.”
Oma Areh, Co-Founder, DCAA
The partnership has been structured to ensure that BACH’s integration within DCAA goes beyond visibility. Students will produce all assessed AI Filmmaking module work using the platform, generating structured usage data across diverse genres, production environments, and markets.
“Africa is home to some of the world’s most vibrant storytelling traditions, and we believe AI will be the catalyst that brings these stories to global audiences at a scale never before possible. This partnership with DCAA is not just about providing a tool, it’s about investing in the creative foundation for an entirely new generation of filmmakers. We see Africa as one of the most exciting frontiers for AI-powered filmmaking, and we intend to be the engine behind it.”
Dr. Dan Kong, Co-founder & Chief Operating Officer, Video Rebirth
The announcement was made at the Global South Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival / Marché du Film on 15 May 2026, where DCAA presented to press, filmmakers, and international industry delegates as part of its global partnership and platform strategy for 2026. The DCAA × Video Rebirth partnership is one of several institutional collaborations DCAA is pursuing ahead of the Africa Creative Market flagship activation in Lusaka, Zambia, in July 2026, where DCAA serves as a programme partner and vertical screen industry convener.
About the Digital Creator Africa Academy (DCAA)
DCAA is Africa’s first certified AI microdrama training institution, co-founded by ‘Oma Areh and Elijah Affi. Officially partnered with Nigeria’s National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), DCAA trains working filmmakers across six streams: Vertical Scripting, Directing for Vertical Screen, Performance Editing, Microdrama Business & Distribution, AI Filmmaking, and Acting for the Vertical Screen. DCAA is a co-convenor of VEX (The Vertical Exchange), Africa’s first vertical content market, and a programme partner of the Africa Creative Market. www.digitalcreatorafrica.academy
About Video Rebirth / BACH
Video Rebirth is a Singapore-headquartered AI video company developing the BACH series — industrial-grade AI video generation engines built on proprietary Physics Native Attention (PNA) architecture. Backed by AMD Ventures, Hyundai Motor Group, Video Rebirth is expanding globally ahead of full commercial launch. www.videorebirth.com