No Nigerian Filmmaker is Among the Best and Greatest African Filmmakers

No Nigerian Filmmaker is Among the Best and Greatest African Filmmakers

I am currently doing research on my article on "African Cinema in the Eyes of the World". 

No Nigerian filmmaker is among the best and greatest filmmakers in African Cinema since 1925 to date. None of them is on the list of the to 10 African Filmmakers.

Only Newton Aduaka's multiple award winning film,"Ezra" that won the most prestigious award of the "Étalon d'or de Yennenga" (Golden Stallion of Yennenga) at the 2007 Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou or FESPACO) (held biennially in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. "Ezra" also other sspecial awards; including the Oumarou Ganda Prize, given for the best first film, and the Paul Robeson Prize for the best film by a director of the African diaspora named in honour of the major 20th-century American actor, singer and civil rights activist in the United States.) and C.J Obasi's cinematic masterpiece, "Mami Wata", the  2023 sci-fi drama based on the mythology of Nigerian marine spirits  are included in the best 100 African films so far.

"Mami Wata"'s  cinematographer Lílis Soares won the Special Jury Prize in the World Dramatic Competition and won three awards at FESPACO - Prix de la Critique Paulin S. Vieyra (African Critics Award), Meilleure Image (Cinematography Award) and Meilleur Décor (Set Design Award).

The first African film to win international recognition was Sembène Ousmane's "La Noire de (Black Girl). It won the Prix Jean Vigo in 1966. Ousmane is recognized as the Father of African Cinema.

Only one African film has won the highly coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, "Chronicles of the Years of Fire" (1975) by Algerian director Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina. 

Then Mati Diop of Senegal became the only African woman to win the Grand Prix, the second-most prestigious award, for her film "Atlantics" in 2019.

"Tsotsi", a South African film is the first African film to win  the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006 actually,  the first non-French language film from Africa to achieve this honor.  It was directed by Gavin Hood, based on a novel by Athol Fugard.

The first African film to win the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival was "U-Carmen eKhayelitsha", a South African drama directed by Mark Dornford-May, in 2005.

"Dahomey, directed by Mati Diop won the Golden Bear at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in 2024, the first Black filmmaker to win the award. 

No African films has won the Toronto International Film Festival's People's Choice Award. However, "Mother, Mother" by Somalian filmmaker K'naan Warsame did receive the FIPRESCI Jury Award in 2024.

The Golden Globes celebrated a century of Egyptian Cinema in 2021. I have been working on "A Century of Nigerian Cinema: from Palaver To Nollywood - 1926-2026".

- by Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
The Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series, the first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

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#cannes
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Netflix Versus YouTube in Nollywood

Since the celebrated Nollywood actress, Omoni Oboli's romantic comedy, " Love in Every Word" became a hit on YouTube, many bloggers, news reporters and rumour mongers have become experts on how much she has made so far smiling to the bank with hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

One of them even lied that she has earned more than US$800, 000!

Another one said she has earned US$100, 000!

Nigerians can lie for Africa! 

Omoni Oboli don cashout big! Her movie 'Love in Every Word' hit up 14 million views on YouTube in just 2 weeks, earning a whopping N150m! Looks like YouTube is the new sweet spot for Nollywood producers! Congratulations to her💯 #OmoniOboli #Nollywood #YouTube #Benuevibes

FACTS DON'T LIE

Recent Nielsen data showed YouTube made up nearly 10% of all television viewing in the U.S. last month. Netflix was lower, at 8.4%, albeit the highest for a subscription service. Streaming viewership hit a record overall share topping 40%.

“Netflix and YouTube are the clear leaders,” said Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. Netflix is focused on the rest of total TV time — about 80%, primarily linear and streaming — “that isn’t going either to us or ton."

How Much Does NETFLIX Pay?

Netflix doesn't pay directly for individual views. Instead, they typically pay for licensing fees for content, which can vary significantly. For example, a Nigerian filmmaker might receive a licensing fee between $10,000 and $90,000 for a film. This is not tied to the number of views, but rather to the overall agreement to stream the content on the platform.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
No Per-View Payments:
Unlike YouTube or other platforms, Netflix doesn't offer a revenue-sharing model based on individual views.
Licensing Fees:
Netflix pays upfront fees for the rights to stream content, and these fees are negotiated in advance.

The amount of money Netflix pays can vary widely depending on factors such as the content's perceived value, the bargaining power of the content creator, and the specific agreement.

Nigerian Filmmakers:
Some reports indicate that Netflix has offered lower fees to Nigerian filmmakers compared to those from other countries. For instance, one report states that Netflix offered $90,000 for Nollywood films, while planning to spend $500 million on films and series from Asia and Europe.

In summary, Netflix doesn't pay a specific amount per million views. Instead, they pay upfront licensing fees for the right to stream content, which are not tied to the number of viewers. 

How Much Does YOUTUBE Pay for Views

YouTube doesn't pay a fixed amount per million views. The actual earnings can vary greatly, but generally, a creator can expect to earn around $2,950 for 1 million views, or about $0.00295 per view. This is based on an average AdSense revenue, but several factors can influence the actual payout.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
Factors affecting YouTube earnings:

Ad Revenue:
The main source of income for many YouTube creators is ad revenue, generated when viewers watch or click on ads within their videos.

Ad Rates:
The price advertisers pay for ads varies depending on several factors, including the audience's demographics, the type of ad, and the video's niche.

Niche and Category:
Content creators in certain niches, like real estate, may have higher RPMs (Revenue Per Mille, or per 1,000 views) than others, leading to potentially higher earnings.

Audience Demographics:
The demographics of a creator's audience can also affect their earnings. For example, videos with a high concentration of viewers in countries with strong economies might generate more revenue.

Other Income Streams:
In addition to AdSense revenue, creators can also earn money through sponsorships, merchandise sales, and other monetization methods.
Example:
A vlogging channel with a typical RPM of $1-$6 might earn between $1,000-$6,000 for 1 million views. A real estate channel with a higher RPM could potentially earn closer to $30,000 for the same number of views. 

Nigerian filmmaker competes for the Golden Stallion of Yennenga at 2011 FESPACO

A scene from “Restless City”. New York based Nigerian filmmaker Andrew Dosunmu’s Restless City is among the 18 films competing for the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, the most coveted prize at the 22nd Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) in the melodramatic Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso from February 26 – March 5, 2011. The golden “Étalon de Yennenga” (Stallion of Yennenga) symbolizes the legendary founder of the 11th century Mossi empire of Burkina Faso and is awarded to the best feature film.

The winner in 2009 was the Ethiopia born director Haile Gerima for his movie “Teza”. Newton I Aduaka of Nigeria won it in 2007 with his “Ezra”, a riveting film on blood diamonds and child soldiers in Sierra Leone.

Other special awards include the Oumarou Ganda Prize, given for the best first film, and the Paul Robeson Prize for the best film by a director of the African diaspora.

“Restless City” is Andrew Dosunmu’s first feature film. It tells the story of an African immigrant surviving on the fringes of New York City where music is his passion, life is a hustle and falling in love is his greatest risk.
Djibril, an aspiring young musician from Senegal, lives in New York. Although he dreams of greatness, imagining the day his own child might be president of the United States, his path is unstructured, and he glories in the chaos of the street. When Djibril meets Trini, a prostitute under the control of Bekay, the local loan shark, his life assumes new purpose and momentum; however, whether Djibril and Trini can outrun Bekay’s nefarious influence is another story.

The other Nigerian filmmakers at the biennial pan-African event are Mak Kusare with “Champions of our time” Kunle Afolayan with “The Figurine” in the 24 entries for the TV and video films category, Didi Cheeka, a founding Director of AlternativCinema with “Bloodstones” and Julius Morno with “The Camera” in the short film category.

Another major news is the premiere of “Ouaga Paradiso,” a 52-minute documentary on African cinema.

There are 111 films in competition – including 18 feature films, 13 short films, 22 documentaries, 37 TV and video productions, 10 films from the African diasporas and 11 student films.

Click here to read the complete report

Nigerian filmmaker wins Best Film Prize at 14th Ecrans Noire Film Festival in Cameroun

Chike Ibekwe

Nigerian filmmaker wins Best Film Prize at 14th Ecrans Noire Film Festival in Cameroun

Chike Ibekwe’s Eternal shared the best film prize at the 14th annual “Ecrans noirs” Film Festival in Yaounde (Cameroon) last Saturday.
Chike Ibekwe’s Eternal was the only Nigerian film in competition with other outstanding features from France, Haiti, and other countries but it came out tops.

Eternal, the 94 minutes film tells the unforgettable story of Dozie and Chima, two faithful Nigerian friends who were soldiers with the ECOMOG mission in West Africa and after returning from the peacekeeping operation in Sierra Leone, they went to a social event. But on the way back, Chima was struck by a car and died on the spot. Dozie was heartbroken as he mourned the loss of his dearest buddy until one day the ghost of his faithful companion Chima inhabited his body to continue their eternal bond.

Chike got funding support from France to shoot Eternal. The film was selected and screened at Film festival d’armiens in France in 2008 and also at ZUMA Film festival in Nigeria in 2008. He is currently working on his second film Letter to the Professor featuring Prof. Wole Soyinka, the first African Nobel laureate in Literature.

Chike Ibekwe is a hardworking filmmaker/producer and writer. He created, produced and directed OFF CAMPUS a TV Sitcom series.