Showing posts with label Nigerian filmmakers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nigerian filmmakers. Show all posts

Monday, April 3, 2023

Why Netflix is the First Choice of Filmmakers in Nigeria

Why Netflix is the First Choice of Filmmakers in Nigeria

At a meeting with one of the biggest film companies in Africa in February, they told me that Netflix is the first choice of Nigerian Filmmakers, because Netflix pays more for their content than Amazon Prime Video and other major competitors in the  streaming industry.
To be on Netflix is the dream of every Nigerian filmmaker for more money, more prestige and more privilege in the global film industry.
I was told that the filmmakers are willing to wait for even a year to be acquired by Netflix instead of being acquired by other streaming platforms within six months.

Netflix has over 230 million subscribers worldwide, including 74.3 million in the United States and Canada; 76.7 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 41.7 million in Latin America and 38 million in the Asia-Pacific region.

Filmmakers in Nigeria have improved the quality of their film and TV productions to meet the international criteria for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other leading foreign streaming services.

Nigeria produces over 1, 000 movies annually, but only few of them are acquired by Netflix. 

The Nigerian film industry popularly known as Nollywood has been a sociocultural and economic phenomenon in filmmaking in Africa and according to UNESCO, the  "Nollywood Model' could help unlock 20 million African film jobs.


Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Nollywood and the French Connection

NOLLYWOOD

Nollywood and The French Connection


Before the Nigerian government started supporting Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry with grants from the Project Act Nollywood and the NollyFund of the Bank of Industry (BoI), the French government through the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs supported the film and TV productions of selected Nigerian filmmakers. The French Audio Visual Attaché in Nigeria (2002-2006), Monsieur Pierre Barrot authored one of the first books on the phenomenon of Nollywood, "Nollywood: The Video Phenomenon in Nigeria" published by the Indiana University Press in 2009.

One of films sponsored by the French government, "Eternal" by Chike Ibekwe won the best film award (Ecrans Dór) at the 14th edition of Ecrans Noir Film Festival in  2010 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Another outstanding film produced with the support of  Fonds images Afrique of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs was "Changing Faces";by Faruk Lasaki,  the first Nigerian film to be dubbed into French and broadcast by Canal France International in 2009 to all television channels in French-speaking Africa under the title "La Métamorphose".

Nigerian Films and TV series projects which benefitted from French production funding and were fully completed.

Projet

Producteur

ou réalisateur

Genre

Aide accordée

Origine

Année

Our husband has gone mad again

Albert Egbe

TV Series

(13 x 26 minutes)

40 000 euros

Fonds Images Afrique

2003

The Virgin ?

 

 

Tunde Kelani

TV Series

35 000 euros

Fonds Images Afrique

2003

Claws of the lion

Francis Onwochei

Feature Film

30 000 euros

Fonds Images Afrique

2004

Tides of Fate

Greg Odutayo

TV Series

40 000 euros

Fonds Images Afrique

2005

Eternal

Chikeh Ibekwe

Feature Film

40 000 euros

Fonds Images Afrique

2005

The Head of State

Jimi Odumosu

 

45 000 euros

Fonds Images Afrique

2005

Changing Faces

Faruk Lasaki

 

60 000 euros

Fonds Images Afrique

2005

Off Campus

Chikeh Ibekwe

 

35 000 euros

Fonds Images Afrique

2005

Relentless

Andy Amadi Okoroafor

 

Aide réécriture

 

100 000 euros

Fonds Images Afrique

2005

 

 

2006

 

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

Publisher/Editor

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series


Thursday, November 4, 2021

Over 1, 426 Nigerian Movies Produced in 2021 and None Selected for the 94th Annual Academy Awards

Over 1, 426 Nigerian Movies Produced in 2021 and None Selected for the 94th Annual Academy Awards

The Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) for the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) said entries submitted by Nigerian filmmakers did not meet the eligibility rules.
 "After a series of deliberations by the Committee members, we regret to announce that there won’t be submission of film to represent the country for the 94th Academy Awards. This is due to the fact that the films received so far for screening failed the eligibility rule test set by the Academy,” said the NOSC.

Once again, Nigerian filmmakers have disappointed Nigeria. From disqualification for failing to meet the eligibility criteria in 2019 to failing to make the short list for the nominations in 2020; Nigerian filmmakers continue lagging behind other African countries in competition for the most coveted awards for the best films in the world with Somalia and six other African countries on the final list of the official submissions for the Best International Feature Film of the 94th annual Academy Awards.
The following is the official final list.

ALBANIA – Two Lions Heading to Venice / Dy Luanë drejt Venecias (Jonid Jorgji)

ALGERIA – Héliopolis / (هليوبوليس) / (Haliyūbūlīs) (Djafar Gacem)

ARGENTINA – The Intruder / El Prófugo (Natalia Meta)

ARMENIA – Should the Wind Drop / Երբ որ քամին հանդարտվի / Si le vent tombe (Nora Martirosyan)

AUSTRALIA – When Pomegranates Howl (Granaz Moussavi)

AUSTRIA – Great Freedom / Große Freiheit (Sebastian Meise)

BANGLADESH – Rehana / রেহানা মরিয়ম নূর / Rehana Maryam Noor (Abdullah Mohammad Saad)

BELGIUM – Playground / Un monde (Laura Wandel)

BOLIVIA – The Great Movement / El Gran Movimiento (Kiro Russo)

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – The White Fortress / Tabija (Igor Drljaca)

BRAZIL – Private Desert / Deserto Particular (Aly Muritiba)

BULGARIA – Fear / Страх (Milko Lazarov)

CAMBODIA – White Building / ប៊ូឌីញ ស (Ivaylo Hristov)

CANADA – Drunken Birds / Les oiseaux ivres (Ivan Grbovic)

CHILE – White on White / Blanco en blanco (Theo Court)

COLOMBIA – Memoria (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

COSTA RICA – Clara Sola (Nathalie Álvarez Mesén)

CROATIA – Tereza37 (Danilo Šerbedžija)

CZECH REPUBLIC – Zátopek (David Ondříček)

DENMARK – Flee / Flugt (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)

ECUADOR – Sumergible (Alfredo León León)

EGYPT – Souad / سعاد (Ayten Amin)

ESTONIA – On the Water / Vee peal (Peeter Simm)

FINLAND – Compartment No. 6 / Hytti nro 6 (Juho Kuosmanen)

FRANCE – Titane (Julia Ducournau)

GEORGIA – Brighton 4th / მეოთხე ბრაიტონი (Levan Koguashvili)

GERMANY – I’m Your Man / Ich bin dein Mensch (Maria Schrader)

GREECE – Digger (Georgis Grigorakis)

HONG KONG – Zero to Hero / 媽媽的神奇小子 (Jimmy Wan)

HUNGARY – Post Mortem (Péter Bergendy)

ICELAND – Lamb / Dýrið (Valdimar Jóhannsson)

INDIA – Pebbles / கூழாங்கல் / Koozhangal (P.S. Vinothraj)

INDONESIA – Yuni (Kamila Andini)

IRAN – A Hero / قهرمان (Asghar Farhadi)

IRELAND – Foscadh (Seán Breathnach)

ISRAEL – Let It Be Morning / ויהי בוקר, ليكن صباحا (Eran Kolirin)

ITALY – The Hand of God / È stata la mano di Dio (Paolo Sorrentino)

JAPAN – Drive My Car /ドライブ・マイ・カー / Doraibu mai kā (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)

KENYA – Mission to Rescue (Gilbert Lukalia)

KOSOVO – Hive / Zgjoi (Blerta Basholli)

KYRGYZSTAN – Shambala / Шамбала (Artykpai Suyundukov)

LATVIA – The Pit / Bedre (Dace Pūce)

LEBANON – Costa Brava, Lebanon / كوستابرافا (Mounia Akl)

LITHUANIA – The Jump / Šuolis (Giedrė Žickytė)

LUXEMBOURG – Io sto bene (Donato Rotunno)

MALAWI – Fatsani: A Tale of Survival (Gift Sukez Sukali)

MALAYSIA – Hail, Driver! / Prebet Sapu (Muzzamer Rahman)

MALTA – Luzzu (Alex Camilleri)

MEXICO – Prayers for the Stolen / Noche de fuego (Tatiana Huezo)

MONTENEGRO – After the Winter / Poslije zime (Ivan Bakrač)

MOROCCO – Casablanca Beats / علّي صوتك (Nabil Ayouch)

NETHERLANDS – Do Not Hesitate (Shariff Korver)

NORTH MACEDONIA – Sisterhood / Сестри (Sestri) (Dina Duma)

NORWAY – The Worst Person in the World / Verdens verste menneske (Joachim Trier)

PALESTINE – The Stranger / الغريب / Al Garib (Ameer Fakher Eldin)

PANAMA – Plaza Catedral (Abner Benaim)

PERU – Powerful Chief / Manco Cápac (Henry Vallejo)

POLAND – Leave No Traces / Żeby nie było śladów (Jan P. Matuszyński)

PORTUGAL – The Metamorphisis of Birds / A Metamorfose dos Pássaros (Catarina Vasconcelos)

ROMANIA – Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn / Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc (Radu Jude)

RUSSIA – Unclenching the Fists / Разжимая кулаки / Razzhimaya kulaki (Kira Kovalenko)

SERBIA – Oasis / Оаза (Ivan Ikić)

SINGAPORE – Precious Is The Night / 今宵多珍重 (Wayne Peng)

SLOVAKIA – 107 Mothers / Cenzorka (Péter Kerekes)

SLOVENIA – Sanremo (Miroslav Mandić)

SOMALIA – The Gravedigger’s Wife (Khadar Ayderus Ahmed)

SOUTH KOREA – Escape from Mogadishu / 모가디슈 / Mogadisyu (Ryoo Seung-wan)

SPAIN – The Good Boss / El buen patrón (Fernando León de Aranoa)

SWEDEN – Tigers / Tigrar (Ronnie Sandahl)

SWITZERLAND – Olga (Elie Grappe)

TAIWAN – The Falls / 瀑布 (Chung Mong-hong)

THAILAND – The Medium / ร่างทรง / Rang Song (Banjong Pisanthanakun)

TUNISIA – Golden Butterfly / فرططو الذهب / Papillon d’Or (Abdelhamid Bouchnak)

TURKEY – Commitment Hasan / Bağlılık Hasan (Semih Kaplanoğlu)

UKRAINE – Bad Roads / Погані дороги / Plokhiye dorogi (Nataliia Vorozhbyt)

URUGUAY – The Broken Glass Theory / La teoría de los vidrios rotos (Diego Fernández)

VENEZUELA – The Inner Glow / Un destello interior (Andrés Eduardo Rodríguez, Luis Alejandro Rodríguez)

The most likely Nigerian film that would have been eligible is the historical epic, "Amina" by Izu Ojukwu, but it is in English and not in the Hausa language of the original story.
The fact that the great opportunity to produce "Queen Amina" in the Hausa language was missed by the producers is a big disappointment, because the film directed by Izu Ojukwu would have fulfilled the criteria for the eligibility and most likely make the short list of the nominations for the Best International Feature Film category. But the producers were more interested in fulfilling the eligibility for Netflix than the eligibility for the Academy Awards.
Having a movie on Netflix is now the most coveted thing for majority of Nigerian filmmakers and not the qualifications for the Academy Awards, Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival.
They celebrate making it to Netflix like winning a million dollar lottery.
But Netflix pays more for the movies of South African, American, European, Asian and Arabian filmmakers than Nigerian filmmakers, because they know that there is a surplus of Nigerian movies selling cheap with their lower budgets and lower standards of filmmaking.

The producers of "Amina" were grinning excitedly like children who have been given Christmas presents in November before the Christmas day comes up in December while their fellow African filmmakers were competing and winning highly esteemed awards at the 27th biennial FESPACO in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and fulfilling the eligibility criteria for the Best International Feature Film category of the 94th annual Academy Awards.

I congratulated the producers of "Amina", to commend their efforts, but majority of the critics said the film on the legendary Warrior,  Queen Amina of Zazzau in northern Nigeria should have been in Hausa language and subtitled in English. Yes. And that means the real historical film on Queen Amina has not been done.
I prefer that the film should feature the best actors in Kannywood, the Hausa language sector of the Nigerian film industry. And it should be a national film project of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) which is part of the statutory functions and should be in the priorities of the Steering Committee for the Reform and Commercialisation of the Corporation.

The 94th annual Academy Awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), will honor the best films released since March 1, 2021, and is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California on March 27, 2022.


- By EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series 
247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria



Friday, July 30, 2021

Netflix is Improving the Quality of Nollywood To World Class Standards

Netflix is Improving the Quality of Nollywood To World Class Standards

#Netflix is actually helping #Nollywood to improve the quality of film and TV productions in the Nigerian film industry.

But MultiChoice is still accepting substandard movies from #Nollywood for the Africa Magic. They come cheap for as low as US$1200 per movie.

The producers say being seen on #DStv is an achievement and Netflix is their ultimate dream. Making it to Netflix is like winning an #Oscar to Nollywood filmmakers.

Netflix should only accept Nollywoood or #Kannywood movies with Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, because it would boost the quality of the sound in the film and TV productions. 

Your sound begins from writing the screenplay: from the first draft and not the copy and paste soundtracks during the post production which is the common practice in Nollywood.

Using Dolby Vision is not rocket science. 

If Nollywood wants to improve on the quality of productions to qualify for the official selections of top international film festivals and nominations for the Academy Awards, Nigerian filmmakers have to use the same benchmarks for international productions as their counterparts and peers in the leading film Industries in the world.

And I am still waiting for the first Nigerian movie with Dolby Vision.


- By Ekeyerengozi MichaeI Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series,

@247nigeria Twitter

Monday, February 8, 2021

Kenneth Gyang and the First Edition of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series

Kenneth Gyang and the First Edition of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series

I never knew the now famous young filmmaker Kenneth Gyang, director of "Òlòtūré", the most popular Nigerian movie on #Netflix and "Sons of the Caliphate" series also on Netflix until I was told by Nigerian filmmaker, Adaora Nwandu to interview him for the Black Film Maker magazine published in the UK in 2006 and the profile feature article was published as "Young At Art". Kenneth Gyang at 18 was the youngest director in Nigeria in 2006.

The Black Film Maker published by Menelik Shabazz, from 1998 to 2008, was an internationally recognized print publication as the only voice for black filmmakers distributed in the UK, USA, and Europe.

Then in 2013, his debut feature film, "Confusion Na Wa" produced by Tom Rowland Rees won the Best Feature, Best Nigerian Film and Best Director at the 9th annual Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) held on April 20 in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

I was so happy for Kenneth Gyang and celebrated him as the cover story of the first edition of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series, the first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

This maiden edition has become the most highly priced Nigerian book on Nollywood and a collector's item selling for US$1,636.91! That is over N621, 000 a copy at the current exchange rate of the US dollar to the naira.

You can see the highly priced edition on 

https://www.amazon.com.mx/Nollywood-Mirror-Ekenyerengozi-Michael-Paperback/dp/B00Z8FH4EM.


- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Publisher/Editor of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series.