The Nigerian Hausa movie industry, Kannywood, has launched an online application to curb the issue of film piracy and deepen the penetration of Nigerian Hausa films into the global market.
The movie streaming app, Northflix.ng was launched on Saturday at Bristol palace hotel, Kano at a grand iftar attended by many stakeholders in the industry.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Northflix.ng, Jamilu Abdulsalam, described the app as a saving grace for movie producers to enable them reap the benefits of their hard work.
He identified poor distribution channels and high rate of piracy among major concerns depriving movie producers of getting financial value for their investments and urged them to embrace the innovation for better and higher rewards for their contents.
“Northflix is an online streaming platform aimed at selling out Hausa contents. We understand that there is poor distribution channel in the Hausa film industry; there is high rate of piracy in the industry.
“From the research we conducted, 98 percent of people that are watching Hausa films currently do not use their money to access it only two percent use their money to access these contents which is discouraging to film-making business.
He emphasised that the new app would not only protect the films from unwholesome download by the pirates but would also market the films in the competitive global films market.
“With Northflix, we intend to ensure that if you release a movie today wherever people are, they can have access to it on their smartphones, tablets, laptops and whatever device they have.
“Northflix has end-to-end encryption and works on the same principle as its American version Netflix where the content users would be able to access films online on subscription only.
“Once you download a movie on the platform, you can only watch the downloaded film for three days, after which you would have to subscribe again to be able to watch the same movie. This is done in order to prevent any possibility for piracy,” the CEO said.
The Vice Chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria, Professor Abdallah Uba Adamu, who was one of the invited dignitaries at the event described the initiative as an opportunity for propagating the rich Hausa culture in the global community, and therefore urged the film producers to embrace the initiative so as to get value for their products.
He also charged them to always ensure that quality films that promote Hausa values are released to the public.
Speaking in a similar vein, a multi-talented film producer cum director, Ali Nuhu, encouraged his colleagues in the industry to embrace the initiative saying it is a once-and-for-all solution to many lingering issues in the industry.
The event was attended by many prominent actors, directors and producers in the industry, including Ali Nuhu, Hadiza Gabon, Sadiq Sani Sadiq, Falalu Dorayi, and Aminu Saira among others.
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