Nollywood director, Akin Omotoso, has said Netflix represents an incredible opportunity to get Nigerian stories to 190 countries.
The filmmaker said this following the film streaming company’s partnership with some of Nigeria’s most talented creatives to bring “their unique stories to the world.”
He also added that, “with this newfound access to the global stage, the powerful stories crafted by Nigerian creatives will now enjoy a worldwide audience.”
Ben Amadasun, Netflix’s Director of Content Acquisition and Co-Productions in Africa who hails from Nigeria explained: “Great stories come from anywhere in the world, and Africa is full of incredible stories that we finally get to share with the world. We have a wealth of fables that have been passed down from generations, and Netflix has a great opportunity to bring those stories to the forefront, which will resonate all over the world.’’
In the pipeline is the Nigerian Netflix Original, untitled, directed by Omotoso, starring Kate Henshaw, Ade Layoe, Richard Mofe Damijo and Joke Silva amongst others. The six-part series, announced in February 2020, is set in contemporary Nigeria and shot in Lagos.
“For so long I’ve been fortunate enough to experience how African content can, in fact, travel and this investment by Netflix is going to help grow the African industry and get our stories out there,” Mo Abudu said. As CEO of EbonyLife, she has several licensed titles including ‘The Wedding Party’, ‘Castle & Castle’ and ‘Fifty ‘on the service and recently signed a partnership with Netflix to create multiple titles, including the on-screen adaptations of literary works by two critically-acclaimed Nigerian authors: a series based on contemporary author, Lola Shoneyin’s best-selling debut novel, ‘The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives’ and a film adaptation of ‘Death And The King’s Horseman’, a play by 1986 Nobel Prize laureate in Literature, Wole Soyinka.
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