After broadcasting its 100% African original creations "Queen Sono" and "Blood and Water," the VOD giant is going even further in its "local" approach by launching initiatives to encourage the film industry on the African continent.
A few months ago, Netflix joined forces with the Realness Institute, an incubator active in English-speaking countries, to train African screenwriters through workshops in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.
Now, Netflix has chosen to develop a unique partnership with UNESCO. Together, they are launching a short film competition on the theme of "African folk tales reinvented" to discover the future talents of African cinema. At the end of the competition, the winners will be trained by industry professionals and will receive $75,000 to make a short film that will be broadcast on the Netflix platform in 2022.
The aim of this initiative is to highlight emerging filmmakers in the region and give them visibility on the international stage.
"Africa has a vast narrative heritage and a multitude of folk tales that have been passed down for generations. When you combine these very local stories with Africa's emerging talent, there is no limit to the new stories that connect people to African cultures and bring people together," says Ben Amadasun, Netflix's Director of Content in Africa.
This partnership was announced on the sidelines of Fespaco. UNESCO will also take advantage of the event dedicated to African cinema to publish its major report entitled The Film Industry in Africa. This first mapping of the 54 countries of the African continent will be presented next week to the public at the major Burkinabe film festival.
The winners of the competition will be trained and mentored by film professionals and will have a production budget of $75,000 to make short films that will be broadcast on Netflix in 2022 in the form of an "Anthology of African Folk Tales."
With this competition, Netflix is confirming its ambition to invest in the production of local content to attract new subscribers on the continent.