It’s a new
direction for UNESCO, getting involved in
movies, so to speak.
The United Nations' cultural agency and
Netflix - the global streaming and production company - have partnered to
“support” and “promote” Africa’s new generation of filmmakers, and the results
will be revealed to the world from March 29, when six short films by young
directors will be available in 190 countries via the video-on-demand platform.
Ernesto Ottone
Ramírez, the agency’s assistant director-general for culture, said the joint
initiative “pays homage to Africa’s centuries-old tradition, passing wisdom
from generation to generation, from elders to the youngest”. He acknowledged
that this is a departure for UNESCO whose work with streaming platforms
have mostly focused on regulatory and policy issues.
Tendeka Matatu, Netflix’s director of film for Sub-Saharan Africa, said the company believes that “great stories are universal and that they can come from anywhere and be loved everywhere”. He said that what Netflix and UNESCO have in common is the desire to "promote the multiplicity of expression".
The submissions to the film contest went through a first selection process, before being narrowed to 21 candidates, who presented their projects to an international jury. The judges - including film
mentors - then selected six finalists: from Kenya (Voline Ogutu), Mauritania
(Mohamed Echkouna), Nigeria (Korede Azeez), South Africa (Gcobisa Yako),
Tanzania (Walt Mzengi Corey) and Uganda (Loukman Ali).
Each finalist
won $25,000 and a production grant of $75,000 to create their short movie with
a local production company, UNESCO said. The films were completed earlier this year, and their streaming (as an “anthology”) will begin with the 6th Kalasha
International Film and TV Market in Kenya, a three-day trade fair taking place
March 29 - 31.
Some observers
privately expressed concerns, however, that any association with global
streaming platforms could lead to formulaic storytelling or could undermine
local film ventures - a fear that Ottone Ramírez said was unfounded.
He told SWAN
that the filmmakers had complete freedom, and that the films were their own
vision. What Netflix “put at their disposal”, he said, was access to an experienced
film partner, as well as financial and technical support. (The
“Netflix-appointed supervising producer” was Steven Markovitz from Big World
Cinema, an African production company based in Cape Town, South Africa.)
UNESCO says the
partnership illustrates a “shared commitment to the continent’s audiovisual
industries, which generate jobs and wealth” and that the creative industries
“are an asset for the sustainable development of the continent”.
Anniwaa Buachie,
a Ghanaian-British actress and filmmaker, told SWAN that “budget” is one of the
biggest constraints for independent films. “You cannot go back and re-shoot,
money is tight, which also means time is limited. You just have one chance to
make sure you get the right shots, the right lighting, etc.”
Some of the
industry challenges are highlighted in a report UNESCO produced in 2021 on
Africa’s film sector, titled The African film Industry: trends, challenges and
opportunities for growth. The report found that the sector could create some 20
million jobs and generate 20 billion dollars in annual revenue on the
continent. With the survey, UNESCO could identify the need to create capacity
building and to “scale up” efforts by policy makers - using Nigeria as one
model, Ottone Ramírez said.
(Read here: The African film Industry: trends, challenges and opportunities for growth - UNESCO Digital Library)
It was on the completion of the report that UNESCO decided on the current project, Ottone
Ramírez told SWAN. At the same time, Netflix was also seeking to launch a
project in Africa, so talks began on a partnership, with “months” of discussion
about the format and the call for applications, he added.
As for
“priorities”, UNESCO hoped to include indigenous languages and gender equality
in the project, he said. Alongside English and French, the winning films are
made in a variety of languages including Hausa, KiSwahili, Runyankole,
Hassaniya Arabic, and isiXhosa - reflecting the UN International Decade of
Indigenous Languages (2022-2032).
Many of the
stories also centre on women characters, with topics including domestic
violence and the struggle for equality within patriarchal structures.
“It shows us
how important this subject is for the young generation of African filmmakers,”
Ottone Ramírez said. “I would say it was the main theme in each of the 21
pitches before the final selection. We’re seeing another way of storytelling.”
Part of the aim
was equally to boost opportunities for women filmmakers - something that has
already been happening with the long-running FESPACO film festival in Burkina
Faso - and to focus on directors living in Africa, Ottone Ramírez told SWAN.
During the
selection of the winning pitches, UNESCO and Netflix acted as observers,
leaving the choice to the international jury, he said.
Aside from
being able to produce their films, perhaps the biggest advantage to the winners
is that they have access to a global platform, which Netflix said it is “proud”
to provide.
“We know Africa
has never lacked in talent and creativity” said Matatu, the Netflix director.
“What has been in short supply, however, is opportunity. Emerging talents often
struggle - they struggle finding the right resources and the visibility to
fully unleash their potential and develop their creative careers.”
The winning
short films will potentially reach some 230 million subscribers of the
video-on-demand platform around the world, he said - an unprecedented
opportunity for these young filmmakers. - SWAN
Industry
mentors were Bongiwe Selane, Jenna Bass, Pape Boye, Femi Odugbemi, Leila Afua
Djansi, and Tosh Gitonga.
