Netflix secures third partner on quest to scale original African content

Netflix, an American subscription streaming service, has signed its third African partnership agreement, this time with South African filmmaker Mandalkayis Walter Dube, following previous agreements with Nigerian filmmakers Mo Abudu and Kunle Afolayan.

This was revealed on Tuesday at Netflix’s What’s Next Africa content showcase, which highlighted the company’s increased investment in Africa’s rich storytelling heritage through new projects spanning a diverse range of genres and formats that will be available in 190 countries.

Part of the company’s ongoing commitment is to create sustainable relationships with African storytellers.

Dube, who directed Netflix’s first commissioned African film, Silverton Siege, will direct a number of yet-to-be-announced projects for the streaming service.

At the event, Netflix also gave a glimpse into the progress of the various projects being created by emerging filmmakers from the various initiatives the company introduced in the past year which include, the UNESCO & Netflix ‘African folktales, Reimagined’ Competition; the Netflix & NFVF Film Fund and the Realness Institute Episodic Lab.

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“We believe that Africa is one of the major creative hubs for great storytelling that resonates around the world, so it only makes sense for us to increase our investment with our slate with an even more exciting slate”, according to Dorothy Ghettuba, Netflix Director of Series in Africa.

She added, “We’re proud to continue creating global opportunities for the talented creatives of this great continent and sharing their authentic stories with our members in Africa and around the world.”

At the event, Netflix previewed a diverse range of best-in-class exciting African content through exclusive promo reels and images. These include Ludik, The Brave Ones, and Kings of Queenstown.

Tendeka Matatu, Director of Local Language Films in Africa said, “We are working with top talent and filmmakers as well as exciting emerging voices from the continent”.

“We are thrilled to expand our partnerships with Africa’s talented storytellers. With an ever-growing slate of series, movies, and licensed content across a rich variety of best-in-class content across genres, we want to give our members more moments to share the joy that comes from being immersed in great stories made in Africa, to be watched by the world” she added.