Anthill Studios, a Nigerian film production company led by Niyi Akinmolayan, has partnered with Netflix to produce another Epic film, ‘Lisabi: The Uprising.’ The film will debut on the Netflix platform on September 27, 2024.
While praising the work of the sound design team and how they explored different Yoruba instruments to figure out a new cinematic soundscape, Akinmolayan revealed that the movie production crew was 100 percent Nigerians.
What does this mean for the dynamics of collaboration between streaming platforms and Nigerian film studios?
Since the advent of streaming services, Nollywood movies have found new ways to connect with people in different parts of the world either by licensing movies on these platforms or having these platforms (like Netflix) partner with local studios to commission projects to produce international standard films that are only accepted on the platform.
In recent years, prominent Nigerian studios like Anthill, KAP, EbonyLife, Inkblot, and Greoh have secured multi-year deals with streaming giants, receiving funding to create films that meet international standards.
However, industry experts speaking on X platforms, have revealed a significant portion of these budgets is allocated to hiring foreign cinematographers and editors, whose expertise commands premium rates, highlighting a perceived gap in local skills.
The first ever commissioned Nollywood project ‘Lionheart’ in 2018 which was directed by Genevieve Nnaji, veteran Nollywood actress, had 17 crew members, according to IMDb, with 10 of them from foreign countries.
Lionheart went on to screen at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and became Nigeria’s first attempted entry to the Oscars. It also won the Outstanding World Cinema Motion Picture category of the 2019 Black Reel Awards.
In another recent example, the visual effects team for the recent Netflix film “House of Ga’a” released in July this year was composed entirely of foreign experts.
Other projects like Citation, Far From Home, Anikulapo, Blood Sisters, and others have since followed the trend and had at least one of the crew members from a foreign country to keep up to the standard required by Netflix.
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Jonathan Kovel, a South African cinematographer is a recurring name of foreign filmmakers who has worked on a few Nollywood Netflix films. Some of his works include popular projects like Shanty Town, A Naija Christmas, Anikulapo and Citation.
In November of 2022, Netflix announced that it invested N9 billion in six years spanning 125 Nigerian films and television series available on the platform. While a good amount of this budget goes to foreign expertise, Anthill has proven that non-dependence on international expertise can be achieved.
What does this achievement say about the level of talent and skill available within the Nigerian film industry?
Timothy ‘Timtropiks’ Olawoye, a Nigerian filmmaker, said that this achievement indicated that there is now a level of trust in the funding process from Netflix towards local studios.
“From Netflix’s perspective, investing in an industry that hardly invests as much in themselves, calls for having a significant stake in the production and planning, it’s still a business. Sometimes this can be stifling, because there are some elements in the story that are supposed to be realistic, but then, there will be some level of influence from the Netflix executives, and then it begins to deviate from the original intent of the story.”
Olawoye’s statement highlights the delicate balance between Netflix’s investment interests and the creative integrity of Nigerian filmmakers. He suggests that Netflix, as a business, seeks to safeguard its investments by exerting influence over production and planning. This influence, while intended to ensure quality and profitability, can sometimes interfere with the filmmakers’ original vision, leading to a deviation from the intended narrative.
This observation underscores the potential challenges faced by Nigerian filmmakers in maintaining creative control while benefiting from Netflix’s financial backing.
“So there is a level of trust from the executives and looking from past projects that these people can now deliver the level of quality that they would expect and up to standard for their platform,” Olawoye said.
On how the Nigerian film industry can further develop its talent pool to consistently produce films of international standards, Olawoye suggested that Nollywood can practise more incubation of talent than just training.
“We have a couple of film academies like EbonyLife DelYork, MultiChoice talent factory, a lot of them just do one-off training but what we lack right now is incubation. In an incubation system, you’re not just talking for six months and then rushing into the industry, young people don’t want to be in a place and worry about feeding.
So, there are a lot of people who are in the industry that are not professionals but are just in it to make ends meet,” Olawoye said.
Olawoye points out that the Nigerian film industry is brimming with aspiring filmmakers, but many lack the rigorous training needed to meet Hollywood’s high standards. This skills gap, he argues, is why some talented filmmakers gravitate towards creating music videos, as it offers better financial rewards.
While acknowledging the value of training, Olawoye emphasises the need for more comprehensive incubation programs. These programmes would provide aspiring filmmakers with the necessary skills and support, fostering a new generation of professionals capable of consistently delivering international-quality films.
The success of “Lisabi: The Uprising,” achieved with a fully Nigerian team, prompts enthusiasts to reconsider the long-held assumption that Hollywood involvement is essential for Nollywood to produce high-quality films. Experts also say that even though most Nollywood practitioners are not ready for the change now, this achievement could potentially reshape the dynamics of collaboration between streaming platforms and Nigerian film studios in the future.
