Africa's Oscar-shortlisted Films Show an

Africa's Oscar-shortlisted Films Show an Industry Spreading Across Borders

By Aisha Salaudeen, CNN

IT'S AN EXCITING TIME for fi lmmakers and movie fans around the world: Academy Awards season is here. And with several African fi lms up for offi cial nominations, people across the continent will be paying close attention when those nominations are announced on Monday, March 15th.

"My Octopus Teacher," (https://edition.cnn.com/ travel/article/my-octopus-teacher-craig-foster/index.html) a South African documentary about a man who formed an unlikely bond with an octopus, is on the shortlist for the Documentary Feature category, while "The Man Who Sold His Skin" -- a Tunisian fi lm about a Syrian man whose body is used by an artist as a canvas -- is up for a nomination in the International Feature category (https://

variety.com/2021/fi lm/reviews/the-man-who-sold-his-skinreview-1234904874).

As fi lms from the continent continue to gain international recognition, Philippe Lacôte, Ivorian director of the 2020 fi lm "Night of the Kings" (also on the shortlist for an International Feature Oscar nomination) says it is important for Africans to create movies that include their vision of the

world (www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeoFQZ6wB8c).

His fi lm explores themes across the physical world and the mythical one. Last year, he told CNN in an interview that it was key to show the world these themes because they are a part of Ivory Coast's culture. "Today, Ivory Coast is on the map of international cinema," he said. "It's important for me -- even if it's one fi lm. We don't want to be outside this map."

Meanwhile, Nigeria's fi lm industry, Nollywood, will have to wait at least another year for its fi rst chance at Oscar glory. The country, which has the largest fi lm industry in Africa -- and the second largest in the world -- was disqualifi ed in 2019 for

Behind the Scenes at Netfl ix: Entertainment giant Netfl ix has Its "Made in Africa" collection features more than 100 titles fro Kenyan entertainment veteran and fi lm producer Dorothy Ghe its head of African Original Programming. "We want our Africa she told CNN.

failing to meet language requirements.

An Evolving Industry

African fi lms are gaining more international attention as technology continues to remove some traditional access barriers -- helping fi lms fl ourish across borders and fi nd new audiences.

Video streaming sites like Disney+, iROKOtv (www.iroko.ai), Netfl ix, YouTube, and Showmax act as aggregators, helping Africans gather and share content online from across the continent and beyond. iROKOtv has hundreds of thousands of subscribers who can easily access Nigerian and Ghanaian movies from any part of the world. And Netfl ix, in partnership with multiple African fi lmmakers and production companies, is showcasing African movies that are accessible to people in over 190 countries.

Jason Njoku, co-founder of iROKOtv, says a third of Africa's total population has access to streaming services like his remove obstacles for broadband. Meanwhile, only 272 million people in Africans that sub-Saharan Africa have mobile internet access -- traditionally out of a population numbering more than 1 billion. blocked access This means a signifi cant part of the population is to fi lms from cut off from reaching video streaming sites such other regions. as Netfl ix and iROKOtv. "If you're But Mary Njoku, iROKOtv co-founder and interested director of the Nigerian production house ROK in Nigerian Studios, says it won't always be this way. movies, you "Most people in the upper-middle class can literally just have aff ord to stream, but it won't be like that forever. to go online and Technological promise will catch up and then the within a minute, market will explode," she says. "So, we creatives you can have just need to keep on creating amazing, compelling a complete, content and just wait." unlimited library The potential is massive, with the number of for you to people in sub-Saharan Africa with mobile internet watch," he says, access projected to increase to 475 million by for "anyone, 2025 -- and as the industry continues to grow, anywhere in the international media conglomerates are looking to world." the continent for partnerships and original content. s turned its focus to the African continent. "Streaming In 2017, pay TV company StarTimes announced m African creatives. The company tapped platforms the listing of Nollywood movies as part of its ettuba (third row, second from the left) as democratized off ering for the Chinese market, signaling interest n stories to be watched across the globe," content and in Nigeria's movie market. storytelling," Meanwhile, Netfl ix has appointed award-winning says Moses Kenyan fi lm producer Dorothy Ghettuba as its Babatope, co-founder of entertainment company International Originals manager. The streaming FilmOne. "What they have done is to break down giant has acquired several fi lms and originals any barriers like travel and immigration. They allow including "Lionheart" and "Blood and Water." us to appreciate human stories across races and And just last year, Disney announced a "fi rst of borders." its kind" collaboration with Kugali Media company. Challenges and Opportunities Mary Njoku -- whose production house was Even with streaming, Babatope says that acquired by French media giant Canal+ in 2019 -- cinemas still play an important role in getting says these partnerships with international studios movies across borders. His company has helped will create room for bigger and more ambitious view and distribute several Nigerian titles, including stories to be told about the continent (https://edition. the 2017 Nigerian romantic comedy "The Wedding Party 2", which was viewed in cinemas across the continent. It has become one of the highestgrossing Nollywood fi lms in the last decade. That outlet is important because while technology removes some barriers, it can add others; according to the World Bank, less than

cnn.com/2019/07/15/africa/rok-studio-acquisition-intl). "The African creative industry is young, dynamic, and ambitious. They have collectively created so much with so little," she says. "Imagine what the next decade looks like with major studio partnerships." www.cnn.com/2021/03/11/africa/oscars-africa-fi lmindustry-spc-intl/index.html